Bring Me an Avocado
San Francisco, California | Film Feature
Drama
When a violent encounter leaves Robin in a coma, her husband, sister & best friend venture to maintain normalcy for her kids while managing their own grief. Bring me an Avocado aims to unpack the complexities of grief and further the conversation on how to better support people navigating it.
Bring Me an Avocado
San Francisco, California | Film Feature
Drama
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $22,735 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
268 supporters | followers
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When a violent encounter leaves Robin in a coma, her husband, sister & best friend venture to maintain normalcy for her kids while managing their own grief. Bring me an Avocado aims to unpack the complexities of grief and further the conversation on how to better support people navigating it.
In Partnership With
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Robin and George are parents to two vivacious little girls. They are a loving and playful couple, full of faults yet supportive of each other and willing to learn as they go. In a fateful event, Robin crosses paths with a panicky teenager who attempts to rob her at gunpoint. The violent encounter leaves Robin in a coma and her family in shock.
Her sister Greece and best friend Jada step in to help George maintain a sense of normalcy for his daughters; Jada with the intention of bringing distraction and Greece committed to providing structure. As they adapt to their new roles they find themselves in a vacation state- packed with fun, family activities that coat the shock of Robin's absence. As time passes and Robin's coma continues they are forced to face their grief and trauma in an overbearing routine that reveals the worst in all of them.
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Flights and Rooms
Costs $1,300
We've got three talented actors joining our ensemble cast from LA and New York.
Crew Rates
Costs $9,000
We wanna pay our good people a living wage for their exceptional work.
All The Food
Costs $2,000
We are working with a local up-and-coming chef who is really hooking it up for a reasonable price!
Location and Fees
Costs $2,200
Although the film mostly takes place in one house, we have a key locations that we need permits for.
Share this update!
About This Team
Maria Mealla is a Bolivian filmmaker based out of San Francisco, California. She ventured into movie-making in 2010, telling stories with talented filmmakers under the production name "Sad Clown Films". She has since written, produced and directed feature film Women and Cigarettes, a collection of romantic short films titled Business Affairs, and a handful of short films portraying lower-middle class millennials. Maria is currently working on her next feature film, Bring me an Avocado, a drama that follows a family in the aftermath of gun violence. She is an active member of Scary Cow, a Bay Area film co-op that allows filmmakers to share their skills to complete passion projects through work-trade, and the chapter head of the SF Cinefemme Director's Collective. Although her bread and butter come from producing and editing commercial work, her favorite foods are actually hot dogs and mashed potatoes. She is of average height.
Bianca Beyrouti is a seasoned Bay Area-based freelance filmmaker with an extensive track record of supporting the local independent film community. For the past seven years, she has worked extensively as a producer, assistant director, and script supervisor on a variety of narrative short films and promotional videos. She has been an active member of the Bay Area filmmaking cooperative Scary Cow for the last three years, where she has had the great fortune of connecting and collaborating with local filmmaking talent - including Maria Mealla. The narrative shorts in her filmography run the gamut from quirky dramedy (Scallywags) and modern myth (The Singing Bones) to silent action (Mime Games) and science fiction (Real Artists). In addition to her filmmaking ventures, she has also staffed the Sundance Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival. She recently joined the ITVS team as a production coordinator for the award-winning documentary series Independent Lens. Bring Me an Avocado is the first of what she hopes will be many narrative feature projects she produces.
Natalie Conneely is a Bay Area actress and Producer. Her experience in development combined with her theatrical background allowed her to jump into the producer role on several Bay Area short films, where she began to mold her skill set to fit the craft. She helped launch CNN International’s first middle eastern hub in Abu Dhabi raising and managing a $54 million dollar budget. Natalie then moved into international development and human rights work as Director of Resource Development with Dalai Lama Fellows, a San Francisco organization that the Dalai Lama authorized to reimagine global leadership based on our common humanity and interdependence.
