“FIRE AND FORGET” - A SHORT FILM BY BLAKE HAWES

Hello friends and family,

This is Blake Hawes!

I have been working in the Portland film industry for 7+ years now. 4 of those years have been professionally in television, film, and commercials. These years have also happened to be, the most fulfilling and gratifying years of my life thus far. I am enamored with the incredibly talented and supportive ecosystem that PDX film is.

Because of this, I have reached a FEVER PITCH of inspiration after spending countless hours around numerous crews of artists and technicians.

I have decided it is time to make something of my own! And to do so to the best of my abilities.

I want to create a project that will serve as a testament to what myself and my closely knit familial collaborators can create together in a medium I hold sacred!

“FIRE AND FORGET” is a short film about two kid cousins who try to secure some illegal fireworks on JULY 4TH, 2007.

My missions for the movie are as follows:

First and foremost I want to create a love letter to the Oregon Coast. There’s nowhere quite like it.

Secondly, to create a piece that the hopefully relates to the idiosyncrasies of family dynamics and make a reflexive vignette about the mistakes of our youth, and the influential people we grow up around.

And lastly, to create a project that feels like a spotlight of all of our best work as well as maintaining a loving environment that we can point to as an example of micro-budget film production.

WHERE IT’S FROM

This film is heavily inspired by my rosy and nostalgic holidays spent at the beach with my family in Manzanita, OR. My grandfather built the foundation to a small beach cabin on his property in the mid 1970s. He took this foundation and drove down to Manzanita, found a plot of land, and FINISHED THE REST OF THE CABIN in a weekend! Since then, my family has made an effort to spend every July 4th there together for 40+ years.

However this was just one side of my family. And This film will be combining the memories from many different parts of my life. It will actually be an amalgam of my time I spent growing up in Hawaii as well, of which I spent many years. My mother is half Asian, and I wanted to create a film that included BOTH cultural spaces I spent seminal times in that made me who I am today.

No family is perfect and I intend on shedding a light on how lonely it can be to a be kid. Especially during huge gatherings. As warm and nostalgic as I intend the film to be, I want it to be as funny as it is sad. As that’s how I personally remember my childhood.

WHERE IT’S AT

This film will be shot on location in MANZANITA, OREGON in EARLY AUGUST 2023. The shoot will last for 4-5 days with a couple days of PREP, and a day of wrap out.

This film has been cooking in my mind for years. I am pleased to say we will have an incredible team of talented of people ready to launch into a project like this. The majority of which are industry professionals.

The majority of the cast has been picked as well. A blend of professional and unprofessional.

The proceeds I make from this GoFundMe will be allocated towards:

Feeding the crew, renting equipment, insurance, set decoration, costumes, location fees, and additional housing that will be provided for our cast and crew.

WHERE IT’S GOING

Festivals, festivals, festivals.

Hopefully, everywhere!

This is my first serious effort and foray into directing. I love filmmaking. I have chosen my current path to become an Assistant Director as a day job! Which is just about as close as you can get to directing! Working closely with crew, and every department, is really what excites me.

Some of you may be aware I plan on leaving Oregon somewhat soon for New York City.

I plan to be getting my “days” out there so I can join the DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA or better know as the DGA. There is a lot of production in NYC and I need about 300 out of 600 days of being a set PA before I can join the Union. NYC is ripe for longer term employment.

So another reason I’m making this now is I want to create something with the people in my life I have NOW!

I am on the edge of a huge sea change and this feels only right to end this chapter with a EXPLOSIVE bang! Making something dear to me, with the people that are dear to me.

I hope this film will be the first of many films I direct, and Portland will always be my home!

I plan to work both here and NYC often!

IN CONCLUSION

I am so so so lucky.

To have had the time I have had out here in PDX. I owe everything to my family and friends that have encouraged me to do only what I love for so many years now.

If you can find any amount to donate this would help me immensely, and help me create something myself and my community can really be proud of!

I hope this experience will be a source of vitality for me and my closest friends for years to come.

With much love,

Blake Hawes