Insurance. Let's talk about it.

From something as simple and as basic as Car Insurance, to Medical Insurance, to Fire Insurance, to Property Insurance and even Life Insurance--many of you might find the system to be immoral and predatory.

My name is Holden Harris and I am the Writer and Director of the film KIN.

How The Story Came To Be...

I wrote this script in April of 2024 with zero intention of making some large commentary on the state of Insurance in the United States. Then, eight months later in New York City, A 26-year-old man killed the CEO of one of the biggest medical insurance providers in the Country. And a lot of people had a lot to say, especially young people.

I saw a story about a desperate man taking action against a system that he felt betrayed him.

So, much to my surprise, I had written a similar story.

Albert, a twenty-something newly minted life insurance investigator, is just another cog in this machine. He’s green but eager, desperate to prove himself and turn this job into a career. To Albert, work is transactional—just a paycheck, a way out of the dead-end jobs that have defined his post-college life: waiting tables, stocking shelves, folding clothes. He doesn’t consider the lives his work touches. He doesn’t think about the weight of his decisions. Not yet.

Albert’s first field assignment is the life insurance claim for Mr. Wayan, a beloved community leader and family man in suburban Los Angeles. Nerves already high, he arrives at the Wayan home to find three children playing in the yard—one beating on the other. He barely registers it. A detail. He knocks on the door, only to be met by Mr. Wayan’s grieving daughter. Oblivious to her pain, Albert rattles off a series of cold, impersonal questions. When she finally snaps—punching him square in the face—he’s left with a black eye and the first real consequence of his insensitivity.

His boss, Ted Burns, is unfazed. Ted is everything Albert is on track to become—callous, opportunistic, beholden to the industry’s unspoken rule: deny, delay, and dispute. He orders Albert to re-interview the paramedic from the night of Wayan’s death, hoping to catch an inconsistency that will justify voiding the claim.

Albert meets Johnny Alvarez, the paramedic, at his apartment. Step by step, they retrace the night in question. The call. The arrival. The fatal moment. And then, something off—Johnny wasn’t supposed to be on shift that night. He’d swapped schedules. Albert pushes further and suspects the unspoken: Johnny let Mr. Wayan die. Not out of malice, but out of necessity. Mr. Wayan had promised part of his insurance payout to help fund Johnny’s son’s education—a chance at a better life.

Albert doesn’t flinch. He sees no moral dilemma, no ethical gray area. Just leverage. A loophole to exploit. He leaves knowing that Mr. Wayan’s family will receive nothing. That his children, those same kids from the yard, will be left with scraps. But Johnny has been sitting with his guilt longer than Albert. As Albert turns to leave, Johnny lunges with a knife. They struggle—off-screen, in a brutal, drawn-out scuffle that drags far longer than comfortable. And when the dust settles, Albert emerges, bloodied, shaken, but alive.

He cleans up the mess. Erases the evidence. Lies to his boss. The final image lingers: two children playing in Mr. Wayan’s yard. The third—Johnny’s son—steps out of a neighboring house, dressed in black, hand-in-hand with his aunt. Albert may walk away, but the weight of his choices will not. The cycle continues. The next generation bears the cost.

KIN doesn’t argue morality. It simply lays bare how a fail-safe system to protect from financial loss has the power to dictate who thrives, who suffers, and who is left to clean up the mess.

Visual References

For the look of KIN, we plan to shoot in black & white. The visual inspiration comes from The Coen Brother’s films “No Country for Old Men” and “A Serious Man”, as well as 2023’s French Legal Drama “Anatomy of a Fall”.

Budget & Timeline

We are hoping to raise 16K for this project. From April till May will be the time we have to crowd fund, then in June we will shoot for two days. After that, we'll be on a schedule to finish a final cut of the short with professional color grading, sound mixing, and score. Once completed, the film will be submitted to festivals around the country and internationally.

The Creative Team

Holden Harris

Writer, Director, Producer, Actor

With a focus on non-linear narratives and a keen interest in art-house cinema drama's, Holden Harris is filmmaker that attempts to blend genres to discover something salient within the clash of unruly characters.

Asher Soriano

Video Editor

Asher Soriano is an Emmy-nominated story producer with a background in reality television, including Vanderpump Rules and Below Deck. With a passion for visual storytelling, he brings a keen eye for composition and character driven narratives to his work.

Emerson Mahoney

Director Of Photography

Inspired by his interests in fashion, culture, and nature, Emerson Mahoney has continued his career as a cinematographer for Aubin Pictures, Sony Music, HBO, Cynthia Rowley, Timberland, Veuve Clicquot, the Michelle Obama podcast as well as the narrative short film, “Submerge”.

Production Company

Paper Anvil is a production company based in Los Angeles specializing in scripted narrative, animation, & commercial production. The executive producers––A Line Producer, A Creative Producer, A Post-Producer, and an Animator––have collectively produced short films, music videos, commercials, documentaries, feature films, and animations. They have worked with artists such as Billie Eilish, Teddy Swims, The Rolling Stones, Iggy Azalea and Jason Mraz, as well as commercials for clients such as Uproxx Entertainment, L’Oreal, Puma, Mastercard, Google, Amazon, PGA Superstore, and Hankook. Their feature films include Run & Gun (2022, Paramount), Block Party (2022), The Social Chameleon (2022) and Drugstore June (2024, Hulu).

AND A BIG THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us so far on this project. There are no amount of words that can express my gratitude to the support I've received when pitching this project. We appreciate any size donations that you are willing to make at this time, but more importantly, please share this project page with your friends, family and loved ones. Follow our Instagram for more updates, and I can’t wait to share this project with you!