Help Bring CAN to Life as a Feature Film!

My name is Güven Kara, and I am an independent filmmaker based in Seattle.

After completing the short film CAN, which has already received international recognition and festival success, I am now taking the next step: turning CAN into a full-length feature film.

This campaign will help bring this story to the screen.

❤️ Why This Story Matters

CAN is a quiet, emotional, deeply human story about:

Migration

Motherhood

Identity

Cultural displacement

Unexpected connections between strangers

The film follows Fatima, a newly arrived Palestinian mother, and her daughter Noura, who move into the basement of an American–Jewish couple.

Within this unfamiliar home, a fragile bond forms through silence, empathy, and small acts of kindness.

The short film version has already proven the emotional power of this story — audiences around the world connected with its themes of belonging, loss, and hope.

Festival Success So Far

The short film CAN has already been:

Top 3 Finalist — Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival

Honorable Mention — Films That Move (USA)

Official Selection — Miami Beach Film Festival

Official Selection — Lift-Off Global Network Sessions Vol. 11 & 12

It was also evaluated by the Cannes Film Festival without a submission fee, a rare honor given to only a few independent films.

CAN has appeared in international press, including Fil’m Hafızası.

This momentum gives the feature film a strong foundation.

Why I Need Your Support

Turning CAN into a feature film requires a real development process:

A new feature-length script

Casting

Rehearsals

Locations

Production planning

Proof-of-concept scenes

A professional pitch package for major festivals, producers, and grants

This fundraiser focuses specifically on the development & pre-production phase, which is crucial for getting the feature into the hands of industry professionals and larger funders.

What Your Donation Supports

Your contribution will directly support the next phase of the feature film:

$10,000 — Feature script development

$8,000 — Pre-production (casting, locations, rehearsals, legal, insurance)

$5,000 — Teaser / concept trailer shoot

$5,000 — Festival submissions & marketing

$2,000 — Music & sound consulting

Total Goal: $25,000

Every dollar helps move this film forward.

Why Your Support Makes a Difference

Independent film relies on the people who believe in stories that matter — stories that don’t fit into mainstream formulas but carry emotional truth.

By supporting CAN, you are helping:

✔ A powerful immigrant story reach a global audience

✔ A Seattle-based independent film team

✔ A filmmaker continuing his journey after early festival success

✔ A story centered on humanity, empathy, and connection

⭐ What You Receive as a Supporter

While GoFundMe doesn’t offer formal “rewards,” every donor will receive:

Your name in the Special Thanks section of the feature film

Early access updates

Behind-the-scenes development content

Invitations to virtual Q&A sessions

And for higher donors:

Producer Circle, Co-Producer, and Executive Producer acknowledgments

Let’s Bring CAN to Life — Together

If this story resonates with you,

if you believe in independent cinema,

if you want to help amplify voices and stories that rarely make it to the screen —

I invite you to join us.

Every share. Every dollar. Every act of support brings us closer to making the CAN feature film a reality.

Thank you for believing in this project. ❤️

— Güven Kara