ROPEBURN: A Short Film That Could Use Your Support!

Hi!

My name is Yousif Kairee, and I’m an independent filmmaker and film student based in Vancouver, BC. I’m the writer and soon-to-be director of my upcoming short film, ROPEBURN. This is my first project produced outside of an educational context; built from scratch off the hard work of my wonderful crew that volunteered their time & energy into my passion project.

Background

I initially conceived the project five years ago while living in Lebanon. I'm an Arab who grew up in the 'imperial core', but grew into an adult in what's supposed to be a place i'm from. In my case, however, you quickly learn that you're an outsider no matter where you go in the world. I lucked out in the sense that I have good people in my family, but also, my curiousity led me down progressive roads rather than the alt-right pipeline. I find my last sentence worth mentioning because I was born in the 21st century, and experienced the boom of the Internet & social media during the most vulnerable years of my life. This is the socio-political framework that indexes my work.

It’s hard to ignore how volatile the world has become. I find the most impactful stories are the ones grounded in a realistic context, bringing attention to the unfortunate yet real realities that are too often forgotten. If we can't articulate what makes something feel wrong, is it more dangerous to force change?

There's a phenomenon that might have a name, but I've personally dubbed 'Instagram happy', which virtually isolates teens and young adults through their exclusive exposure and compulsion to excessive positivity while ignoring or downplaying their negative experiences. In other words, you're probably not posting about bad days you're having. While writing a script, I derived a character who predates the faux trend known as the “male loneliness epidemic". Someone who comes to conclusions based on how they appear through the screen, and acts on his worst anxieties.

Suffice to say, however, that there are characters who exist parallel to each other who exhibit similar qualities. There exists a questionable amount of young people who sympathize with the Driver from Drive, Patrick Bateman from American Psycho or Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. Though fantastic films in their own right, I deliberately wanted to distill the essence of what makes characters like that empathetic (to some capacity) but never making the anti-hero fantasy get ahead of reality. In the real world, people can and quite often do react. It's why anyone who emulates these traits gets thoroughly embarrassed at some point.

Production

My film ROPEBURN explores the perspective of my lead character, Edward, who is consumed by a neurotic obsession to save a woman after she alludes to a troubling reality, despite not asking or even needing a savior. His journey of self-destruction begins with him stalking her entire digital footprint, concluding with a humbling reality-check from choices he makes.

What makes our pre-production phase promising is that much of the film has already gotten off the ground. I’ve been able to obtain most of my own equipment through self-financing. We’re filming on a Sony FX3, using vintage and second-hand lenses. There's a mix of tried-and-true "industry-standard" equipment such as the Sennheiser MKH-416 boom mic, but my passion for state-of-the-art convenience led me to add the LED Nanlite Pavotubes to our arsenal. There are a whole bunch of other miscellaneous items not yet listed, but all for the clear vision that me and my dedicated team have to see this project through.

The pre-production process that officially began in November 2023, between me and the Executive Producer of the project, Kris Vogel. Making independent films on our terms is always a process of building a ship as you're sailing it, and we have covered so much ground from scripting, casting, acquiring gear, permits, inventing art styles, and so much more that it's hard to even comprehend, much less write down. I’ve wanted to put my time and energy into this project, ensuring that we are safe to move ahead with it. This is also a diverse collaboration project between students from Vancouver’s Capilano, Emily Carr, and Simon Fraser University.

I'm humbled by the cast and crew that volunteered their time and energy into this project. This includes (but not limited to) the aforementioned Kris Vogel, Mika Banafsheh Shigematsu (Prod. & Design), Ethan Ukrainetz (Gaffer), James Gray (Graphic Designer), and a long-time collaborator, Radin Khodadadi (Dir. of Photography).

The cast of the film will be led by Raunuk Chand, Ruby Maher, Jack Metcalfe, and Hala Maghamez.

Fundraising

With so much already done, why the fundraiser? In short, even though the crew and I have gotten so much of the work done, there’s still much work to be done before we begin production, with aspects that may just end up outside my budget. I can only personally finance this project so far while still studying full-time and working.

There's critical equipment we still don't have, such as a field recorder or fixture lights. We're still lacking in memory & storage, high-capacity batteries, accessories such as a matte box, softbox, we probably even need a regular box. Outside of the gear, we have other factors to consider, like props and costumes from our production & design department, like feeding our crew, having flexibility in paying for permits for different locations. Literally any amount of money raised would be a tremendous help to me and the team. Anyone who chooses to donate would be a critical part in bringing this vision to life.

$1,500 is a pipedream goal of mine because it solves all our gear-related problems and that's the area where the money will be spent should we ever make that goal. Amounts above that would be allocated appropriately to the various departments, as well as any required compensation fees. There may not be any giveaways or exuberant prizes, but the most I can offer you is my sincerest gratitude from a young filmmaker. It can also manifest in having your name in the credits (unless requested otherwise)!

We will be filming quite soon in April of this year, and our post-production process will span throughout the year. It's been my half-decade dream that folks will get to see my short film in a festival, and I'm confident that the film I'm crafting alongside my talented team of artists will end up somewhere special.

Thank you. The write-up of this has been difficult, admittedly, because I don't actually know what the right amount of detail is or what the most persuasive words are. I succumb a little bit to pessimism, that the project wouldn't receive a dime from either grants or charity, or anxiety that it may rub people the wrong way. I hope that in pleading my case for this film, who's making it, the inspirations behind it, the process of making the film thus far, the gear I've acquired, the cast we... uh, cast, and sharing the roadblocks ahead will lead to some kind of support. Even if you're unable to donate personally, sharing this fundraiser is more than I can ask for.

I will be sharing more about the project in the months to come.

IG: @theyousifkairee

YouTube: @theyousifkairee