Help us make a short film set in a Korean Church

Meet Me At The Cross - A Short Film

Logline: A pastor’s son struggles to balance the two contradictory parts of his identity when he’s forced to choose between his religion and his love.

Synopsis: Jacob is the picture-perfect church boy: he can recite Bible verses by heart, he’s friendly with everyone at church, and to top it all off, his dad is the pastor. But when the news of his secret relationship with Rachel, a girl popular in all the wrong ways, becomes the hottest gossip around church, Jacob is seen as a hypocrite— and Rachel painted as a seductress. This brings both parts of Jacob’s identity to a boiling point; will he let his obligation to follow the narrow path and be the Christian example bring his teenage love story to an abrupt stop?

Why this story is worth telling:

As a pastor’s kid (PK), I grew up under the constant pressure of having to maintain a perfect faith. Being devout was my duty, but I was never sure if it was my desire. This is a common struggle amongst PKs, especially those in the Korean community, yet many faith-based films fail to document this struggle between faith and doubt that we experience. “Meet Me at the Cross” will seek to explore this conflicting identity that all PKs must come to terms with.

Meet Me at the Cross also speaks to the core of the Asian-American experience. Our protagonist, Jacob, struggles to choose between his familial responsibility or his personal desire: a conflict present in many second-generation Asian American youths.

Meet The Crew:

Writer & Director | David C. Chung

Born in a devout Christian family consisting of multiple generations of pastors, David C. Chung grew up heavily involved in his father’s Korean church. Even in the church, David showed a passion for the arts, frequently writing and acting in church skits. In 2017, he followed his aspiration to be a filmmaker and created the short film “Turn”, which won him the “Filmmaker Under 18” Award at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards. Since then, David sought to broaden his filmmaking knowledge by majoring in Film Studies at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts and working as a grip on many student and independent film sets, all while writing screenplays in his free time. The stories David is inspired to tell are rooted in deeply personal experiences, and the young filmmaker wants to begin sharing those stories with the world.

Producer | Remy Wood

Remy Wood is a producer based in Los Angeles, California. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of Long Road Productions, where he produces all of their work while also working on other independent projects. Remy loves writing as well and is constantly seeking new stories to tell. He was born in Canberra, Australia, but has since lived in Washington D.C, New York, and Los Angeles, where he currently lives while attending Chapman University.

Cinematographer | Dajiana Huang

Dajiana Huang is a junior Film Production major with a cinematography emphasis at Chapman University. Hailing from the Bay Area, she grew up shooting 35mm film photography, which informs her current passion for crafting captivating imagery with digital and analog mediums.

Production Designer | Natasha Parbhu

Hi everyone! My name is Natasha Parbhu and I am the Production Designer for Meet Me At The Cross! Growing up in Chatsworth, California, I developed a passion for visual expression through mediums of color, shape, and tone when growing up. While I used to practice this as a hobby with my friends after school, I am now a Junior at Chapman University studying Production Design for Film. From a formal and hands-on film education, I’ve been growing and defining my own personal style within the narrative projects I’ve worked on at and outside of school. One of my favorite parts of being a Production Designer is the attention to detail required when transforming an empty space into a lived-in environment. When I’m not doing Production Design for narrative film, I enjoy expressing myself just as elaborately in the physical world. My free time is spent decorating my room, taking photos of every single that happens to me, making posters on photoshop, dressing and accessorizing myself, and watching movies that inform my personal style.

1st Assistant Director | Maddie Abiera

Maddie Abiera is a current student at the University of Southern California pursuing a degree in Film & Television Production. She is an alumni of the AT&T Hello Sunshine Filmmaker Lab, a program created by Reese Witherspoon's production company that aims at encouraging young women to enter the film industry. With a directing emphasis at USC, Maddie has worked on projects from music videos to narrative short films to documentaries. When she is not directing, she enjoys assistant directing to support her peer’s independent projects. As a Filipino American herself, she understands the importance of spotlighting Asian American stories, and is excited to work on “Meet Me at the Cross”!

UPM | Jordan Sharkey

Jordan Sharkey is a producer whose focus lies within narrative short films and music videos. She is greatly looking forward to working with David and Remy and assisting them in making their vision come to life. With less than two years of film school under her belt, Jordan has produced a variety of projects including multiple short films, music videos and advertisements. Above all else, she has deep passion for visual storytelling & collaboration and is thrilled to unit production manager “Meet Me At Your Cross” alongside this incredibly talented crew.

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP:

Budget Breakdown:

Camera + Electric

Production Design

Catering + Set Operations

Marketing + Distribution

Transportation

Wardrobe

Donation Reward Tiers:

$15- Access to short film stream

$20- Digital Copy of BTS Video

$30- Digital copy of MMATC

$50- Special Thanks in Credits

$100- Copy of Screenplay Signed by Cast+Crew

$500- Associate Producer Credit

$1000- Executive Producer Credit

Thank you for being a part of Meet Me At The Cross! We can't wait to share our story with you!