Hen xx Crossing Crowdfunding

Hen xx Crossing in Need of Funding!

Hen xx Crossing is a short film in the making, currently in pre-production and aiming to shoot in early August. We’re a small team of SF Film Makers, looking to bring our coming-of-age script to life.

The video provided above is our look book, feel free to fast forward as needed.

Our film, which we hope to start shooting in August, is set in a faraway time, a much easier time, which many of us are nostalgic for. The year is 2017.

It’s about us, a generation hitting our quarter-life crisis, a group of people raised on graphic novels and hyper-self-aware TV shows. Now we want to figure out who we’ve become.

Synopsis! ☆

Austin embarks on a date with a strange girl he met online named Hen. The evening takes a turn for the weird and he calls his sister Faye in for help trying to get the girl out of his house. The evening unravels into a heartfelt whimsical night where the three embark on a beautiful San Francisco adventure, encountering everything from everywhere. He cries, she laughs. Bands strum while drugs numb, precipitating into big bad cathartic blow out fights. We all learn something or perhaps nothing at all. We just feel… a lot.

Director of Photography - Phil Elleston, II

Phil Elleston, II is a Cinematographer born and raised in San Francisco. Phil got his start working on the A24 feature film The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), as a Creative Intern, Producers Intern and Camera Intern. From there, he worked on the Warner Brother's blockbuster feature The Matrix Resurrections (2022) as a Studio Camera Intern for two time Oscar-winning Cinematographer John Toll.

Phil has lensed dozens of short films as well as video content for clients such as Apple and Facebook. A native San Franciscan with a deep passion to help film makers find and bring their visions to life, Phil enjoys partnering with a wide array of voices, uniting people in a shared vision. Additionally, Phil is an advocate for social justice and grateful for any chance to champion it through the arts.

Director - Maple Leung

Maple Leung is a Director, Actor and Writer based in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and San Francisco who has worked on short films and web series such as Lost the Lead (2023) and Dana and the Wolf (2025). They have most recently worked on a short film Come on Let's Go (2024), a mumblecore dramedy about outgrowing childhood friendship, which was awarded as a NoBudge Official Selection.

Producer and Co Director - Mirabella Zangrilli

Mirabella is an Actor and Filmmaker based in San Francisco who has been involved with projects in California’s creative scene. Mira earned her B.A. at CSU Los Angeles in Asian American Studies. Her production experience includes commercials, TV shows, independent film and music videos.

Cast - Maple Leung (Hen), Giacomo Zangrilli (Austin), Mirabella Zangrilli (Faye)

We are working on a low budget film with our volunteer cast and crew on board. Your generous contribution will go toward these expenses:

★ Meals for the Cast and Crew (Breakfast & Lunch per person)

★ Department budgets (i.e. set design, wardrobe, makeup, etc.)

★ Lighting & Camera equipment rentals

★ Media Storage

★ Travel / Fuel

★ Production Insurance

★ Film Festival submissions

With our dates fast approaching, we kindly invite any support that can help us bring this project to life. Help spread the word!

This film dramatizes caricatures of adulthood in free-fall: flawed, messy people who are doing their best but often failing. None of the characters are traditionally "likable," but all of them are honest, raw, and meant to move us. At its heart, this is a love letter to San Francisco, emotional late-20s chaos, and the art we made when we were young and wanted to be seen. Thank you for being a part of this project. Whether you're helping bring these characters to life or investing in the project, your contribution means the world.

So far, we have proudly recruited a number of SF talent to feature in the project, local bands, illustrators, filmmakers, actors, and businesses that have been willing to contribute to our production. This is a heartfelt project that means a lot to all of us looking to share our appreciation to the city that we all get to call home.

Thank you so much for reading and considering donating to our project. We’re so excited to build something beautiful with you.

With warmth,

Maple xx Mira xx Phil <3