Baquine Friends Forever
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama
BAQUINE FRIENDS FOREVER follows Brooklynite Gary as he learns how to mourn the loss of his best friend Carmen, who recently died of an accidental overdose. A simple night out becomes a trip through the looking glass filled with magical realism and Puerto Rican mythology.
Baquine Friends Forever
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $21,965 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
107 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
BAQUINE FRIENDS FOREVER follows Brooklynite Gary as he learns how to mourn the loss of his best friend Carmen, who recently died of an accidental overdose. A simple night out becomes a trip through the looking glass filled with magical realism and Puerto Rican mythology.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
What Would You Do if the Ghost of Your Best Friend Wouldn't Leave You Alone?
It’s a cold night in Bed-Stuy and Gary keeps seeing his dead best friend Carmen around every corner. As he spends the night avoiding Carmen's memorial party, he goes to the places he and Carmen used to drink the night away. While Carmen’s ghost keeps turning up and ruining his bender, Gary has a chance encounter with Carmen’s sister, who teaches him about Baquines, a special type of wake rooted in Puerto Rican mythology. Before the night is over, Carmen's ghost helps Gary move on from the painful memory of his best friend's death.
Why me? And why THIS story?
BAQUINE FRIENDS FOREVER is a deeply personal film about the mental health struggles I experienced during the quarantine of 2020. Like many of us, I felt isolated, alone, and scared for most of that year. What pulled me from that darkness was the family and friends who reminded me that I wasn't alone. As I prepared to start working on a follow up to my previous short film Eagle, a coming of age crime drama, I was continually drawn back to the both the darkness and hope I felt during 2020. Also, as a Puerto Rican filmmaker, I wanted to create a story that shines a light on my heritage. Puerto Rican artists are constantly told that their stories are "too niche" to appeal to a wide audience, and I think BAQUINE FRIENDS FOREVER will prove that notion wrong.
Now is the perfect time for BAQUINE FRIENDS FOREVER because I believe we're all still processing the enormous shock and collective grief that came with our nationwide quarantine. The further we get from it, the less likely we are to remember the ways our intimate relationships pulled us through that incredibly difficult year. My hope is that people will watch this film and feel the urge to reinforce the relationships that get them through all of their difficult times.
What We're Building Together
All of the money we raise will go towards the following
- Production - This includes paying for cast, crew, equipment and locations. We're going to be shooting on the streets of Brooklyn and want to make sure this film is made as safely and efficiently as possible.
- Post Production - This includes editors, a sound mixer, and color grading.
- Reach Goals - Anything we make over initial funding request will go towards music licensing to secure a popular salsa song, publicity to spread word about the film and festival submissions so we can get the movie seen by as many people as possible.
The Cinematic Vision
Visually, this film is inspired by films that use quiet, movement and magical realism to highlight the internal lives of characters. We're drawing from cinematic masters like Claire Denis, Barry Jenkins, Kelly Reichardt, and Steve McQueen to tell this story.
We currently have Devon Walker (SNL) attached to play Gary and can't wait to cast the rest of these roles.
What's Next?
With your help, we're going to shoot this film in 2024. We'll make the film available online after it's festival run in 2025.
Thank you!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production
Costs $16,500
This is our production cost. It entails all the money we need to physically shoot the film!
Post Production
Costs $3,500
This money will all go towards post production. That includes editing, sound mixing and color correction.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Festival Fees
Costs $1,000
This money will be used to submit our film to festivals all over the country!
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Jose Acevedo (Writer/Director) - A writer, director and producer from the west side of Chicago, most recently Jose was an executive producer on the sitcom Everything’s Trash for Freeform. His short film Eagle screened at festivals all over the country and won the Vimeo Award at the Urbanworld festival. Previously, he served as Head of Development at Tiny Reparations, Phoebe Robinson’s production company. Before that, he was a Director of Development at Comedy Central where he developed the shows Alternatino, The President Show and Ronny Chieng: International Student, to name a few. He currently lives in Brooklyn.
Devon Walker (Lead Actor) - A featured player on Saturday Night Live, Devon is a comedian and actor from Austin, Texas. Before SNL, Devon wrote for the shows Big Mouth on Netflix and Everything's Trash on Freeform. He considers himself a husky genius.
