Anti-Venom For A Snake
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
LGBTQ, Experimental
"Anti-Venom for a Snake" explores queer love and loss at the height of the AIDS epidemic, within the context of the COVID pandemic. The story follows Marcos, the voyeuristic drag artist by the name Evita Envy, as he copes with the loss of his soulmate and his own weakening body.
Anti-Venom For A Snake
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
LGBTQ, Experimental

1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $12,065 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
122 supporters | followers
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"Anti-Venom for a Snake" explores queer love and loss at the height of the AIDS epidemic, within the context of the COVID pandemic. The story follows Marcos, the voyeuristic drag artist by the name Evita Envy, as he copes with the loss of his soulmate and his own weakening body.
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
We appreciate any and all support towards our film. To fulfill our creative and educational goals, we are looking to raise $12,000, which will go towards renting equipment, compensating our cast and crew, COVID safety measures, and transforming our house into a 1990s New York apartment.
We are currently in pre-production for our film, and are set to shoot in December of this year. After an initial festival run in 2021, our film will be released online via Vimeo for everyone to see.
Thank you for joining us on this journey, and helping bring this project to the screen!
PETITION: Pause the SCA Production Track if USC Goes Online 2020 - http://chng.it/X8Gs8W86j2
READ: The Hollywood Reporter - "USC Film School Grapples with Reopening Amid a Pandemic" - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/usc-film-school-grapples-reopening-a-pandemic-1305344?fbclid=IwAR2VWd3Qx-IZk8Hmq8M1O04ubcEND-tfGv3ScYML6STLDh1RbDrpMK9fRYU
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Crew Compensation
Costs $1,750
We want to compensate our crew for their contribution to this film.
Camera Rentals
Costs $1,000
We need to rent an Easy Rig, and wireless monitors and focus systems for a socially distant shoot.
G&E Rentals
Costs $440
We need to rent apple boxes, flags and silks, sandbags and other G&E equipment.
Lighting
Costs $650
We need to rent a set of Kino-Flo lighting kit and other lighting equipment.
Set Dressing
Costs $1,540
We need to purchase vintage furniture to dress the set into a 90s New York apartment.
COVID Instruction & Sanitation
Costs $650
This will go towards sanitizing the set and making sure safety protocols are followed.
Music Composing and Recording
Costs $450
This goes to our music composer and music recording engineer.
About This Team
Cameron Kostopoulos - Director
Cameron Kostopoulos is an experimental filmmaker and writer/director currently based in Los Angeles, where he is getting his BFA in Film & Television Production at USC. With a background in dance films, his work blends narrative filmmaking with poetic cinema, bringing imaginative and thought-provoking experiences to the screen. He has worked across a range of mediums including narrative and experimental films, interactive films, VR/AR experiences, and projection-based installations. His unorthodox approach to filmmaking has landed him a Semi-Finalist placement at the Student Academy Awards, as well as awards for Best Director, Best Performance, and Best Cinematography. Through his art, Cameron aims to give voice to stories of queer identity and nontraditional family structure, exploring the human condition in hopes of connecting with audiences across identities.
Gerardo Garcia - Writer
Gerardo a Latino filmmaker based in South LA, interested in telling the stories about a diversity of Latino experiences, whether that be past, present, or future. His stories always push the boundaries of what we define as reality, often blurring the lines of an altered state in our reality. Anti-Venom for a Snake tethers both the past and present into one, in how the protagonist’s memory impacts him in his present day, and also in our discussion of AIDS pandemic to reflect on the current COVID pandemic.
Val Tan - Producer
Val is from Singapore! Val is not an actor, dancer, singer, or vegetarian, but saw how many filmmakers try to portray themselves as multifaceted artists and wants to add those words to her bio. Val is also currently not best known for any film, but wants to be best known for that magical realism dark social commentary art house film. Val IS known to be an optimist and risk-taking filmmaker, and hopes to make films that showcase different voices in the community and bring a positive message.
Alex Jiang - Producer
Alex is a senior BFA student at USC majoring in in Film & Television Production and minoring in Art History. She is from Shenzhen, China. She works as a writer, director, and producer both in China and in the US.
Deeksha Marla - Associate Producer
Deeksha is a senior Film and TV Production major at USC. She is a TV comedy lover and has previously worked at companies such as HBO and WarnerMedia. She hopes to become a showrunner/ writer/ actress in the future.
