99 Things I Think of Before I Sleep

New York City, New York | Film Short

Drama, Experimental

Lianne Richards

1 Campaigns | New York, United States

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This campaign raised $12,854 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.

34 supporters | followers

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The story of this derives from the director's personal experiences dealing with insomnia and depression. For Lianne, living with depression is nothing to be ashamed of. Her film aims to address the bitter parts of life and expose the peculiar "shared trauma" that ALL people have beautiful ties to.

About The Project

  • The Story
  • Wishlist
  • Updates
  • The Team
  • Community

Mission Statement

The purpose of this college thesis film is to provide comfort and remind individuals who have ever experienced anxious and suicidal thoughts, that they are not so alone. This film also aspires to increase awareness and shed new light on these sensitive topics that are often avoided in our society.

The Story



This story races through the memories of an insomniac who introduces herself as, “Joon”.


With a heart full of conflicting emotions and a mind tortured by nostalgia, Joon lays awake grappling with the ebb and flow of people in her life, leaving her in the dark and questioning the mysterious hand of fate and life's cosmos. 



"If life was such a gift, why are we made to feel so much pain?"



The night grows and stars begin to fade...


Only after a near death experience does Joon find herself a spiritual awakening, a deeper understanding of her own existence and a sort of beauty in the pain that we all feel.



CHARECTERS / CAST


JOON


ALICIA CROWDER "Tell Me Lies" (Hulu, 2022)

The film is narrated by Joon, a self proclaimed insomniac is in her mid twenties. For what seems like the first time in her life, she is overwhelmed with the realization that all people and things must come and go. Besides the presence of her pet chicken, MOMO, she appears to be alone during this night. Joon suffers from depression. She hyper fixates on the past. She has suicidal idealizations and even hallucinations that prevent her from getting a good nights rest.


LITTLE JOON


MOLLY ALMEIDA

The younger version of Joon. She is about 6 and suffers from night terrors. She is quite curious yet has an awkward demeanor to her. Often Little Joon is seen staring off at things like ants and her gold fish, comparing her existence to these tiny creatures. She is a representative of Joons most core self - very curious, naive  


JOON'S MOTHER


JANE KOTYLAR "Anton Syndrom" (2021)

Joons mom is about 35 - 40 and is seen during Joons adolescent flashbacks. She is a recent widow going through tuff times but nevertheless only shows Joon love and compassion with her sense of humor.


MUMO


"CLUCKS" THE HEN

Mumo (in filipino/ tagalog). a bogeyman; an imaginary creature meant to inspire fear in children

A quirky hen there for comic relief/ metaphor that lives in Joons Room. She is seen clucking around at the beginning and ending of the story. Mumo is the only other living thing that accompanies Joon through her sleepless night. In retrospect, it is also only fitting that Joon, who is “chicken” for life has Mumo as her pet. 




BACKGROUND



THE WRITER AND DIRECTOR'S PERSONAL STATEMENT


This passion project derives from the director Lianne Rose Richards' personal experiences of dealing with the death of her father at thirteen years old and growing up with the repercussions of insomnia and depression. For Lianne, living with depression is nothing to be ashamed of and the idea of grief is something that connects all humans. Her film aims to address the bitter parts of life and expose the peculiar "shared trauma" that ALL people have beautiful ties to.


The purpose of this college thesis film stems more than just for a grade. It is an un-apologetic, vulnerable film to meant provide comfort to individuals who have experienced anxious and suicidal thoughts, reminding them that they are not so alone. This film also aspires to increase awareness and shed new light on these sensitive topics that are often avoided in our society.


This five day shoot was made up of a total of 87 cast and crew members devised of young, talented filmmakers and friends who gave it their all in pursuit to showcase their own creative emotions and see Lianne Rose's vision through - without compromise. The dedication and time can be seen not only on screen but in the 80+ hours shooting, as well as months of pre-production.


KEY CREW MEMBERS




THE PRODUCER

Victor Pang is a filmmaker based in New York City who recently graduated from NYU Gallatin with a concentration on film, television, business, and marketing. Victor primarily focuses on directing and producing short films. His recent works explore prevailing themes in the filmmaking industry through his experiences observing and predicting contemporary issues. Victor is a zealous about finding profound stories and bringing them to the screen. He hopes to continue producing emotionally momentous pieces to share his perspectives by establishing meaningful connections with his audience.








THE LINE PRODUCER

Grace Pomilla is a young female Director and Producer based in New York City who recently graduated from the School of Visual Arts. Her inherent knack for story telling, organization, and planning films derives from her creative and driven soul. Professionally Grace directs her own independent films that playfully illuminate the structures of our contemporary society. She also assist other independent filmmakers in hiring crew and making sure the film is done safely and on time. In this film Grace played a major role in the safety of all crew, animals, and children on set while also bringing a fun and uplifting energy towards the set.









