BACKFLIP JUSTICE
Los Angeles, California | Series
Crime, Comedy
In the Vegas desert, a misfit trio runs a roadside taquería that becomes the site of a robbery gone wrong and a romance gone right.
BACKFLIP JUSTICE
Los Angeles, California | Series
Crime, Comedy
0 Campaigns | California, United States
In the Vegas desert, a misfit trio runs a roadside taquería that becomes the site of a robbery gone wrong and a romance gone right.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Most crime shows are about brilliant people solving problems.
BACKFLIP JUSTICE is about barely-qualified people who try anyway.
"I don't do good with weird! Ok? Especially since you think he's weird."
Welcome to the desert fringe outside Las Vegas. Populated with weirdos, loners and outsiders - where the tacos are sacred, the AC is broken, and justice is shall we say... improvised.
Enter, BACKFLIP, the tender-hearted cook with Olympic abs and a philosopher’s streak.
CHANCHO, Taco Justice's owner with a gift for panic.
GENIENNE, the waitress with a Rocky Horror side hustle and terrible taste in men.
and PEACHES, a gossip-savvy drag queen and Taco Justice's most loyal customer.
WHAT IS BACKFLIP?
Imagine if THE BEAR were actually a comedy. Imagine if ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING had no budget. Imagine if SEINFELD were exactly the way it is. Perfect, you are imagining... BACKFLIP JUSTICE.
When a wounded thief stumbles into the local taqueria our show's heroes lives explode into chaos, triggering a mystery that begins with a robbery and builds to a kidnapping. This is the first episode (aka PILOT) of our original indie TV show.
After our first episode's climatic kidnapping the show is a lit fuse on a stick of weird dynamite. And all the unanswered questions become its MYSTERY:
Can our taco-savvy heroes get answers before it's too late to save ██████ ?
When they learn that ████ is actually not ████ will they run, or double-down and risk their lives??
And what will they do when the secret of ████ ████ ████ ████ is revealed???
WHY BACKFLIP? WHY NOW?
This show began with a question creator Mishka Trachtenberg Cardenas has been asking her whole life: "What do you do when you're caught between two worlds, and don't belong... anywhere?" In other words,
What do you do if you're... weird?
In 1978 Mishka's parents fled the Soviet Union for the U.S. where they found the freedom and religion they'd nearly lost back home. But that meant Mishka grew up caught in the middle — between her parents' hard-won faith and the loud, messy, MTV-era America that now surrounded her.
She saw what belief and identity meant to the people who knew exactly what it cost to lose them, while quietly questioning everything herself.
That tension: between who you were told to be and who you are is the heartbeat of this show.
We wanted to make a show where the question isn't just 'who did it' but 'now that you did it, who are you?' A show where the characters get to be loud and proud of their weirdness. In fact it's encouraged.
And this show hasn't been built alone. Mishka has three weirdo collaborators who've worked together long enough to trust each other with their weird stuff: producer and lead actor Juan Javier Cardenas, producer and lead actor Karis Danish, and director Jonathan T. Coleman. Four people. One show.
A lot of tacos.
THE BACKFLIP TIMELINE
Principal photography on the Backflip Justice pilot is complete. This campaign will help us finish post-production and prepare the pilot episode for its festival and industry debut, while simultaneously prepping for the remaining episodes of Season 1.
Estimated Deadlines:
- Picture Lock: End of September 2026
- Color Complete: October 2026
- Music Complete: October 2026
- Sound Mix Complete: October 2026
- Festival Run Begins: January–February 2027
We’ll keep backers updated throughout post-production and the festival journey - every contribution goes directly toward bringing Backflip Justice to a global audience.
JOIN OUR BACKFLIP FAMILY:
You can make a contribution by making a pledge (we need to collect at least 80% of our crowdfunding goal to keep our funds). You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item. You decide what fits your budget. No pledge is too small - every dollar makes a difference in making our show possible!
We have some awesome gifts including a THANK YOU credit, a PRIVATE CAST-READ-THROUGH of a future episode, and so much more! There are also credits available that will get your company or name front and center -- you truly will have brought this film to life and will have the screen and IMDb credits to prove it!
SPREAD THE WORD!
Please share this page with anyone you think would be interested in seeing a film like this come alive!
Follow our journey on Instagram @BackflipJustice (???) to get news and updates. Repost our pictures and videos, DM us questions, comment what you like!
