A grief stricken woman and uninspired man meet on their daily commute. Their encounter is strange, profound, and changing. 42 Seconds explores connectedness & decency politics. What makes us compassionate? Who deserves it? What judgements inform our standards? Questions we hope to answer & unpack.
A grief stricken woman and uninspired man meet on their daily commute. Their encounter is strange, profound, and changing. 42 Seconds explores connectedness & decency politics. What makes us compassionate? Who deserves it? What judgements inform our standards? Questions we hope to answer & unpack.
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Story
Mission Statement
42 Seconds is being produced to broaden the scope of representation and visibility of under represented people. Our crew is 50/50 men and women from an array of ethnic backgrounds and even body types! The message behind 42 Seconds is compassion and humanity. Without diversity that purpose is void.About The Project
42 Seconds is a hyperbolic interpretation of a brief but profound happening. It is two human experiences colliding and trying to make sense of it the best way they know how. The story is set in the present, in an everyday city. On their commute, a despondent woman sits next to a polite man reading a book. Rummaging through her bag, she accidentally hits him several times. The polite man closes his book deciding to just sit; eventually he notices the woman is distraught, near tears. Things take an unexpected turn. Not long after, he comes across a news story about this woman and the terrible thing that transpired to cause her grief. With this knowledge of what she has done and the emotional moment they shared, he is left to wade through conflicting emotions and his own ideology, to reconcile his understanding of who she is and what has taken place.
The tone of 42 Seconds is heavy but the theme of human connectedness and compassion are warm and universal. The script has minimal dialogue and relies distinctly on the actors’ physicality and evocative cinematography. This type of storytelling paints a picture and a point of view, while giving the audience permission to feel what they believe without telling them what is right or wrong. The audience will feel an emotional gut punch, while feeling compelled to reason through our collective black and white judgement system. This film will evoke empathy and critical thinking as our audience is left to decide how one of our characters must be feeling; cognitive dissonance is expected and frankly, is the beauty of the experience.
In my humble yet sure summation, our world is growing increasingly farther apart. Now more than ever human beings can be connected even across the globe, yet people find basic human interaction more awkward and our bonds increasingly tenuous. 42 Seconds explores what it means to be human, to go outside of the norm of what is appropriate or acceptable to connect with another human being. I want to indict what culture has accepted as boundaries, to call into question our motives for not getting involved when we see another person hurting. To beg the question, why are we so quick to place blame or assign fault when we intellectually and experientially understand that life is full of grey area? Is it fair, ethical even, to color a person good or bad based upon one event? As time, humanity, and science progress are we forfeiting empathy and compassion, the very essence of what makes us human? 42 Seconds aims to spur an internal dialogue and inspire more human connection and understanding.
Why now? Why this film? Well, aside from the old adage that there's no time quite like the present, Hollywood is paying attention now more than ever to women, people of color, and content creators. Think Issa Rae -HBO's Insecure, Ava Duvernay-Selma, Barry Jenkins-Moonlight, and Patty Jenkins-Wonder Woman. Hollywood is realizing that there is viability and demand for stories told for and by these typically overlooked groups. This film's cast and crew reflects those values of diversity and inclusion.
Incentives
$5
Hero Collage
Your beautiful face will be added to the 42 Seconds community "Collage of Heroes" at the end of our credits.
$10
Social Shout Out
A Social Shout out for you, yes you,on all our platforms. Sit back and watch the thumbs and hearts roll in.
$15
Moisture Love Magic
A $15 contribution gets you $7.50 off your next Moisture L
ove purchase!
$25
A GIF for you
All the above PLUS a custom made GIF Just. For. You. Boom!
$50
First In Line
All of the above, plus first viewing rights. It's good being first.
$100
Lunch on Set
Come dine with our cast in crew in style. We will be out of our minds, because movies, but who doesn't like a little excitement! And you still get all the above. You are rakeing it in my friend.
(Transportation to and from set not included)
Claimed: 5 of 10
$300
Party Animal
All of the above, in addition you and a date get VIP access to the cast and crew Viewing and Wrap party! Whoa!
(Transportation to and from party not included)
Claimed: 2 of 5
$500
Associate Producer
You get all of the above, Plus your name next to an associate producer credit.
Claimed: 0 of 4
$1,000
Name Changer!
You lucky Dog! You get all the above and the creative priviledge of nameing one of our lead chracters. Yeah, you read right. Did we mention you also get Executive Producer Credit?! Whaaaa?!?!?! Your head is spining, we know. Pull it together though, you have work to do. Who will you name him after? Beloved grandpa? Loyal Friend? Hero... Psst. Those are his actual lines up there.
Claimed: 0 of 1
$1,000
Executive Producer
All the above and your own title card with Executive Producer below your name. Look at you.
Claimed: 0 of 2
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$5
Hero Collage
Your beautiful face will be added to the 42 Seconds community "Collage of Heroes" at the end of our credits.