Grace Leeson (Producer) - Grace Leeson has produced and directed on Emmy nominated shows such as Full Frontal w/ Samantha Bee, It's Personal w/ Amy Hoggart, The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper, Impractical Jokers, Indefensible w/ Jena Friedman, and Klepper. Her work is featured on networks like Vice News, TBS, TruTV, Sundance TV, IFC, Comedy Central, and much more. She is currently producing multiple independent documentaries and a live musical advice show, DEAR KIKO.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
What Would You Do if the Ghost of Your Best Friend Wouldn't Leave You Alone?
It’s a cold night in Bed-Stuy and Gary keeps seeing his dead best friend Carmen around every corner. As he spends the night avoiding Carmen's memorial party, he goes to the places he and Carmen used to drink the night away. While Carmen’s ghost keeps turning up and ruining his bender, Gary has a chance encounter with Carmen’s sister, who teaches him about Baquines, a special type of wake rooted in Puerto Rican mythology. Before the night is over, Carmen's ghost helps Gary move on from the painful memory of his best friend's death.
Why me? And why THIS story?
BAQUINE FRIENDS FOREVER is a deeply personal film about the mental health struggles I experienced during the quarantine of 2020. Like many of us, I felt isolated, alone, and scared for most of that year. What pulled me from that darkness was the family and friends who reminded me that I wasn't alone. As I prepared to start working on a follow up to my previous short film Eagle, a coming of age crime drama, I was continually drawn back to the both the darkness and hope I felt during 2020. Also, as a Puerto Rican filmmaker, I wanted to create a story that shines a light on my heritage. Puerto Rican artists are constantly told that their stories are "too niche" to appeal to a wide audience, and I think BAQUINE FRIENDS FOREVER will prove that notion wrong.
Now is the perfect time for BAQUINE FRIENDS FOREVER because I believe we're all still processing the enormous shock and collective grief that came with our nationwide quarantine. The further we get from it, the less likely we are to remember the ways our intimate relationships pulled us through that incredibly difficult year. My hope is that people will watch this film and feel the urge to reinforce the relationships that get them through all of their difficult times.
What We're Building Together
All of the money we raise will go towards the following
- Production - This includes paying for cast, crew, equipment and locations. We're going to be shooting on the streets of Brooklyn and want to make sure this film is made as safely and efficiently as possible.
- Post Production - This includes editors, a sound mixer, and color grading.
- Reach Goals - Anything we make over initial funding request will go towards music licensing to secure a popular salsa song, publicity to spread word about the film and festival submissions so we can get the movie seen by as many people as possible.
The Cinematic Vision
Visually, this film is inspired by films that use quiet, movement and magical realism to highlight the internal lives of characters. We're drawing from cinematic masters like Claire Denis, Barry Jenkins, Kelly Reichardt, and Steve McQueen to tell this story.
We currently have Devon Walker (SNL) attached to play Gary and can't wait to cast the rest of these roles.
What's Next?
With your help, we're going to shoot this film in 2024. We'll make the film available online after it's festival run in 2025.
Thank you!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production
Costs $16,500
This is our production cost. It entails all the money we need to physically shoot the film!
Post Production
Costs $3,500
This money will all go towards post production. That includes editing, sound mixing and color correction.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Festival Fees
Costs $1,000
This money will be used to submit our film to festivals all over the country!
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Jose Acevedo (Writer/Director) - A writer, director and producer from the west side of Chicago, most recently Jose was an executive producer on the sitcom Everything’s Trash for Freeform. His short film Eagle screened at festivals all over the country and won the Vimeo Award at the Urbanworld festival. Previously, he served as Head of Development at Tiny Reparations, Phoebe Robinson’s production company. Before that, he was a Director of Development at Comedy Central where he developed the shows Alternatino, The President Show and Ronny Chieng: International Student, to name a few. He currently lives in Brooklyn.
Devon Walker (Lead Actor) - A featured player on Saturday Night Live, Devon is a comedian and actor from Austin, Texas. Before SNL, Devon wrote for the shows Big Mouth on Netflix and Everything's Trash on Freeform. He considers himself a husky genius.
Grace Leeson (Producer) - Grace Leeson has produced and directed on Emmy nominated shows such as Full Frontal w/ Samantha Bee, It's Personal w/ Amy Hoggart, The Opposition w/ Jordan Klepper, Impractical Jokers, Indefensible w/ Jena Friedman, and Klepper. Her work is featured on networks like Vice News, TBS, TruTV, Sundance TV, IFC, Comedy Central, and much more. She is currently producing multiple independent documentaries and a live musical advice show, DEAR KIKO.