We cannot do this without your help, but the train is pulling out of the station fast - are you ready to hop on this moving train with us? We can promise it'll be an adventure :)
~ Mishka, Juan, Karis, Jonathan
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Costs $6,000
Composing the emotional language of the film.
COLORIST
Costs $2,200
Bringing the film’s visual tone to life.
MUSIC LICENSING
Costs $2,400
Ensuring the music we use is cleared, protected, and impactful.
FESTIVALS COSTS
Costs $4,500
Getting the film seen, shared, and hopefully celebrated everywhere.
FULL SEASON PRE-PRODUCTION
Costs $8,000
Production insurance to protect the team, equipment, and locations.
SOUND FX AND SOUND DESIGN
Costs $2,400
Where the film finds its texture and tension.
WRITER'S ROOM
Costs $10,000
Help us pay writers (NOT A.I.) to break open this world, explore more of the Nevada desert, and most importantly - LEARN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!
DELIVERABLES FOR FESTIVALS
Costs $4,500
DCP, POSTERS, HARD DRIVES, etc
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
WRITER: MISHKA TRACHTENBERG CARDENAS
Mishka earned her MFA in Acting from the FSU Asolo Conservatory, performing in productions including Inventing Van Gogh, Three Sisters, and Amadeus. She later transitioned into filmmaking through costume design, spending years working on independent films before shifting her focus to writing. Over the past seven years, she has grown her production company, Rabiosa Pictures, and created multiple award-winning short films, including Dancing to Jericho, Los Coyotes, and The Kids From Hunts. Her work centers on dark, character-driven dramedy that explores the human psyche with humor, vulnerability, and an undercurrent of love.
DIRECTOR: JONATHAN T. COLEMAN
Jonathan is the Executive Vice President of Guy Walks Into A Bar Productions. His feature credits include Sully, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks, and the World War II drama Bonhoeffer, which received a nationwide theatrical release in 2024. He's developed and collaborated on series for MGM (Earth Abides), ABC (Mercury 13, with Jessica Chastain), NBC (The Search), FOX (Cyclops), and Netflix (American Sherlock).
As a director, his award-winning short films have screened at festivals including the Cannes American Pavilion, Seattle International Film Festival, and Cleveland International Film Festival.
PRODUCER: KARIS DANISH
Karis is a producer, editor and director in film, commercials, and digital media. She won a WEBBY in 2023 producing content for Apartment Therapy Media. She is also a film, television and theater actor. Recently she’s been seen in TV shows such as the Blacklist (NBC), FBI Most Wanted (CBS) and Almost Family (FOX). She produced and acted in Dear Owner which one Programmer’s Choice Awards at both Cleveland International Film Festival and Pittsburgh Shorts. It screened in the Emerging Filmmaker’s Showcase at Cannes Film Festival in 2025.
PRODUCER: JUAN JAVIER CARDENAS
Juan is a versatile actor and producer known for his compelling performances across television and film. He gained prominence with his role as Dante in AMC's The Walking Dead, and has delivered memorable performances in series such as FX's Snowfall and HBO Max's Gordita Chronicles.
In addition to his acting career, Cardenas has expanded into producing, with credits including the short film Los Coyotes and the mini-series The Kids from Hunts.
CO-PRODUCER: RYAN POWERS
Ryan is an award-winning filmmaker and actor whose work blends dark comedy with grounded emotional storytelling. His latest short film, Broken Art, has screened at multiple Oscar-qualifying festivals, including the Seattle International Film Festival and Cleveland International Film Festival, and won Best Short Film at the LGBTQ+ Film Festival Los Angeles.
As a director and producer, Powers is currently in post-production on feature film Sydney vs. Sean, starring T.R. Knight and Janel Parrish, and in pre-production on feature film Deluxe Ocean View, a stylized pschylogical thriller.
CO-PRODUCER: JESSIE EPSTEIN
Jessie Epstein is an actor, writer, and producer. You can see (or hear!) her in campaigns for brands such as State Farm, Secret Deodorant, and The Knot. Her first short, “Housecats,” premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Indy Shorts, garnering award nominations along the rest of its festival run. She is currently in post for two projects: God I Want You, a feature, and Blood Drive, a short.