Vasilisa Belokon - Assistant Director
Vasilisa is a Junior at USC, majoring in Cinema and Media Studies. She is natively Russian, but was raised in Madrid, Spain. Vasilisa has been an assistant director on several USC shorts as well as independent projects. She enjoys working on stories that shed light on issues that underrepresented communities face, hence her involvement in this project.
Gabe Guarano - Gaffer/Director of Photography
Gabe is a USC Senior film production student from San Diego. He got his start making childhood epics with his big family, and later these movies were replaced with the adversities of everyday people. He’s had films screen at AFI fest, NFFTY, and the LA Film Fest.
Ethan Denning - First Assistant Camera
Ethan Denning is a filmmaker from Atlanta, Georgia studying film and television production at USC. He loves cameras and traveling around in his VW bus.
Aaron Gallegos - Second Assistant Camera
Aaron Gallegos is a filmmaker who is originally from Ecuador. He is now a sophomore at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California as a Film & Television Production major. He has also expanded his experience by working on other student productions on campus in different roles.
Jamie Sanger - Gaffer
Jamie is an LA native, studying Film and Theatre at USC. He believes strongly in the power of multi-hyphenate artists and works professionally as an actor, writer, director/dp and gaffer.
Wendy Hui - Production Designer
Wendy Hui was born in China and raised in Los Angeles. She’s a senior at the University of Southern California, pursuing a B.F.A. in Theatre Design and a minor in Cinematic Arts. She strives to amplify BIPOC voices in the most authentic way, allowing modern generation and viewers of all cultural backgrounds to adequately examine important subject matters such as racial and gender equality.
Jesse Valdez - Props Master
Jesse is a current Junior at the University of Southern California. She is double majoring in Cinema and Media Studies and Anthropology and minoring in Folklore and Popular Culture. She is a comedy writer and loves to make people laugh.
Andre Mershad - Costume Designer
Andre is a multi-faceted artist who has worked mainly in film & drag makeup artistry and performance art. He has experience in concept creation and costume design. He is very excited to be working on a project that aligns with hispassions and talents, such as drag and queerness!
Kirsten Hoang - Editor
Kirsten Hoang is a Vietnamese-American filmmaker and editor. In 2020, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Television Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. She has had the opportunity to work in the editorial department for two Asian American run companies: Wong Fu Productions and Jubilee Media. Her editing work overall has been for films recognized and awarded at Sundance Ignite, Newport Beach Film Festival, Freak Show Horror Film Festival, Film Shortage, and BOOOOOOOM TV, among many others. She is currently based in Los Angeles, California.
Prateek Rajagopal - Composer
Prateek is a music composer, record producer and guitar player who is a recent graduate of USC's prestigious Screen Scoring program, and has received (worldwide) recognition, accolades and awards as an artist. He has collaborated with Grammy-nominees, and has been featured on a multitude of popular media like Red Bull Music, Rolling Stone, VICE, Kerrang, Metal Injection, Prog Magazine, The Hindu, and so on for his accomplishments.
Rafaell Teixeira - Sound Designer
Rafaell Teixeira is a sound designer currently based in Los Angeles, California. He was born in Maryland, USA. Later on he moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1995. In 2014, Rafaell got his degree in music technology and started his work as a sound mixer and sound designer. After his first experience working as a sound mixer in a movie called “Thy Kingdom come” (2014), he found his passion for sound and he started his transition from a musician to a sound designer. To accomplish his goal to become a sound mixer and sound designer, Rafaell dedicated his time to improve his knowledge and his skills in order to become a professional in the area. He dedicated most part of his life to studying about sound FX and with that one of his skills is with foley which let him expand his creativity mind bringing the movies he works on to life. At this time Rafaell is living in Los Angeles, California and he is working as a sound designer and sound mixer for short films, feature films, TV shows and related events.
Charlie McCollum - Assistant Production Sound
Charlie is currently a sophomore studying Film and Television Production at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. His main focuses in the program include sound design, screenwriting, and direction. He’s incredibly excited to be a part of the sound team for this project!
Joey Zhou-Gutterman - Script Supervisor
Joey is a student at the University of Southern California currently studying Writing for Film and Television at the School of Cinematic Arts.
