SYNOPSIS:

SLICE-OF-LIFE | FAMILY BONDS | COMING OF AGE | ALIENATION | OPIOD CRISIS

Set in a mid-south suburb, Jayden, an observant 8-year-old, is obsessed with the Wirbly, a fuzzy animatronic present she was promised on her birthday. Her grandfather, Reggie, a former military veteran, has been her involuntary father figure while her dad, Daniel, is out of work and unmotivated. But, to Reggie’s surprise, Daniel is looking sharp the day after he missed Jayden’s birthday party. Full of confidence he promises to get Jayden the coveted Wirbly. He might not have the money but Daniel does have a plan. During their quest, Jayden begins to observe who her dad is and how he moves in her developing world as he meets shades of his past, future employment hopes, and familiar foes. Just as Daniel’s luck begins to turn Jayden decides to take a risk to get what she wants and make her dad proud. But does it? 

This story is especially relevant to my family because we went through similar experiences. My brother, Jacob lost his life as he battled complications exacerbated by addiction. Buy Sell Trade is meant to depict the circumstances before a tragedy may or may not occur. Instead of ignoring it we should explore it and talk approach it, carefully.

Addiction and its effects have had a catastrophic impact in this country for people of all backgrounds. Even during the Pandemic, the opioid crisis is still a major problem in America. 

In Buy Sell Trade we follow a father on the hunt for trades to get his daughter a toy she's obsessed with. As his daughter watches him go to great lengths to try and get her what she wants she also observes how others treat her misfit dad as he struggles to get back on his feet after a recent run-in with the cops. 

Growing up you're shaped by your surroundings and who you look up to. How will children directly affected by this crisis avoid making the same mistakes themselves? 

We are currently in the pre-production phase. Our cast has been selected and we are nailing down locations and plan to begin shooting August 3rd - 8th! Our next steps are to begin storyboarding, rehearse with our actors, and begin to plan the shot list with our cinematographer!

We want to raise $7,500 we have stretch goals if/when we meet our original goal of $5K that includes the following:

• If we raise $8,500 we will be able to pay for professional sound design 
• If we raise $9,500 we will be able to pay for professional color grading
• If we raise $10,750 we will be able to pay for original music
• If we raise $11,250 we will be able to pay for transportation and hotel accommodations for cast / crew

Each contribution comes with a prize! Look to the right to find out what you'll get in return for your generosity and support! 

There are plenty of visual references for our short film. In the photos below you can see that we've taken inspiration from Shoplifters (2018), The Florida Project (2017), Mud (2012), Y Tu Mamá Tambien (2001), and Little Miss Sunshine (2006). 

Follow

Be sure to follow our campaign and stay connected to our latest updates on "Buy Sell Trade". Seed&Spark brings more eyes to this project when we build an audience through followers. The more followers the more support we get from their services!

Contribute & Pledge

You can help make this film possible by making a pledge on this page. In order to receive the funds, we must achieve 80% of this crowdfunding goal. Anything less than that and we get nothing :( 

Anything amount helps, and no pledge is too small! 

Spread the Word

The best way to reach our goal is if we are able to reach folks outside of our immediate network. You can help with that by sharing this page with your social groups! Help support this POC-led film! 

Please share our campaign via social media, email, word-of-mouth, it all helps! 

Here are some examples, feel free to use these via copy/paste:

Help out @gabrielcuillier and his POC squad by supporting his heartfelt film about a down-on-his-luck young father that is on the hunt for trades to get his daughter the toy she's obsessed with. Join them on @seedandspark: 

I just watched the BUY SELL TRADE campaign video directed by filmmaker @gabrielcuillier and WOW, you've got to support this intentional short film!  Join them on @seedandspark: bit.ly/lunchboxthefilm

Can't wait to see the final product! The short movie Buy Sell Trade, by writer @charliandrews and director @gabrielcuillier. Support them on @seedandspark: bit.ly/lunchboxthefilm

As these strange times persist, safety is most important. We plan to take the proper measures to ensure the well-being of our cast & crew. We will do that by following state and federal guidelines. We will require everyone on set to return a negative test before shooting. On top of that those that are not fully vaccinated are required to wear a mask on set while indoors and maintain at least 6 ft distance when possible. 

If any guidelines change we will be sure to adhere to those changes as well.