$10
Social Shout Out
A Social Shout out for you, yes you,on all our platforms. Sit back and watch the thumbs and hearts roll in.
$15
Moisture Love Magic
A $15 contribution gets you $7.50 off your next Moisture L
ove purchase!
$25
A GIF for you
All the above PLUS a custom made GIF Just. For. You. Boom!
$50
First In Line
All of the above, plus first viewing rights. It's good being first.
$100
Lunch on Set
Come dine with our cast in crew in style. We will be out of our minds, because movies, but who doesn't like a little excitement! And you still get all the above. You are rakeing it in my friend.
(Transportation to and from set not included)
Claimed: 5 of 10
$300
Party Animal
All of the above, in addition you and a date get VIP access to the cast and crew Viewing and Wrap party! Whoa!
(Transportation to and from party not included)
Claimed: 2 of 5
$500
Associate Producer
You get all of the above, Plus your name next to an associate producer credit.
Claimed: 0 of 4
$1,000
Name Changer!
You lucky Dog! You get all the above and the creative priviledge of nameing one of our lead chracters. Yeah, you read right. Did we mention you also get Executive Producer Credit?! Whaaaa?!?!?! Your head is spining, we know. Pull it together though, you have work to do. Who will you name him after? Beloved grandpa? Loyal Friend? Hero... Psst. Those are his actual lines up there.
Claimed: 0 of 1
$1,000
Executive Producer
All the above and your own title card with Executive Producer below your name. Look at you.
Claimed: 0 of 2
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Mignon Von- Executive Producer, Writer, Director, Actress of 42 Seconds
I am one of the few lucky people that can say they’ve always known their passion and purpose. It began with acting and as I got older I realized more stories needed telling. The characters that looked like me, I didn’t recognize them. I wanted to see a middle class, suburban, awkward, smart, loved, black girl that went on fools’ errands and found herself in ridiculous quagmires or experienced drama that didn’t surround teenage pregnancy, jail, drugs, or “da hood”. Not that these narratives aren’t valid; the problem is the lack of spectrum and limited representation of experience among the African diaspora. Longing to see these stories told properly, I graduated from Pepperdine University in 2012 with a B.A. in Film Studies and a few student projects that were, well, student projects. Shooting from the hip here, I cannot wait to lock that garbage up in a dark vault and set it ablaze, freeze the ashes, and store them in a box that can only be opened with elven magic. Though in fairness, glimmers of my potential hide between the frames and at the very least, I stepped into the arena and got them done. That much I am proud of.
Since bursting forth from my college bubble I production assisted on several short films and an independent feature. I worked for meals and IMDB credit, also known as, for free; I fully recognize that my experience is not singular. So many of us are fighting for opportunity, even the opportunity to be a slave. In all sincerity, each project was very meaningful for me and I am earnestly grateful for all that I learned and experienced. I took a detour producing in reality television for some time, (girl’s gotta eat); all the while, I joined grass roots film cohorts and regularly binged on cinema, old and new. Prior to breaking into entertainment, I worked for next to nothing in nonprofit education. Though the work was honorable and a passion, my purpose was still calling. It was during this period 42 Seconds, was born. 42 Seconds has undergone iteration after iteration. We are finally at the picture ready version and I am so stinking excited to bring it to you.
L. Alexandria Williams (Alex)- Unit Production Manager
Alex is a Georgia native forging her way in the flourishing film industry in Atlanta. She is new to the Unit Production Manager role but has been active in the Arts since 2007. Alex is an up and coming producer. Her first short film produced “After You Leave” will be premiering in the Way Down Film Festival next month. She is a brilliant young talent with so much to offer. She came up to me at a monthly film event and expressed her interest in helping me bring 42 Seconds to fruition. I know this production is in good hands with her as our UPM.
Sherouk Omara- Assistant Director
Sherouk is a transplant to Atlanta from the Midwest. She currently runs support at a tech startup and moonlights as an assistant director. Currently, she's writing a web series with plans to direct it. She loves old British sitcoms, grew up on black and white Egyptian films, and enjoys international travel. Outside of work, you can find her scouring Spotify for obscure music, watching weird (and not-so-weird) shows on Netflix, and exploring coffee shops. She's looking forward to helping make '42 seconds' a hit and is super pumped to be on the team! We bonded at a french cafe over our love of foriegn film and realizing we are both Anglophiles. Humble and capable, I'm proud to have her as my general for 42 Seconds.
Jason Cermak- Director of Photography
Jason graduated from Georgia State University in December 2013 with a BA in Film and Visual Media.
He is the owner of Soviae LLC., a boutique film production company based in Atlanta, GA, where he works as a director, editor and cinematographer. Anyone who works with him speaks highly not only of the quality of his work, but also his character and demeanor. He has the eye and understanding this project needs and we are happy to have him on board! -
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