CASTING DIRECTOR: JASON B. STAMEY
Jason is an Emmy-nominated casting director renowned for his work on groundbreaking projects within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Hulu Originals. With a career spanning over a decade at the Sarah Finn Company, he has played a pivotal role in casting acclaimed titles such as WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Secret Invasion. His contributions to WandaVision earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Most crime shows are about brilliant people solving problems.
BACKFLIP JUSTICE is about barely-qualified people who try anyway.
"I don't do good with weird! Ok? Especially since you think he's weird."
Welcome to the desert fringe outside Las Vegas. Populated with weirdos, loners and outsiders - where the tacos are sacred, the AC is broken, and justice is shall we say... improvised.
Enter, BACKFLIP, the tender-hearted cook with Olympic abs and a philosopher’s streak.
CHANCHO, Taco Justice's owner with a gift for panic.
GENIENNE, the waitress with a Rocky Horror side hustle and terrible taste in men.
and PEACHES, a gossip-savvy drag queen and Taco Justice's most loyal customer.
WHAT IS BACKFLIP?
Imagine if THE BEAR were actually a comedy. Imagine if ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING had no budget. Imagine if SEINFELD were exactly the way it is. Perfect, you are imagining... BACKFLIP JUSTICE.
When a wounded thief stumbles into the local taqueria our show's heroes lives explode into chaos, triggering a mystery that begins with a robbery and builds to a kidnapping. This is the first episode (aka PILOT) of our original indie TV show.
After our first episode's climatic kidnapping the show is a lit fuse on a stick of weird dynamite. And all the unanswered questions become its MYSTERY:
Can our taco-savvy heroes get answers before it's too late to save ██████ ?
When they learn that ████ is actually not ████ will they run, or double-down and risk their lives??
And what will they do when the secret of ████ ████ ████ ████ is revealed???
WHY BACKFLIP? WHY NOW?
This show began with a question creator Mishka Trachtenberg Cardenas has been asking her whole life: "What do you do when you're caught between two worlds, and don't belong... anywhere?" In other words,
What do you do if you're... weird?
In 1978 Mishka's parents fled the Soviet Union for the U.S. where they found the freedom and religion they'd nearly lost back home. But that meant Mishka grew up caught in the middle — between her parents' hard-won faith and the loud, messy, MTV-era America that now surrounded her.
She saw what belief and identity meant to the people who knew exactly what it cost to lose them, while quietly questioning everything herself.
That tension: between who you were told to be and who you are is the heartbeat of this show.
We wanted to make a show where the question isn't just 'who did it' but 'now that you did it, who are you?' A show where the characters get to be loud and proud of their weirdness. In fact it's encouraged.
And this show hasn't been built alone. Mishka has three weirdo collaborators who've worked together long enough to trust each other with their weird stuff: producer and lead actor Juan Javier Cardenas, producer and lead actor Karis Danish, and director Jonathan T. Coleman. Four people. One show.
A lot of tacos.
THE BACKFLIP TIMELINE
Principal photography on the Backflip Justice pilot is complete. This campaign will help us finish post-production and prepare the pilot episode for its festival and industry debut, while simultaneously prepping for the remaining episodes of Season 1.
Estimated Deadlines:
- Picture Lock: End of September 2026
- Color Complete: October 2026
- Music Complete: October 2026
- Sound Mix Complete: October 2026
- Festival Run Begins: January–February 2027
We’ll keep backers updated throughout post-production and the festival journey - every contribution goes directly toward bringing Backflip Justice to a global audience.
JOIN OUR BACKFLIP FAMILY:
You can make a contribution by making a pledge (we need to collect at least 80% of our crowdfunding goal to keep our funds). You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item. You decide what fits your budget. No pledge is too small - every dollar makes a difference in making our show possible!
We have some awesome gifts including a THANK YOU credit, a PRIVATE CAST-READ-THROUGH of a future episode, and so much more! There are also credits available that will get your company or name front and center -- you truly will have brought this film to life and will have the screen and IMDb credits to prove it!
SPREAD THE WORD!
Please share this page with anyone you think would be interested in seeing a film like this come alive!
Follow our journey on Instagram @BackflipJustice (???) to get news and updates. Repost our pictures and videos, DM us questions, comment what you like!
We cannot do this without your help, but the train is pulling out of the station fast - are you ready to hop on this moving train with us? We can promise it'll be an adventure :)
~ Mishka, Juan, Karis, Jonathan
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Costs $6,000
Composing the emotional language of the film.
