BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL
New York City, New York | Film Short
Comedy, Thriller
Our film is about not taking your gifts for granted, and respecting the power of education. We aim to amplify diverse voices both in front of and behind the camera. Your support literally means the world.
BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL
New York City, New York | Film Short
Comedy, Thriller
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $25,365 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
49 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Our film is about not taking your gifts for granted, and respecting the power of education. We aim to amplify diverse voices both in front of and behind the camera. Your support literally means the world.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WE REACHED OUR FIRST GOAL! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
In this darkly comedic short thriller, highly intelligent yet cynical teenager, Ruby, embarks on a gripping journey. As she discovers the true essence of embracing education with her whole heart, she finds that it can literally be a matter of life or death. Prepare for an exhilarating ride that will challenge your perceptions and leave you on the edge of your seat. We've assembled a team of passionate, talented collaborators to bring this project to life.
I love telling stories that embrace both dark comedy and drama. Now more than ever before it's important to challenge the way we see the world and the people around us. In a climate where our education systems are under attack, and wonderful young minds are often left without proper educational mentorship, I wanted to shine the spotlight on a young black genius (Ruby) who has superb academic prowess, but refuses to fully commit to developing and enhancing this gift.
Your contributions will help us reach our PRODUCTION and POST PRODUCTION budget goals. When we reach this goal, we hope to continue on with a STRETCH GOAL in order to fund a more robust post-production, as well as festival submissions and travel costs. We'll then reach out to all of our connections to secure a distribution outlet that will attract many more eyes to our adrenaline-pumping short film.
- Pledge
- Follow us @betrueshortfilm
- Share this campaign with someone else please!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Art Direction
Costs $1,900
Someone to help with set dressing, props and the overall look for the set.
Cinematographer & Camera crew
Costs $5,000
These are the people that will help bring the the film to life visually
camera and lenses
Costs $2,500
We want this baby to look good. And it starts with a great camera.
Editor
Costs $750
A director is only as good as the person who helps put the pieces of the puzzle together to create final look of the film.
Costumes Designer & Wardrobe
Costs $750
Clothes for the characters in our film, which will add to the visual richness of the world.
Transportation
Costs $1,500
We need a van to get our cast to and from set. As well as a truck to have a central place to stage and move cameras and equipment.
Production Assistants
Costs $400
We need as many helping hands as we can get, and we want to provide experience and opportunity for someone interested in film production.
Sound mix and composer
Costs $1,000
A pro sound mix and expert musical composition are key to making a great film.
Color correction & FX
Costs $1,500
This helps the film picture quality look the absolute best.
Share this update!
About This Team
FRANK HARTS (writer/director) next stars opposite Colman Domingo and Chris Rock in the film RUSTIN directed by George C. Wolfe, and produced by President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama's Higher Ground for Netflix. He play civil rights icon James Farmer, Jr.
On the comedy front Frank recently guest-starred on the hilarious season three premiere of HBO Max original series SOUTH SIDE.
Raised in the Midwest, Frank is of mixed heritage with Southern roots on the African-American side and Brooklyn roots on the Irish side.
Frank went directly from training at Juilliard onto Broadway as George Murchison in the Tony Award Winning production of A Raisin in The Sun. He has also performed leading roles for The Public Theater, Signature, and Lincoln Center.
On camera Frank has worked with notable film directors Spike Lee, Jason Bateman, Jim Jarmusch, Steve McQueen, and Kenneth Branagh.
Frank enjoyed portraying the series regular role JT Tarmel for Fox & Warner Bros on PRODIGAL SON. Several Guest-Star recurs include Billions, The Blacklist, The Americans, The Leftovers, Blue Bloods, Bull, 30 Rock, and Master of None in the critically acclaimed episode “New York, I Love You.”
His award-winning short film Two Wongs, which he wrote and directed, premiered at over twelve festivals in major cities in 2022/23, and won best short film and best score at several.
Devin E. Haqq (he/him) is an Emmy nominated producer, a member of the Fiasco Theater Acting Company, an IFP alumni, and a Finalist for the HBOAccess 2020 Directing Fellowship. His feature film, Ambition’s Debt, won the 2017 Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the prestigious American Black Film Festival (ABFF) and the 2018 Paul Robeson Award-Honorable Mention at the Newark Black Film Festival. Recently, Devin produced the short film Cupids, directed by Zoey Martinson, which had its world premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival as part of the 8:46 Films Initiative sponsored by Procter & Gamble (2022 NAACP Image Award Nominee). Cupids has since gone on to play at some of the top film festivals around the world, including Woodstock, Cambridge, Chicago International Film Festival (Gold Hugo Award Nominee), Riverrun, The American Pavilion at Cannes, and recently aired on CBS & BET networks. His latest short film project, The Mark, was nominated for Best Horror at the Academy qualifying 2020 LA Shorts International Film Festival and won Best Narrative Short at the 2021 Atlanta Shortsfest. His feature script Exposure was a Finalist in the 2021 ScreenCraft Sci-fi & Fantasy Screenplay Competition and is now optioned by Create Entertainment. Devin made his stage directorial debut in 2020 with a much-celebrated production of the critically acclaimed Pass Over by Antionette Nwandu at Luna Stage in West Orange, NJ. He has since gone on to direct workshops and staff as an associate director on productions for such organizations as The Public Theatre, The Folger, Shakespeare’s Globe, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Fiasco, and the National Black Theatre.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WE REACHED OUR FIRST GOAL! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
In this darkly comedic short thriller, highly intelligent yet cynical teenager, Ruby, embarks on a gripping journey. As she discovers the true essence of embracing education with her whole heart, she finds that it can literally be a matter of life or death. Prepare for an exhilarating ride that will challenge your perceptions and leave you on the edge of your seat. We've assembled a team of passionate, talented collaborators to bring this project to life.