THE 1ST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Onur Canik is a young filmmaker based in NYC who attends the School of Visual Arts. As Onur once said, "Making film is like going to war," and as an 1st Assistant Director Onur, like a natural leader commands a room with pure grace and confidence. While attending school, Onur professionally AD's a range of films from commercials to high-end music videos to independent short films; managing the logistics of reality while keeping a careful eye on the reality of time to ensure that a production meets its creative needs on schedule.








THE DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Tony Vallés is a Cinematographer based out of New York City who grew up with a natural eye for equisit and artistic compositions. In his words- "Throughout the production process, I had the privilege of working closely with the entire team to meticulously craft the mood and visual aesthetic that Lianne and I had passionately discussed months before the first frame was captured. As reflected on the completed project, I'm genuinely thrilled with the outcome and couldn't be more thankful for the extraordinary individuals who contributed their talents and dedication to help bring this amazing project to fruition. This collaborative effort truly demonstrates the power of teamwork and creativity in the world of filmmaking, and I'm excited to see the impact our collective vision will have on our audience.









THE PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Bomin Ahn (she/her) is a Korean filmmaker, photographer, and visual artist based in NYC and Seoul. 

She believes in the power of visual storytelling and hopes to create a more diverse, safe, and inclusive space on the screen for future creatives and their audiences.







THE ART & CASTING DIRECTOR

Ari Kim is an Artist who delivers frank feelings and moments which were diluted by time. The process of pulling back the forgotten memories, or perhaps the ones that she wished to forget, can be painful; however, it is important for Ari to now understand how she felt in those moments and create art within those practices. Ari aspires to contain herself to the fullest, raw as possible. Putting herself on the canvas, and using her body as a medium of her art. Honesty is the tone in her art form. She is not rooted in her old moments, but her work is a documentation that she poses progression as an artist, a daughter, a mother, and a person.







THE EDITOR

Shay Burgman is a Film Editor based in NYC. While attending the School of Visual Arts, professionally Shay edits a range of films from high-end music videos to independent short films, visually cutting together meaningful stories that once came from blank sheets of paper. Shays adaptive talents and artistic decisions birth timelines that highlight any directors true vision. Spending many hours and late nights with this film Shay assembled, cut, and formulated this films non-conventional story from ingest to delivery. 






Why we need your help...



This 5 day production that took place last Spring 2023 consisted of 87 passionate cast and crew members, including a much loved pet chicken. If you decide to kindly donate funds will be used to help tie up our POST PRODUCTION and pay for Film Festival Submission fees, Post Production (Sound Mixing, Color Grading, Scoring, VFX work), and also help give the cast and crew pay for their generous efforts.


It takes a village to make a film! Im reaching out to film lovers and thoughtful contributors like you to help bring this film home and distribute it to the world!


As we are seeing the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes - the Big Cooperate Systems are broken and OUTDATED. We need your help to keep independent film going, it is the only way to keep getting new stories out there and keep the conversation alive!


Introduction Details/ Pictures of crew soon to come!




FOLLOW

Hit the follow button and follow our campaign. You'll get updates on the latest "99 Things I Think of Before I Sleep" news and it's 100% free. 

What does the "99" team get out of it? Seed&Spark rewards us for building our audience. The more followers we get, the more we unlock products, services, and festival fee waivers courtesy of Seed&Spark!


CONTRIBUTE AND PLEDGE

You can make a contribution to our film by making a pledge. We have to collect 80% of our crowdfunding goal to keep our funds. You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item. You can choose any pledge and incentive amount that fits your budget. No pledge is too small. Every dollar makes a difference in making our film possible!


SPREAD THE WORD

The best way we can reach our crowdfunding goal is if we reach beyond our networks. If you’d like to be a part of supporting independent filmmakers and spreading stories of healing and community, YOU can make the difference in our success!

Please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, however you want! We can't do this without you!


99 Things I Think of Before I Sleep Instagram :

https://instagram.com/99thingsithinkofb4isleep?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==




Wishlist

Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.

EDITORIAL

Costs $1,800

Editor's Rate, Assistant Editor's Rate, Hard Drives, Test Screening.

COLOR

Costs $2,700

Colorist Rate, Color Session.

POST SOUND

Costs $2,800

Studio fees, Sound Designer Rate, Foley Session, Sound Mix Session.

SCORE

Costs $2,000

Studio Rental Fee, Composer's Fee, Live Scoring Session, Musicians' Fees, Expendables, Music Licensing.

CREW

Costs $3,100

Crew/Transportation Reimbursement & Cast Rates, Art, Camera Rentals,

FESTIVAL

Costs $1,200

Festival Submission Fees.

VFX

Costs $1,500

Visual Effects Supervisor Rate, Visual Effects Artist Rate.

TURNOVER

Costs $900

Voiceover Session, ADR Session, Cast Rates, Expendables.

Cash Pledge

Costs $0

About This Team

This five day shoot was made up of 87 cast and crew members devised of young, talented filmmakers and friends who gave it their all. The dedication and time can be seen not only on screen but in the 80+ hours shooting, as well as months of production. 

Current Team

Supporters

Followers

Incentives