Following Our Dreams and Making a Movie!

We are making a movie and need your help! Read on to see how you can be a part of the magic of filmmaking.

Fundraiser Breakdown:

$25 lets us feed a crew member for one day

$100 lets us rent equipment and costumes

$300 lets us hire a special effect makeup artist for one day

$600 lets us pay for insurance for the film equipment

$1,000 lets us pay for production design and props

$1,500 lets us rent our location

$1,800 lets us hire one crew member for the entire 6 day shoot (we need 3-5 crew members, the director and producer are not being paid)

P.S. there are incentives to donate!

Everyone who donates will be thanked in the film credits and get access to behind the scenes photos and videos

$25 gets you a special video thank you from our team

$50 gets you a cast photo

$100 gets you a signed script

$500 gets you a Bloodline t-shirt

$1,000 gets you co executive producer credits plus everything above

$15,000 gets you sole executive producer credits and a special screening of our film plus everything above

Have you ever had one of those dreams in life that no matter how hard you try to ignore it, it continues to scratch at the back of your brain? A goal that you wanted for your future that you never really thought was possible, but for some reason couldn’t give up on? An idea that you wanted to try but always talked yourself out of: telling yourself you were too young, too old, it was too expensive, too much time or no one wanted to hear your story.

For Chris and I, the goal has always been to make a movie. Even before we first met as teenagers selling VHS tapes at Suncoast Video in the Newpark Mall in 2000, we wanted to be a part of the filmmaking community. Chris had an eye on writing and directing, and I was an aspiring actress.

As time went on, the world made us second-guess our goals, and we pursued more “practical” career paths. Chris became a graphic designer and I became a school counselor. But even as the years went on, that initial goal of making a film was still a spark in the back of our minds. Three years ago, we began volunteering with Reel, a nonprofit after school film program that teaches high school students that anyone can be a filmmaker. After spending years teaching others to follow their dreams and that creative fields were a possibility our spark began to turn into a flame that we could no longer ignore.

Recently, we both hit our milestone 40th birthdays and felt it was finally time to take a leap of faith on ourselves and create that movie we’ve always wanted to make. After several months of writing we are finally ready to announce that in January 2024 we are going to shoot our short film Bloodline.

This story focuses on Neil, a dad in his late 40’s with debilitating diabetes and his daughter Alex who is in her late 20’s and has given up her dream of med school to take care of him. There are supernatural factors which come into play that push the characters to make heartbreaking decisions and consider what they are willing to sacrifice for their family.

This is a very character driven movie with horror and SciFi elements. Creatively, the script offers a lot of opportunities for practical and virtual effects and imaginative solutions, which for us are at the core of independent filmmaking. We are shooting this in the Bay Area with a very small cast and crew of local independent filmmakers. We also hope to partner with REEL to bring on some student interns to allow up and coming filmmakers to gain experience in the field. We hope to provide mentorship to people at all levels and allow more equity and access to the filmmaking community. We can’t wait to help bring this film to life - and that’s where you come in.

This project is very personal to us and, while we would make it with a flashlight and an iPhone if we had to, it deserves to be done well. In order to make this dream a reality we will need to build a community of film supporters and creators - it takes a village to make a film! Our full budget is $15,000, and we are hoping to raise $12,000 of that via this 60-day crowdfunding campaign. Your $10, $20 or $50 donations really will go a long way in helping us bring this story to the screen. Certainly, your $200, $500 and $1,000 donations will help as well - but it’s important to know that you don’t need to make a big donation to make a big impact. Your donations go directly to paying and feeding the crew, renting equipment, and other production needs. By donating, you’ll also get exclusive access to behind the scenes photos, updates, and so much more.

The truth is, these donations are going to help us do something different with this film. I’ve worked with many people who have had a hard time attaining their goals of working in the film business. Many talented artists never get an opportunity to enter the film world because of the inaccessible nature of the working environments (such as women, people of color, people from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, people with disability or accessibility needs, working parents, and all people from marginalized communities). It shouldn’t be this way, and it’s a personal goal of mine to help shift that experience and make the community of filmmakers more open to all voices and experiences. We need more films made by and for people who have not historically been lifted up and supported, and that also have this core value of community. We can change the way the independent filmmaking business operates, and it starts here. This film belongs to everyone who helps make it - including our donors - and that means that the production is going to be operating from a place of gratitude and support that challenges the larger culture of filmmaking. This is about telling the stories that need to be heard and that we can all enjoy. While not a small chunk of change, our $15,000 budget does qualify our film as an ultra-low budget feature. Many thoughtful and groundbreaking films have been made in this budget range, and Chris and I are confident that with the right scrappy, imaginative, and dedicated team in place, this is a reasonable goal. I hope that you’ll consider making a donation to support our film - at whatever level makes the most sense to you right now. Making this film is going to be an exciting and challenging journey, and I hope you come along for the ride! We appreciate your support in bringing our community of local artists together to make something meaningful for you to watch.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading our story and considering helping us make this long time dream a reality. For all those out there that had a dream- we are doing this for you too.

With warmth,

Heather Heddlesten Decker and Chris Decker