A free-spirited grandmother inspires her risk-averse granddaughter to go after her heart's true desire. That's the premise of our completed short film, "Canarsie Pier" (5 min), directed/edited by Jacob Maximillian Baron and written/produced by Christine Stoddard. The setting is the real-life Canarsie Pier and nearby marshlands of Brooklyn, NY. The colors are richly saturated golds and greens, and a hint at the magical.

The cast includes comedian Helaine Witt, plus Christine Stoddard, Aaron Gold, Disnie Sebastian, and Cindy Wong. The director of photography was Jode Sparks, sound mixing was done by Jet Cafuli, Alan Rowe Kelly did the makeup, and Madeline Trice was the production assistant.

Now that the film's in the can, we're ready to submit it to festivals. But that's expensive! So we need your help. Did you know it can cost as much as $100 to submit to a single festival? Most have an entry fee between $35-50. Still, there's the matter of the odds. Film festivals generally have an acceptance rate of 13%, with the most competitive ones (Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, etc.) accepting only 1%. So you gotta spend a lot of money to increase your odds!

With your support, we can get "Canarsie Pier" showing in festivals. That means showing in theaters, art galleries, and on streaming sites, too.

All donors will be listed in a THANK YOU post on QuailBell.com, the site for the production company that produced the film, owned by Christine.

We've already spent $2,000 on this film--making it and submitting it to a few festivals, without a grant or fundraiser. We're independent artists, so this is no small sum. That's why we need assistance. Getting this film into festivals or even art installations and other exhibition opportunities will be a boon for everyone involved. Thanks so much for alleviating the financial pressure and believing in our movie!

XOXO,

Christine (& Jake!)