YESTERDAY - A Film by Alicia Kester
Donation protected
Synopsis:
Thirty-four days after Allegra Wu turned 11, her mother died. Now, stopping overnight at a hotel with her father, she meets a teenager named Marine who has been kidnapped and is being sold. As the two girls bond and Allegra works to help Marine, they find the strength to hope for a better tomorrow.
YESTERDAY depicts the human trafficking crisis through the eyes of survivors, young women and girls at risk. Allegra (Allayna Slate ) and Marine (Mayou Roffe) must shed their innocence to confront their painful realities. As they grow up too fast, their newfound friendship empowers them both. This is not a "savior" story: the girls teach other, as equals, to build strength and navigate survival.
(facebook.com/yesterdaythefilm )
What Your Donations Will Fund:
Your contributions will go 100% to production costs. Your gifts will make the movie!
We begin principle photography on July 27, 2017, and will film over 4 days. First and foremost, donations will compensate our cast and crew (not including producers and director) for their talent and hard work. We will also use the funds to cover production expenses such as transportation costs, prop creation, costumes, lighting and camera equipment rentals, and location rental fees.
About the Filmmakers:
YESTERDAY is produced by Light Show Pictures and SunKissed Productions , two production companies led by LGBTQ filmmakers of color. Their shared mission is to make authentic and well-crafted films that lift-up LGBTQ people of color in front of and behind the camera, and to amplify the voices of other marginalized communities with which we stand in solidarity.
Writer/director Alicia Kester is an award-winning and published writer and poet, as well as an accomplished filmmaker. Born in Los Angeles and raised between Los Angeles and Lagos, Nigeria, Alicia tells stories that reflect her experiences as a mixed-race, queer, 2nd generation, Woman-of-Color and/or reflect the realities of her neighbors, family, and friends.
Alicia wrote the script for YESTERDAY based on her 10 years of experience as a Rape Crisis Counselor and Advocate at San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR). She was further moved to make this film after the Nigerian Chibok School girls were abducted and trafficked. She hopes to shine a light on the ways that the crisis of human trafficking affects us all, specifically spotlighting the abduction and non-consensual sale of adults and children.
Commitment to collaborating with trafficking survivors:
We are partnering with several nonprofit organizations that support human trafficking survivors and advocate for change. These community partners give us feedback on the script and story, and in return we promote their great work with our film. With your support, each community partner will also get a free copy of YESTERDAY once it's completed. Among our community partners are:
S.H.A.D.E. PROJECT
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
Banteay Srei
Other key crew:
Producers:
Alexander L. Lee (dir. EL CAMINO, 2016)
Tracy Nguyen (prod. XANH, forthcoming)
Co-Producer: Kim Washington
Associate Producer: Vivian Liang
Director of Photography: Christiana Charalambous
1st Assistant Director: Imari Anderson
Gaffer: Zac Towner
Production Manager: Xanh Tran (prod. XANH, forthcoming)
Promotional Video Producer & Script Supervisor: Sal Tran (dir. XANH, forthcoming)
---------
Promotional video credits:
Dir. Sal Tran, 2017
Additional still photography by Gbemiga Olamikan, Philip Ojisua/AFP, Reuters/A. Akinieya
Song: Arcade Fire: Loneliness #3 (Night Talking)
Thirty-four days after Allegra Wu turned 11, her mother died. Now, stopping overnight at a hotel with her father, she meets a teenager named Marine who has been kidnapped and is being sold. As the two girls bond and Allegra works to help Marine, they find the strength to hope for a better tomorrow.
YESTERDAY depicts the human trafficking crisis through the eyes of survivors, young women and girls at risk. Allegra (Allayna Slate ) and Marine (Mayou Roffe) must shed their innocence to confront their painful realities. As they grow up too fast, their newfound friendship empowers them both. This is not a "savior" story: the girls teach other, as equals, to build strength and navigate survival.
(facebook.com/yesterdaythefilm )
What Your Donations Will Fund:
Your contributions will go 100% to production costs. Your gifts will make the movie!
We begin principle photography on July 27, 2017, and will film over 4 days. First and foremost, donations will compensate our cast and crew (not including producers and director) for their talent and hard work. We will also use the funds to cover production expenses such as transportation costs, prop creation, costumes, lighting and camera equipment rentals, and location rental fees.
About the Filmmakers:
YESTERDAY is produced by Light Show Pictures and SunKissed Productions , two production companies led by LGBTQ filmmakers of color. Their shared mission is to make authentic and well-crafted films that lift-up LGBTQ people of color in front of and behind the camera, and to amplify the voices of other marginalized communities with which we stand in solidarity.
Writer/director Alicia Kester is an award-winning and published writer and poet, as well as an accomplished filmmaker. Born in Los Angeles and raised between Los Angeles and Lagos, Nigeria, Alicia tells stories that reflect her experiences as a mixed-race, queer, 2nd generation, Woman-of-Color and/or reflect the realities of her neighbors, family, and friends.
Alicia wrote the script for YESTERDAY based on her 10 years of experience as a Rape Crisis Counselor and Advocate at San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR). She was further moved to make this film after the Nigerian Chibok School girls were abducted and trafficked. She hopes to shine a light on the ways that the crisis of human trafficking affects us all, specifically spotlighting the abduction and non-consensual sale of adults and children.
Commitment to collaborating with trafficking survivors:
We are partnering with several nonprofit organizations that support human trafficking survivors and advocate for change. These community partners give us feedback on the script and story, and in return we promote their great work with our film. With your support, each community partner will also get a free copy of YESTERDAY once it's completed. Among our community partners are:
S.H.A.D.E. PROJECT
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
Banteay Srei
Other key crew:
Producers:
Alexander L. Lee (dir. EL CAMINO, 2016)
Tracy Nguyen (prod. XANH, forthcoming)
Co-Producer: Kim Washington
Associate Producer: Vivian Liang
Director of Photography: Christiana Charalambous
1st Assistant Director: Imari Anderson
Gaffer: Zac Towner
Production Manager: Xanh Tran (prod. XANH, forthcoming)
Promotional Video Producer & Script Supervisor: Sal Tran (dir. XANH, forthcoming)
---------
Promotional video credits:
Dir. Sal Tran, 2017
Additional still photography by Gbemiga Olamikan, Philip Ojisua/AFP, Reuters/A. Akinieya
Song: Arcade Fire: Loneliness #3 (Night Talking)
Organizer and beneficiary
Light Pictures
Organizer
Oakland, CA
Alicia Kester
Beneficiary
