Our cast and crew will be gender, age, and minority inclusive. A few crew spots and internships will be offered to students of a local university with one of the most diverse populations in Texas. In addition, we are 50+ year-old female filmmakers, an age and voice often underrepresented in film.

Please follow our campaign by clicking the FOLLOW button! Thanks to Seed & Spark and Duplass Brothers Productions, we have a special opportunity to have Duplass Brothers Productions sign on as an Executive Producer of our project.  This will allow us to benefit from their extensive knowledge of independent film production and their connections  when we are seeking distribution and film festival showings.  But we can't get there without great followers and supporters like you so please, FOLLOW our page and DONATE if you can.

 

And now, a little bit about our movie's story and this campaign...

 

 

 

 

The story of BABYDOLL revolves around Robby Hayes.  Robby was once part of a wildly successful country music duo.

 

 

 

At the height of their success, he left to focus on writing songs that were more than empty country pop. But sixteen years later, he’s washing dishes, living alone in the storage room of a small town diner, and struggling to write those songs.

 

 

 

The only thing he still owns - the only thing he still cares about - is his prized guitar, Babydoll. 

 

 

 

But when Babydoll is stolen, Robby is forced to re-engage with the world in order to find her. That’s when he runs into 15-year-old Kemah, the daughter of a former band groupie. Actually, she's run away from summer camp to track Robby down.

 

 

She's looking for a way to connect to a father she's never met and she's sure Robby can help her. Robby isn't interested but Kemah has just inherited the one thing he needs to get Babydoll back - a car. 

 

 

 

They make a deal: Kemah will drive him across Texas to find Babyoll, then Robby will introduce her to the man she believes is her father - the famous former music partner Robby hasn't seen in 16 years.

 

BABYDOLL is about reconciliation and self-forgiveness, the importance of a positive father-daughter relationship, and how the collaborative experience of making music can create family.

 

 

Much of the story comes from my personal experience.  My father left our family when I was 14 and while I did see him occasionally, we never developed a father-daughter bond. Much has been said about the importance of the mother-daughter relationship and I’m lucky to have been raised by a strong and encouraging mother. But as I’ve gotten older, it’s clear to me that a strong father-daughter relationship is an important, but all too often missing, key in empowering young women and their future success. This experience helped me in creating the character of 15-year-old Kemah and understanding her desire to know her father.

 

But if family bonds aren’t born, they can be created.  Working musicians are members of my family and extended family. They get along and they squabble with members of their bands but the act of collaborating to make music binds them together. In addition, key members of our production team and I are life-long residents of Texas. We grew up in the small towns around Austin, listening to Texas music and dancing in its historic rural dance halls. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texas has a vibrant music culture and a respect for songwriters who can craft a good tune and tell a great story. Songwriting is unique in the arts in that the words may tell the story, but the music evokes the emotion that tells us how to feel about it.  However, in the long run, songwriting isn’t really a solo venture...other musicians help carry the story and an audience shares it. 

 

 

 

In this screenplay, I paint a vivid picture of a musician’s life in Texas – the songwriters who labor to craft a good tune and tell a great story, the $50-a-night gigs, the late nights, hoping for success and living with regret. Robby may have left his famous music partner but they are still bound together by their music. When Robby finally addresses the mistakes of his past and makes the decision to include Kemah and her mother in his future, he’s able to reconnect to his music.

 

If you're wondering if $7500 is enough to make a feature film, the answer is NO!  The money we raise here on Seed & Spark will allow us to hire a local Casting Director to help us find the best actors possible for this project, acquire the film rights for the music of a Texas songwriter, and to lock down the right filming locations. Any money we're able to raise over and above the $7500  will be used directly for production and will help us get one step closer to the big screen. Raising funds through crowdfunding  also helps us show investors that there is already an audience for our project.

 

But it isn't just money. Every supporter and follower gets us closer to winning the grand prize, AND there are great prizes for every benchmark we hit along the way. This is not a  journey we can take alone - we NEED you along with us!

 

And we want you to have some goodies too. We've got some great and fun rewards for every level of donation! Check them out under the INCENTIVES banner, and come be a part of our film and music making family.

 

 

 

Here are some easy ways that you can join us on this adventure:

 

- Click the FOLLOW button on our page. In order to be considered for the Hometown Heroes finals, we need at least 1000 followers!  We need you!  So go ahead, CLICK THE BUTTON!

- SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! Please share our page to your social media platforms. Tell your best friend, your mom, that neighbor who plays guitar, your co-workers, your dad, your ex from high school, or anyone who is interested in film, songwriting, Texas or looking to do a good deed for the day!

- Contribute financially to the campaign (any amount is AMAZING!) and be a part of helping us WIN the rally and bring this story to life!

 

The reality is that we won't get there without you, so please FOLLOW our page and DONATE if you can.