At its core, “Benny” has been the same story we’ve known and loved from the beginning.  Back in March, our director Julianna wrote the rough draft of “Benny” in quarantine as a short story about the importance of holding on to your inner child.  Originally taking place in a southern California fast food joint during the summer, the story followed Val and the mysterious Benny through a journey of learning the importance of holding onto your youth.
   Once we picked up the script, we knew we’d have to get to work on making “Benny” the best it could be.  From moving the location to transitioning the time of year, we were able to keep the same sweet story and clean up the corners.  With an additional tie in to family, our story still follows the unforgettable bond between the confident little girl and the brooding fast food worker that we know and love.

   Our story takes us through the mundane life of Val, a 21-year-old high school dropout wasting away working in a run-down New England diner.  She’s got regrets and resentment that follow her through her days like a ball and chain.  When Benny, a precocious and curious little girl, keeps mysteriously appearing in the restaurant alone day after day, Val begins to take an interest.  We don’t want to give away too much, but our story follows the duo in their unconventional relationship on their journey to teach each other who they should be.

   We’re working to make “Benny” as enticing on screen as it is on paper.  Through a robust color palette of reds, greens, and golds, we want to paint a picture of Christmas, but not the fun and warm Christmas that you’re used to.  The key location in our story is a run-down diner, so we’ll need to make sure you’ll hate it just as much as Val does (in a good way, of course).  For casting, we’ll need actors who can balance Benny and Val’s humorous back and forth with the bleak backstories that make these characters who they are.   

   We want this short film to capture you like it did us.  Through some laughs, beautiful images, and an enticing soundtrack, we hope Benny will grab your hand and pull you along for the ride. 

   Our crew is a group of college film students finishing up our undergraduate degree.  Over the last four years, the six of us have taken courses on screenwriting, cinematography, editing, graphic design, animation, independent and studio production, directing, and even acting.  Through the skills we’ve learned at our university and the passion we have for this short film, we’re going to do what it takes to make “Benny” the best it can be.  We hope you’ll be on the journey with us along the way.

   The money you pledge to our campaign will go to all the necessities of our production.  Down to the basics, this will include transportation, lodging, equipment, props, and salaries.  But let’s explain that a little further.

 - Transportation & lodging: We’ll need to make sure we can provide transportation for our cast and crew.  The amount of money we raise will determine which locations we can use, and since our actors  may not necessarily live near all the locations we use, we’ll need to make sure they can get to us.
 - Equipment: while we’re able to use the equipment our school provides, there’s some items we’ll still need that they can’t provide – for example, a stabilizer so our camera isn’t shaky when we’re filming off a tripod.
 - Props: Our story takes place at Christmas time, but we won’t be filming until a few months after the holiday.  This means we’ll need to pay for decorations to stay in the holiday spirit.
 - Salaries: this one’s obvious: our actors need to get paid!

   During the pandemic, our number one priority is safety. In order to ensure everyone stays healthy, we may need to provide testing for the cast and crew on our own.  Luckily, our story follows only two main characters in a deserted restaurant, allowing us to limit the number of people on set.  However, this may prolong shooting dates and spread out our schedule.  The longer we shoot, the more it costs.  We need extra precautionary room in our budget to cover the necessary costs to keep everyone Covid safe.  Rest assured, every dollar pledged will go towards our production, and any extra money unused for Covid precautions will be allocated right back into any of the other production essentials previously mentioned.

For visual inspiration, we're looking to films like Baby Driver to achieve the dramatic, high-contrast looks we want.  Our story is emotional, and although it's about family and childhood, our main characters are in a dark place.  We're looking for color and special lighting to set the mood for our story. We want our film to look and feel real and hard-hitting.

Baby Driver (2017)