I love telling stories that embrace both dark comedy and drama. Now more than ever before it's important to challenge the way we see the world and the people around us. In a climate where our education systems are under attack, and wonderful young minds are often left without proper educational mentorship, I wanted to shine the spotlight on a young black genius (Ruby) who has superb academic prowess, but refuses to fully commit to developing and enhancing this gift.
Your contributions will help us reach our PRODUCTION and POST PRODUCTION budget goals. When we reach this goal, we hope to continue on with a STRETCH GOAL in order to fund a more robust post-production, as well as festival submissions and travel costs. We'll then reach out to all of our connections to secure a distribution outlet that will attract many more eyes to our adrenaline-pumping short film.
- Pledge
- Follow us @betrueshortfilm
- Share this campaign with someone else please!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Art Direction
Costs $1,900
Someone to help with set dressing, props and the overall look for the set.
Cinematographer & Camera crew
Costs $5,000
These are the people that will help bring the the film to life visually
camera and lenses
Costs $2,500
We want this baby to look good. And it starts with a great camera.
Editor
Costs $750
A director is only as good as the person who helps put the pieces of the puzzle together to create final look of the film.
Costumes Designer & Wardrobe
Costs $750
Clothes for the characters in our film, which will add to the visual richness of the world.
Transportation
Costs $1,500
We need a van to get our cast to and from set. As well as a truck to have a central place to stage and move cameras and equipment.
Production Assistants
Costs $400
We need as many helping hands as we can get, and we want to provide experience and opportunity for someone interested in film production.
Sound mix and composer
Costs $1,000
A pro sound mix and expert musical composition are key to making a great film.
Color correction & FX
Costs $1,500
This helps the film picture quality look the absolute best.
Share this update!
About This Team
FRANK HARTS (writer/director) next stars opposite Colman Domingo and Chris Rock in the film RUSTIN directed by George C. Wolfe, and produced by President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama's Higher Ground for Netflix. He play civil rights icon James Farmer, Jr.
On the comedy front Frank recently guest-starred on the hilarious season three premiere of HBO Max original series SOUTH SIDE.
Raised in the Midwest, Frank is of mixed heritage with Southern roots on the African-American side and Brooklyn roots on the Irish side.
Frank went directly from training at Juilliard onto Broadway as George Murchison in the Tony Award Winning production of A Raisin in The Sun. He has also performed leading roles for The Public Theater, Signature, and Lincoln Center.
On camera Frank has worked with notable film directors Spike Lee, Jason Bateman, Jim Jarmusch, Steve McQueen, and Kenneth Branagh.
Frank enjoyed portraying the series regular role JT Tarmel for Fox & Warner Bros on PRODIGAL SON. Several Guest-Star recurs include Billions, The Blacklist, The Americans, The Leftovers, Blue Bloods, Bull, 30 Rock, and Master of None in the critically acclaimed episode “New York, I Love You.”
His award-winning short film Two Wongs, which he wrote and directed, premiered at over twelve festivals in major cities in 2022/23, and won best short film and best score at several.
Devin E. Haqq (he/him) is an Emmy nominated producer, a member of the Fiasco Theater Acting Company, an IFP alumni, and a Finalist for the HBOAccess 2020 Directing Fellowship. His feature film, Ambition’s Debt, won the 2017 Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the prestigious American Black Film Festival (ABFF) and the 2018 Paul Robeson Award-Honorable Mention at the Newark Black Film Festival. Recently, Devin produced the short film Cupids, directed by Zoey Martinson, which had its world premiere at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival as part of the 8:46 Films Initiative sponsored by Procter & Gamble (2022 NAACP Image Award Nominee). Cupids has since gone on to play at some of the top film festivals around the world, including Woodstock, Cambridge, Chicago International Film Festival (Gold Hugo Award Nominee), Riverrun, The American Pavilion at Cannes, and recently aired on CBS & BET networks. His latest short film project, The Mark, was nominated for Best Horror at the Academy qualifying 2020 LA Shorts International Film Festival and won Best Narrative Short at the 2021 Atlanta Shortsfest. His feature script Exposure was a Finalist in the 2021 ScreenCraft Sci-fi & Fantasy Screenplay Competition and is now optioned by Create Entertainment. Devin made his stage directorial debut in 2020 with a much-celebrated production of the critically acclaimed Pass Over by Antionette Nwandu at Luna Stage in West Orange, NJ. He has since gone on to direct workshops and staff as an associate director on productions for such organizations as The Public Theatre, The Folger, Shakespeare’s Globe, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Fiasco, and the National Black Theatre.