"Tell Me Why" Short Film Fundraiser

!!FILMING MAY 2025!!

MISSION STATEMENT: We aim to empower every person to live, to shine a light on every person’s journey and their right to write their own story. We are given life, but we must take it be the reins to be satisfied with the one opportunity that we have.

THE STORY: Tell Me Why follows Jay, a black female college student in her 20s, who is given a final assignment which is to answer the question: why. In response to this assignment, she decides to interview four “ordinary people”: her pastor, her uncle (who’s a player), a ballet dancer, and a mother. As she interviews these individuals, she is annoyed by their nuances and inability to behave for the camera. She’s biased that they’re ordinary and have nothing fulfilling to offer as she is simply attempting to complete her assignment. However, as the layers of these people unfold within their life stories, Jay learns a lot about their past experiences and begins to reshape her mindset on the assignment and on the interviewees. By the end of the interviews, Jay’s perspective has shifted as she has a better understanding of each interviewee's journey. As well, she gets to interview another unexpected “ordinary person”, who finds value in listening to Jay’s impact from the interviews.

CHARACTERS:

Jay: Ambitious college student who doesn't put forth enough effort for what she wants. She's lost her passion but maybe this assignment will open her eyes to more than she imagined.

Jesse: A mother with a strong presence and a passion for sewing. Life wasn’t kind to her, but she didn’t let that stop her from pushing through and doing what was necessary for her and her children.

Mike: Jay’s uncle, a former basketball star whose glory days are behind him. Per his definition, Mike is something like a pimp, like a player. He lives his life as he wants, but he’s defined by the many women he keeps.

Pastor Howard: For Pastor Howard, God and his role are everything. A former street hustler who wanted better for himself, Pastor Howard turned himself over to God and wants to save as many people as he can.

Mother: Jay’s mother, a hardworking CNA who works hard. She's a great mother who encourages her daughter.

Mikayla: Mikayla is an accomplished ballet dancer. She’s faced the systemic issues within the dance community, and they have really impacted her. Despite that, she persevered to show that nothing can stop her from dancing.

WHY NOW?: Some time ago, the director was the target audience. She was in a place where she felt as though she had peaked, and the journey she was supposed to have taken had passed her by. However, the sunken place that she had fallen into pushed her into a new journey of finding self and gaining clarity, reclaiming authority over her life. This idea of Tell Me Why manifested to help someone else with the same struggles. This film is a reminder to live, that an “ordinary person” is somebody. The spotlight shines everyday, but we have to walk under it to be seen. We never know when our lives will end, so the time is now to live. Don't wait. To you and everyone else in this world, you have a story to tell, but first you must tell me WHY.

THE LOOK: Tell Me Why is a dramatic faux documentary. It’s a narrative film, but it has documentary film elements. We will see a combination of objective and subjective shots, direct address to the camera, and Close Ups. We will get very personal with the interviewees and their emotions to feel everything they've felt in their life.

Lighting and texture are major visual elements of the film. The director incorporates poetry into the movement and cinematic language of this film. Light itself is a major element. Light shining down onto those with stories.

Soulful music to embody the emotional journey of the film. A violin will carry us from beginning to end of this real journey of life.

A majority of the short will be filmed as interviews with cutaways and abstract moments spliced between them. Audiences will be able to feel the emotional transition over the course of the film, as they experience the journey with the protagonist. We don't just hear their stories, we see them.

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP: We're currently in pre-production, organizing the film for our May 2025 shoot dates. Your contributions will help us bring this film to life!

You will help us:

Cast & Crew: Pay Cast & Crew for their hard work on this film!

Locations & Production Costs: This covers location rentals and set dressing, props, equipment, and safety materials for set.

Food: This covers the cost of feeding the cast and crew.

Post-Production: This covers editing needs, sound design, mixing the audio to standard, and preparing the film for delivery.

Festival submissions & Community outreach: This covers submissions to film festivals to expand the reach of the film and community screenings of the film so the film can reach its intended audience, the people.

We'd love your support! All donations are welcome! Spread the word about the film and share our campaign page to get your friends excited about the film and to support!

Follow our director's page for updates and more: @directorjgatz

TELL ME WHY FEELS LIKE JOY, GOING FROM HOPELESS TO HOPEFUL. EVERYONE HAS A STORY. EVERYONE HAS A JOURNEY. SO ASK YOURSELF, WHY.