Israel Gomez - Physical Production
Israel is a junior at the University of Southern California, pursuing a B.F.A. in Film and TV Production and minor in the Humanities. As a Chicago-native, his film interests have been largely influenced by the diverse environment he was raised in. He loves working on projects which amplify the voices of underpriviliged groups of people - projects which have gone unsupported for far too long.
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
We appreciate any and all support towards our film. To fulfill our creative and educational goals, we are looking to raise $12,000, which will go towards renting equipment, compensating our cast and crew, COVID safety measures, and transforming our house into a 1990s New York apartment.
We are currently in pre-production for our film, and are set to shoot in December of this year. After an initial festival run in 2021, our film will be released online via Vimeo for everyone to see.
Thank you for joining us on this journey, and helping bring this project to the screen!
PETITION: Pause the SCA Production Track if USC Goes Online 2020 - http://chng.it/X8Gs8W86j2
READ: The Hollywood Reporter - "USC Film School Grapples with Reopening Amid a Pandemic" - https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/usc-film-school-grapples-reopening-a-pandemic-1305344?fbclid=IwAR2VWd3Qx-IZk8Hmq8M1O04ubcEND-tfGv3ScYML6STLDh1RbDrpMK9fRYU
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Crew Compensation
Costs $1,750
We want to compensate our crew for their contribution to this film.
Camera Rentals
Costs $1,000
We need to rent an Easy Rig, and wireless monitors and focus systems for a socially distant shoot.
G&E Rentals
Costs $440
We need to rent apple boxes, flags and silks, sandbags and other G&E equipment.
Lighting
Costs $650
We need to rent a set of Kino-Flo lighting kit and other lighting equipment.
Set Dressing
Costs $1,540
We need to purchase vintage furniture to dress the set into a 90s New York apartment.
COVID Instruction & Sanitation
Costs $650
This will go towards sanitizing the set and making sure safety protocols are followed.
Music Composing and Recording
Costs $450
This goes to our music composer and music recording engineer.
About This Team
Cameron Kostopoulos - Director
Cameron Kostopoulos is an experimental filmmaker and writer/director currently based in Los Angeles, where he is getting his BFA in Film & Television Production at USC. With a background in dance films, his work blends narrative filmmaking with poetic cinema, bringing imaginative and thought-provoking experiences to the screen. He has worked across a range of mediums including narrative and experimental films, interactive films, VR/AR experiences, and projection-based installations. His unorthodox approach to filmmaking has landed him a Semi-Finalist placement at the Student Academy Awards, as well as awards for Best Director, Best Performance, and Best Cinematography. Through his art, Cameron aims to give voice to stories of queer identity and nontraditional family structure, exploring the human condition in hopes of connecting with audiences across identities.
Gerardo Garcia - Writer
Gerardo a Latino filmmaker based in South LA, interested in telling the stories about a diversity of Latino experiences, whether that be past, present, or future. His stories always push the boundaries of what we define as reality, often blurring the lines of an altered state in our reality. Anti-Venom for a Snake tethers both the past and present into one, in how the protagonist’s memory impacts him in his present day, and also in our discussion of AIDS pandemic to reflect on the current COVID pandemic.
Val Tan - Producer
Val is from Singapore! Val is not an actor, dancer, singer, or vegetarian, but saw how many filmmakers try to portray themselves as multifaceted artists and wants to add those words to her bio. Val is also currently not best known for any film, but wants to be best known for that magical realism dark social commentary art house film. Val IS known to be an optimist and risk-taking filmmaker, and hopes to make films that showcase different voices in the community and bring a positive message.
Alex Jiang - Producer
Alex is a senior BFA student at USC majoring in in Film & Television Production and minoring in Art History. She is from Shenzhen, China. She works as a writer, director, and producer both in China and in the US.
Deeksha Marla - Associate Producer
Deeksha is a senior Film and TV Production major at USC. She is a TV comedy lover and has previously worked at companies such as HBO and WarnerMedia. She hopes to become a showrunner/ writer/ actress in the future.
Vasilisa Belokon - Assistant Director
Vasilisa is a Junior at USC, majoring in Cinema and Media Studies. She is natively Russian, but was raised in Madrid, Spain. Vasilisa has been an assistant director on several USC shorts as well as independent projects. She enjoys working on stories that shed light on issues that underrepresented communities face, hence her involvement in this project.
