La Contessa Funding

La Contessa

This story is about the search.  La Contessa is a character, a story and a concept.  Our La Contessa is a radio host helping a lovelorn caller find his way.  Our story aims to capture the dissonance between what people are saying and what people hear.

La Contessa is a story about the, often, benign interactions we have with people that shape our world: like most stories, it takes place in the realm of people looking beyond themselves to make sense of what’s around them.  To connect.  To make meaning of the chaos.  

La Contessa asks questions of what it is to ascribe meaning to our random universe— to look to the stars, as we always have and ask, “what are you telling me?”. 

We’ve been working on the pre-production for this project these past several months, building the story and the world in which it exists.  In order to see this project to completion, we are hoping to raise money to cover the costs of gear and insurance rentals, as well as keeping our crew fed and happy.  A fed crew is a happy crew.

We’ve scheduled a two day shoot, with several locations and a small crew tasked with executing.  Every person involved is based out of Portland.  Our crew members are film industry professionals who have volunteered their time and skills to help us embark on this project.  All locations and materials will be sourced from our network of support in Portland. 

We’re asking you, should you want to help on this endeavor, to donate.  If there are other ways you feel like you could contribute to our cause, or questions about this project, feel free to email us. 

Our scheduled shoot dates are March 16th and 17th.  

A little about our crew:



Director- Kyle Wallace

Kyle Wallace graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Theater.  He has been working the past four years  on commercial film and photography shoots in the Pacific Northwest.  When he’s not working, Kyle likes to paint in different shades of blue.



Director of Photography- Jasmine Karcey

Jasmine Karcey is an IATSE Local 600 member. She attended Southern Oregon University and studied both Film Production and Emerging Media. After Moving to Portland, she has worked on Documentaries and short videos as a Director of Photography. Additionally, she has worked in the camera department on episodic shows and Movies such as Leave No Trace and Netflix's Everything Sucks, American Vandal, and The OA. She was also awarded as OMPA's 'Rising Star' in 2018.


Male Lead- Samuel Summer

Samuel Summer is a Portland based actor who studied Theatre at the University of Iowa. Since moving back to Portland he has acted in episodes of Grimm and Portlandia, commercials including a Columbia Sportswear campaign, short films including, "Carmen" (Directed by Chloe Sevigny) as well as feature films, "Clementine" (Directed by Lara Jean Gallagher) and "Green Room" (Directed by Jeremy Saulnier). He and Kyle met at a picnic table after Kyle asked, "Weren't you in Green Room?"

Casting- Megan Lask

Megan is a casting assistant for film, TV and commercials at Simon Max Hill Casting. Her training and experience in theater and film enables her to approach casting from an actors perspective. Megan strives to cultivate relationships within Portland's theater community and the ever-growing Portland film and commercial industry.

Art Director- Dan Maughiman

Art Department Lead- Matt Lask

Growing up in the Rust Belt, Matt comes from a blue-collared background that's meshed with an artistic mindset. He's a freelance model maker and IATSE 488 set dresser, having worked on dozens of commercials, TV shows, and award-winning movies. On the side, he's a main stage improvisational comedy teacher and actor at Curious Comedy Theater.

Wardrobe- Nica DeMaria

Sound- Zach Kahl

Original Artwork- Dan Bothwell

Graphic Design- McKenzie Nicholson