COLORIST
Costs $2,200
Bringing the film’s visual tone to life.
MUSIC LICENSING
Costs $2,400
Ensuring the music we use is cleared, protected, and impactful.
FESTIVALS COSTS
Costs $4,500
Getting the film seen, shared, and hopefully celebrated everywhere.
FULL SEASON PRE-PRODUCTION
Costs $8,000
Production insurance to protect the team, equipment, and locations.
SOUND FX AND SOUND DESIGN
Costs $2,400
Where the film finds its texture and tension.
WRITER'S ROOM
Costs $10,000
Help us pay writers (NOT A.I.) to break open this world, explore more of the Nevada desert, and most importantly - LEARN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!
DELIVERABLES FOR FESTIVALS
Costs $4,500
DCP, POSTERS, HARD DRIVES, etc
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
WRITER: MISHKA TRACHTENBERG CARDENAS
Mishka earned her MFA in Acting from the FSU Asolo Conservatory, performing in productions including Inventing Van Gogh, Three Sisters, and Amadeus. She later transitioned into filmmaking through costume design, spending years working on independent films before shifting her focus to writing. Over the past seven years, she has grown her production company, Rabiosa Pictures, and created multiple award-winning short films, including Dancing to Jericho, Los Coyotes, and The Kids From Hunts. Her work centers on dark, character-driven dramedy that explores the human psyche with humor, vulnerability, and an undercurrent of love.
DIRECTOR: JONATHAN T. COLEMAN
Jonathan is the Executive Vice President of Guy Walks Into A Bar Productions. His feature credits include Sully, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks, and the World War II drama Bonhoeffer, which received a nationwide theatrical release in 2024. He's developed and collaborated on series for MGM (Earth Abides), ABC (Mercury 13, with Jessica Chastain), NBC (The Search), FOX (Cyclops), and Netflix (American Sherlock).
As a director, his award-winning short films have screened at festivals including the Cannes American Pavilion, Seattle International Film Festival, and Cleveland International Film Festival.
PRODUCER: KARIS DANISH
Karis is a producer, editor and director in film, commercials, and digital media. She won a WEBBY in 2023 producing content for Apartment Therapy Media. She is also a film, television and theater actor. Recently she’s been seen in TV shows such as the Blacklist (NBC), FBI Most Wanted (CBS) and Almost Family (FOX). She produced and acted in Dear Owner which one Programmer’s Choice Awards at both Cleveland International Film Festival and Pittsburgh Shorts. It screened in the Emerging Filmmaker’s Showcase at Cannes Film Festival in 2025.
PRODUCER: JUAN JAVIER CARDENAS
Juan is a versatile actor and producer known for his compelling performances across television and film. He gained prominence with his role as Dante in AMC's The Walking Dead, and has delivered memorable performances in series such as FX's Snowfall and HBO Max's Gordita Chronicles.
In addition to his acting career, Cardenas has expanded into producing, with credits including the short film Los Coyotes and the mini-series The Kids from Hunts.
CO-PRODUCER: RYAN POWERS
Ryan is an award-winning filmmaker and actor whose work blends dark comedy with grounded emotional storytelling. His latest short film, Broken Art, has screened at multiple Oscar-qualifying festivals, including the Seattle International Film Festival and Cleveland International Film Festival, and won Best Short Film at the LGBTQ+ Film Festival Los Angeles.
As a director and producer, Powers is currently in post-production on feature film Sydney vs. Sean, starring T.R. Knight and Janel Parrish, and in pre-production on feature film Deluxe Ocean View, a stylized pschylogical thriller.
CO-PRODUCER: JESSIE EPSTEIN
Jessie Epstein is an actor, writer, and producer. You can see (or hear!) her in campaigns for brands such as State Farm, Secret Deodorant, and The Knot. Her first short, “Housecats,” premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Indy Shorts, garnering award nominations along the rest of its festival run. She is currently in post for two projects: God I Want You, a feature, and Blood Drive, a short.
CASTING DIRECTOR: JASON B. STAMEY
Jason is an Emmy-nominated casting director renowned for his work on groundbreaking projects within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Hulu Originals. With a career spanning over a decade at the Sarah Finn Company, he has played a pivotal role in casting acclaimed titles such as WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Secret Invasion. His contributions to WandaVision earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.