Help Us Finish The Deserving, a Short Film About Family, Forgiveness, and Second Chances

What happens when a life-threatening diagnosis changes everything? How do you move forward when the people around you refuse to acknowledge your growth? How can those closest to you offer support when they're struggling with their own fear and anger?

These are the questions at the heart of The Deserving, a short proof-of-concept film produced by an experienced team of independent filmmakers in the San Francisco Bay Area.

We completed filming in September 2026 on a micro budget, and we're excited about what we've captured. Now we're asking our community to help us raise $2,000 toward post-production so we can finish the film and share it with audiences.

The Story

The Deserving is a family drama about a recovering alcoholic who is passed over for a lifesaving liver transplant. In the vein of Still Alice and My Sister's Keeper, it explores questions of self-worth, forgiveness, and complex family dynamics in the face of a life-threatening diagnosis.

Many families can relate. A serious medical diagnosis divides life into two parts: before and after. Daily rhythms give way to uncertainty. Words feel both loud and quiet at the same time.

And the diagnosis does not arrive in isolation. It enters relationships that already have complicated histories. Under the pressure of illness, those fault lines widen. Love can become anger, fear can become blame, and the people trying hardest to help one another can cause the deepest wounds.

Inspired by a real-world medical journal article, writer Kate Schultz created a feature film and this short proof of concept, both titled The Deserving. Kate is an award-winning Bay Area screenwriter whose work spans feature films and shorts. Her previous short film, End Run (2025), screened at multiple festivals, and her screenwriting has been recognized by the Josephson/Roadmap, CinemaStreet, and Women Over 50 International Film Festival competitions.

The Cast and Crew

The Deserving was brought to life by a dedicated team of Bay Area filmmakers and actors, working together to create an emotionally powerful film on a micro budget.

Director Alisha McCutcheon is a prolific San Francisco filmmaker and Director of Photography, with credits on more than 35 short films and dozens of additional camera department productions. Her directing credits include He Knows (2014), Overhead (2016), and a segment of the anthology feature San Francisco Stories (2021).

The film is produced by Jennifer LeBeau (Game of Chairs, Visitations, Literally DIYing, and Big Rhonda) and Bruce Rosepapa (End Run and Little Steps) for Phase 4 Films.

Our cast is led by Julie Lamb, a San Francisco theater actor who also starred in Little Steps (2026), with supporting performances by Aron Ford and Greg Morris.

Help Us Finish the Film

With principal photography complete, we're raising $4,000 to finish the film. Funds will go toward:

We've already accomplished so much with the resources and generosity of our cast, crew, and collaborators. Your support will help us take these final steps to share the film with an audience.

If this story resonates with you, please consider donating or sharing this fundraiser with your friends and family. Every contribution, large or small, brings us closer to completing The Deserving and sharing a story about illness, family, forgiveness, and what it means to deserve a second chance.

Thank you for supporting independent filmmaking!