teenage dirtbag short film

My name is Brandon Garcia, and I am the writer and director of this project: teenage dirtbag. And I just personally want to say thank you for checking out our crowdfunding campaign.

This film is set in the early 2000s pop punk era, and it's about a young drummer who learns to use the powerful nature of music to overcome his failure and to come to terms with the loss of his brother.

On this surface this film bleeds early 2000s pop punk. Everywhere from the fashion, vibrant characters, flip phones, and of course... teenage angst.

But at the core is a story about humanity, and letting ourselves feel, and grief, and complications of ambition, self worth. And ultimately it’s a celebration of music and art and its power to unlock something in us as humans to let ourselves feel.

If you know me as a person or as a filmmaker, as much as this is going to be a vibrant and fun film, it’s also gonna have alot of heart.

I believe in this project, and I think this story matters and needs to be told.

If you’re someone that believes in the arts and their power in our world, then I want to invite you to partner with me in telling this story.

Filmmaking is not cheap. The budget to make this film possible is 15k dollars. As much as I would love to be able to fund this myself… Unfortunately, I can't. BUT fortunately it allows space for someone like you or someone you know to partner with us in this storytelling process.

If all you can do is $5 , $20, $100 or more, every dollar counts and nothing is less or more meaningful. And if you’re not in a place to give financially right now— I completely understand, but I would just ask if this story resonates with you, please consider just sharing this video or this project, because my reach only extends so far.

Ultimately, I want this campaign to be an outlet for people who are looking to support the arts and looking to support stories that matter.

So where is this money going? Like I said— films are not cheap. It’s going to camera rentals, lenses, lighting equipment rentals. All of this is necessary to create images that look, feel, and sound beautiful. The money is going to incredibly low rates to talented creatives who are accepting said rates not only because they love the craft, but because they’ve read the script and believe in this story. It’s going to cover travel expenses, food for the cast and crew, locations and permits. And obviously we’re trying to create a little time capsule to throw the audience into the 2000s. So that means wardrobe, props, set design all to accurately tell this specific story.

And this might go without saying, but I want to be fully transparent with you— I’m not getting a cent out of this. I’m actually also putting my money into this as well. And as much as I would’ve loved to be able to fully fund it myself, I’m actually so excited to be able to invite my community and people who have supported me throughout the years and liked my past projects and posts to be able to finally partner on a project with me. I think that alone will help us create a piece of art that transcends anything that I’ve personally worked on before.

Like I’ve said several times before— I believe in this film. And the talent on this blows my mind every time. We have an award winning actor, an indie pop artist already casted. The crew is genuinely my dream crew. Jake, who’s shooting this, is not only a dear friend, but also one of the most talented creatives I know. I am so confident we’re gonna make something that's not just fun and vibrant, but a piece of work that is truly beautiful; that challenges and inspires an audience.

So this is what I want to invite you all into. If you have any questions about the film or budget or the team, please don’t hesitate to DM me, or text me. I’m happy to hop on a call and just chat about it all with you. And again, if you can’t give financially, please consider just sharing the project or our posts to your circle.

I appreciate you. Thank you. Let’s go make something beautiful.

-Brandon