'Mother, Still' (short film)

Help Bring Our BA Film to Life — A Story About Motherhood, Addiction, and the Lives We Don't Live

Hi everyone,

My name is Aryan R. Khatri, and I’m a film student at Emerson College currently working on my BA thesis short film — a deeply personal story about mothers, memory, sacrifice, and addiction.

At its core, this film is a love letter to mothers. It follows a woman as she drives her 19-year-old son to rehab — a quiet, emotional journey between a mother and her child on the edge. But just as we reach the rehab center, the story shifts: we step into an alternate life — one where this woman never had children, and instead pursued the dream she gave up long ago. She is now an actress, talking about the life that could have been.

This is a story about the lives we choose, and the ones we lose. About what it means to love someone through pain.

Your donations will help us cover:

Equipment & camera rigging for car interiors

Location rentals & permits

Paying our talented cast and crew fairly

Set design, props, wardrobe

Editing, sound design, color grading

Festival submissions to share this story beyond our college

Why This Film Matters:

Addiction is too often portrayed in extremes. We want to approach it with subtlety, empathy, and truth. This film is rooted in real experiences — we’re working with people in recovery, consulting rehab centers, and crafting every scene to reflect lived realities.

Most importantly, this is a story about mothers. About how loving someone deeply doesn't always mean you can save them — and about what it means to live with that.

If you’ve ever loved someone through something hard, if you’ve ever wondered about the paths you didn’t take, or if you simply believe in honest, human storytelling — please consider supporting this project.

Every donation helps, and if you can’t contribute financially, sharing this campaign would mean the world.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for helping us tell this story the way it deserves to be told.

With gratitude,

Aryan R. Khatri - Director/Producer

Sofia Verani - Producer

Dylan Keith Humphrey - Producer

Kylie Gifis - Producer

Vani Gupta - Associate Producer

Eana Melki - Assistant Director