Gavin Murray is a Bay Area native and graduate of San Francisco State University’s Cinema program. He puts his experience, ingenuity, and talent into each film he works on. Holding story and character above all, and using his background in light and lensing, he works to bring about emotive and intriguing stories to life. Shooting projects that range from music videos to narrative work, to commercials for domestic and international clients, he’s garnered a reputation as a collaborator and skilled technician and an exceptional artist.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Robin and George are parents to two vivacious little girls. They are a loving and playful couple, full of faults yet supportive of each other and willing to learn as they go. In a fateful event, Robin crosses paths with a panicky teenager who attempts to rob her at gunpoint. The violent encounter leaves Robin in a coma and her family in shock.
Her sister Greece and best friend Jada step in to help George maintain a sense of normalcy for his daughters; Jada with the intention of bringing distraction and Greece committed to providing structure. As they adapt to their new roles they find themselves in a vacation state- packed with fun, family activities that coat the shock of Robin's absence. As time passes and Robin's coma continues they are forced to face their grief and trauma in an overbearing routine that reveals the worst in all of them.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Flights and Rooms
Costs $1,300
We've got three talented actors joining our ensemble cast from LA and New York.
Crew Rates
Costs $9,000
We wanna pay our good people a living wage for their exceptional work.
All The Food
Costs $2,000
We are working with a local up-and-coming chef who is really hooking it up for a reasonable price!
Location and Fees
Costs $2,200
Although the film mostly takes place in one house, we have a key locations that we need permits for.
Share this update!
About This Team
Maria Mealla is a Bolivian filmmaker based out of San Francisco, California. She ventured into movie-making in 2010, telling stories with talented filmmakers under the production name "Sad Clown Films". She has since written, produced and directed feature film Women and Cigarettes, a collection of romantic short films titled Business Affairs, and a handful of short films portraying lower-middle class millennials. Maria is currently working on her next feature film, Bring me an Avocado, a drama that follows a family in the aftermath of gun violence. She is an active member of Scary Cow, a Bay Area film co-op that allows filmmakers to share their skills to complete passion projects through work-trade, and the chapter head of the SF Cinefemme Director's Collective. Although her bread and butter come from producing and editing commercial work, her favorite foods are actually hot dogs and mashed potatoes. She is of average height.
Bianca Beyrouti is a seasoned Bay Area-based freelance filmmaker with an extensive track record of supporting the local independent film community. For the past seven years, she has worked extensively as a producer, assistant director, and script supervisor on a variety of narrative short films and promotional videos. She has been an active member of the Bay Area filmmaking cooperative Scary Cow for the last three years, where she has had the great fortune of connecting and collaborating with local filmmaking talent - including Maria Mealla. The narrative shorts in her filmography run the gamut from quirky dramedy (Scallywags) and modern myth (The Singing Bones) to silent action (Mime Games) and science fiction (Real Artists). In addition to her filmmaking ventures, she has also staffed the Sundance Film Festival and the San Francisco International Film Festival. She recently joined the ITVS team as a production coordinator for the award-winning documentary series Independent Lens. Bring Me an Avocado is the first of what she hopes will be many narrative feature projects she produces.
Natalie Conneely is a Bay Area actress and Producer. Her experience in development combined with her theatrical background allowed her to jump into the producer role on several Bay Area short films, where she began to mold her skill set to fit the craft. She helped launch CNN International’s first middle eastern hub in Abu Dhabi raising and managing a $54 million dollar budget. Natalie then moved into international development and human rights work as Director of Resource Development with Dalai Lama Fellows, a San Francisco organization that the Dalai Lama authorized to reimagine global leadership based on our common humanity and interdependence.
Gavin Murray is a Bay Area native and graduate of San Francisco State University’s Cinema program. He puts his experience, ingenuity, and talent into each film he works on. Holding story and character above all, and using his background in light and lensing, he works to bring about emotive and intriguing stories to life. Shooting projects that range from music videos to narrative work, to commercials for domestic and international clients, he’s garnered a reputation as a collaborator and skilled technician and an exceptional artist.