Gabe Guarano - Gaffer/Director of Photography
Gabe is a USC Senior film production student from San Diego. He got his start making childhood epics with his big family, and later these movies were replaced with the adversities of everyday people. He’s had films screen at AFI fest, NFFTY, and the LA Film Fest.
Ethan Denning - First Assistant Camera
Ethan Denning is a filmmaker from Atlanta, Georgia studying film and television production at USC. He loves cameras and traveling around in his VW bus.
Aaron Gallegos - Second Assistant Camera
Aaron Gallegos is a filmmaker who is originally from Ecuador. He is now a sophomore at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California as a Film & Television Production major. He has also expanded his experience by working on other student productions on campus in different roles.
Jamie Sanger - Gaffer
Jamie is an LA native, studying Film and Theatre at USC. He believes strongly in the power of multi-hyphenate artists and works professionally as an actor, writer, director/dp and gaffer.
Wendy Hui - Production Designer
Wendy Hui was born in China and raised in Los Angeles. She’s a senior at the University of Southern California, pursuing a B.F.A. in Theatre Design and a minor in Cinematic Arts. She strives to amplify BIPOC voices in the most authentic way, allowing modern generation and viewers of all cultural backgrounds to adequately examine important subject matters such as racial and gender equality.
Jesse Valdez - Props Master
Jesse is a current Junior at the University of Southern California. She is double majoring in Cinema and Media Studies and Anthropology and minoring in Folklore and Popular Culture. She is a comedy writer and loves to make people laugh.
Andre Mershad - Costume Designer
Andre is a multi-faceted artist who has worked mainly in film & drag makeup artistry and performance art. He has experience in concept creation and costume design. He is very excited to be working on a project that aligns with hispassions and talents, such as drag and queerness!
Kirsten Hoang - Editor
Kirsten Hoang is a Vietnamese-American filmmaker and editor. In 2020, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Television Production from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. She has had the opportunity to work in the editorial department for two Asian American run companies: Wong Fu Productions and Jubilee Media. Her editing work overall has been for films recognized and awarded at Sundance Ignite, Newport Beach Film Festival, Freak Show Horror Film Festival, Film Shortage, and BOOOOOOOM TV, among many others. She is currently based in Los Angeles, California.
Prateek Rajagopal - Composer
Prateek is a music composer, record producer and guitar player who is a recent graduate of USC's prestigious Screen Scoring program, and has received (worldwide) recognition, accolades and awards as an artist. He has collaborated with Grammy-nominees, and has been featured on a multitude of popular media like Red Bull Music, Rolling Stone, VICE, Kerrang, Metal Injection, Prog Magazine, The Hindu, and so on for his accomplishments.
Rafaell Teixeira - Sound Designer
Rafaell Teixeira is a sound designer currently based in Los Angeles, California. He was born in Maryland, USA. Later on he moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1995. In 2014, Rafaell got his degree in music technology and started his work as a sound mixer and sound designer. After his first experience working as a sound mixer in a movie called “Thy Kingdom come” (2014), he found his passion for sound and he started his transition from a musician to a sound designer. To accomplish his goal to become a sound mixer and sound designer, Rafaell dedicated his time to improve his knowledge and his skills in order to become a professional in the area. He dedicated most part of his life to studying about sound FX and with that one of his skills is with foley which let him expand his creativity mind bringing the movies he works on to life. At this time Rafaell is living in Los Angeles, California and he is working as a sound designer and sound mixer for short films, feature films, TV shows and related events.
Charlie McCollum - Assistant Production Sound
Charlie is currently a sophomore studying Film and Television Production at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. His main focuses in the program include sound design, screenwriting, and direction. He’s incredibly excited to be a part of the sound team for this project!
Joey Zhou-Gutterman - Script Supervisor
Joey is a student at the University of Southern California currently studying Writing for Film and Television at the School of Cinematic Arts.
Israel Gomez - Physical Production
Israel is a junior at the University of Southern California, pursuing a B.F.A. in Film and TV Production and minor in the Humanities. As a Chicago-native, his film interests have been largely influenced by the diverse environment he was raised in. He loves working on projects which amplify the voices of underpriviliged groups of people - projects which have gone unsupported for far too long.