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A Neo Andromeda Production.
Hello! This is Emily Rasinger, the organizer of the page. The following is a message from the director of the short film:
My name is Morgan Henry. I am a 19-year-old Black filmmaker studying at Concordia University in Montreal, and I am the director of the upcoming film KING (currently in pre-production). I have been creating films for most of my life. Making movies means the world to me and by donating to this fundraiser you are directly contributing to making my dreams come true. This will be the biggest project I have ever had the pleasure of working on and you can help bring it to life.
Title:
King
Genre:
Drama/Sports
Themes:
Exploitation, Community, Purpose
Logline:
Two young fighters compete for the top spot in an underground bare-knuckle boxing ring.
Description:
King, a champion of the fighting organization, lives, trains, and fights under one roof with his roommate Sam. They compete weekly in grueling matches that leave them bruised and battered. Their landlord and promoter promises to get them away from this lifestyle for bigger and better opportunities on the condition that they continue to push themselves for another fight. The roommates face their toughest battles during recovery while pushing each other to continue training for their next bouts.
Story Elements:
- This film evaluates the struggles that young fighters go through to establish themselves within the combat sports industry. It takes extreme amounts of mental and physical strength to hold up against the wear and tear that boxing demands. Endurance is key when pushing through a constant cycle of recovery, training, and fighting.
- Furthermore, we are analyzing and critiquing the exploitative nature of fight promotions. Fighters' names are owned by the organization, leaving them with little ownership over their bodies and their labor. They lack compensation in low-level professional circuits and there's little concern about protecting the physical and mental health of these athletes.
- This story is also a critique on the current housing situation. King and Sam must fight to keep their living quarters, reflecting the difficulty of finding proper housing in the world's current state along with the pain and struggle this stress causes.
- A major conflict within this story is the blurred lines within competition between peers. As King and Sam have to compete for everything they have, their drive to continuously improve will stop at nothing, neither of them able to recognize if they've gone too far.
- This film will also act as a critique of the sports film genre. The genre perpetuates unrealistic expectations for young people working towards their dreams, often implying that pushing oneself passed their limit will lead to success. These films ignore the trap that is placed onto young athletes in order to exploit their labor, convincing them that this is the only way they can fulfill their dreams.
- This film is also intertwined with the filmmaker's racial identity. Relating the characters economic crisis with his experience with the consequences of racial segregation. The exploitation of displaced African peoples is a large influence for how he displays the exploitation of these young fighters.
Estimated Runtime:
15 minutes
Expected Premiere:
Summer 2026
Expected Release:
Late 2026
A donation to this GoFundMe would be supporting a young filmmaker's dream to tell a story about the undiscussed exploitation of young fighters. It would also support other young actors and filmmakers involved in the film's production. This film will be used to start our careers fully controlled and managed by us.
The funds donated will be used for renting equipment and locations, and providing provisions to the cast and crew through the long hours of our shoot days.
- Funds will be devoted specifically to elements to improve the visuals of the film through renting lenses, cameras, and lighting equipment to provide a unique and cinematic style to the film.
- As well as buying/renting wardrobe, props, and locations to bring this boxing organization and fighters within it to life.
The more budget we have access to the more we can make this underground world come to reality on the big screen. Depending on the amount remaining after production, the rest of the funds will be used for film festival submissions, in an attempt to share our art to eyes around the world.
Thank you for visiting our GoFundMe! Donations of any size will be deeply appreciated. Public donors will be included in the credits of the film.
For the time being, take a look at our behind the scenes footage from recent training session!
Thank you,
Morgan Henry - Director/Writer
Emily Rasinger - Production Designer
Organizer
