Dear Fans, Friends, Family, and Anonymous Patrons,

I'm so excited to announce that I'm directing and starring in a short (10min) film, and I'm shamelessly asking for your help to fund it!

This project, called Alvin, is based on a real 5th grader I taught last year. He was such a unique kid who said the oddest, funniest, and most innocent things, and toward the end of the school year, he revealed to me that he had a crush on a girl and asked my advice on how to tell her. At that moment, I just knew I had to make a short film inspired by him.

And so the film is pretty much exactly that: a slice-of-life short about a 5th grader who asks his after school teacher for advice about how to tell his crush how he feels. They discuss different tactics, and, ultimately, Alvin sort of gains the courage to overcome his fears... sort of. He also inspires the teacher to maybe ask out his own crush... sort of. It is a slice-of-life after all.

Anyway... I've gathered a small crew and secured a permit to shoot on a school yard. Now, I just need to cast the actors, and then we'll be ready to film Alvin by our projected shoot dates on the weekend of September 29th. The timing matters as we need the weather to be semi-warm enough that we don't have to bundle up. The beginning of autumn should suffice. In addition to the lead roles, there will be lots of kid extras, and if you've ever worked with kids, then you know it's not so easy to manage them. The more comfortable the weather, the easier it is to supervise and direct.

The script is ready to go; the team is eager; all we need is $5,000 to cover the crew and actor compensation (yes, the extras get paid, too), filming, post-production, a contribution to the school we're filming at, insurance, props, and festival submissions (we're trying to submit to as many as possible).

All support is very much appreciated and necessary. I also ask that you forward this campaign to anyone who might be interested in helping filmmakers create great work in an increasingly challenging environment.

As a gesture of recognition, anyone who contributes $1,000 or more will be recognized as a producer*. However, no amount is too small, and everyone who donates will be included in a special section in the end credits of the movie. Thanks, again, for your support, and we can't wait to start filming!

Sincerely with Gratitude,

Nicky Weinbach

* producer credit levels:

$1,000+ | Co-Producer

$2,000+ | Producer

$4,000+ | Executive Producer

Artist Bio:

Nicky Weinbach is one-half of twin comedy and music variety duo Max & Nicky. The quirky, absurd Weinbach twins have opened up for Reggie Watts, Hannah Einbeinder, Jo Firestone, Brent Weinbach, and DJ Douggpound and have appeared in the New York Comedy Festival’s Comics to Watch, SF Sketchfest, and the Very Big Very Asian Comedy Festival in New York. They also run a monthly comedy and music show in Brooklyn called Vintage Basement with Max & Nicky. In addition to stand-up, Max & Nicky have written and produced two original full-length musicals, Max’s A Match Made in Hell and Nicky’s Made in China. Oh, and make sure to check out their solo, two-man show the next time they put it on (Oct. 6th at the PIT in Manhattan). It’s called Max & Nicky: A 60s Variety Show, and it’ll really send you!