Choke
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Drama, Action
Choke is a short about a rising MMA star who hides her refugee status from her small American town, and the world. This will also serve a pitch presentation for a TV series we’re looking to produce in the future.
Choke
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Drama, Action
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $10,385 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
95 supporters | followers
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Choke is a short about a rising MMA star who hides her refugee status from her small American town, and the world. This will also serve a pitch presentation for a TV series we’re looking to produce in the future.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
CHOKE is about a successful MMA champion who hides her refugee identity from her small American town, and the world. Sara and her family are Muslim refugees who’ve escaped the vicious war in Syria and flee to the Unites States, where she fights for a new life in the brutal sport of mix martial arts.
The central themes of identity, racism, and fear are heightened by Sara’s struggle between modesty and boldness, aggression and repression, and oscillation between pride of who she is, and shame of where she came from.
The words “Muslim” and “immigrant” are so charged with electrifying heaviness in today’s environment. Just when we think the anti-immigrant sentiment has reached fever pitch in this country, the spikes of vicious rhetoric push the stakes higher.
We truly believe it’s time for a different kind of immigrant story, one that offers a counter-illustration to the depictions of brown women on the big screen as the devout wife, or the unsuspecting terrorist, or depicting refugees as being weak and powerless instead of strong and resilient.
It’s both a challenge and an honor to depict an authentic refugee experience truthfully and with creative empathy. Being an immigrant myself and being part of a Palestinian family, I feel that my personal experience lends itself to this intent in a powerful way.
We've put in a lot of work into visual tone, performance pace, and architecting visual cues for the dueling tensions and themes in the film. It is something that audiences will definitely feel and can catch different artistic realizations after watching multiple times.
Choke is a film about identity, and the choices we make to hide parts of our selves in order to survive, especially in today's climate.
We hope the themes and message resonate with you, and if they do, we would love your influence in making this film happen.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Color Grading
Costs $1,500
Crafting the look and feel of the film through beautiful color.
Sound Design + Mix
Costs $700
Sound effects that pop with realism, and mixing clean dialogue.
Music Licensing
Costs $1,000
Music from renowned artists from Syria and the Middle East that connect authentically to the film.
DCP + Film Export
Costs $500
Digital Camera Package exports used by festivals for screenings.
Share this update!
About This Team
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
CHOKE is about a successful MMA champion who hides her refugee identity from her small American town, and the world. Sara and her family are Muslim refugees who’ve escaped the vicious war in Syria and flee to the Unites States, where she fights for a new life in the brutal sport of mix martial arts.
The central themes of identity, racism, and fear are heightened by Sara’s struggle between modesty and boldness, aggression and repression, and oscillation between pride of who she is, and shame of where she came from.
The words “Muslim” and “immigrant” are so charged with electrifying heaviness in today’s environment. Just when we think the anti-immigrant sentiment has reached fever pitch in this country, the spikes of vicious rhetoric push the stakes higher.
We truly believe it’s time for a different kind of immigrant story, one that offers a counter-illustration to the depictions of brown women on the big screen as the devout wife, or the unsuspecting terrorist, or depicting refugees as being weak and powerless instead of strong and resilient.
It’s both a challenge and an honor to depict an authentic refugee experience truthfully and with creative empathy. Being an immigrant myself and being part of a Palestinian family, I feel that my personal experience lends itself to this intent in a powerful way.
We've put in a lot of work into visual tone, performance pace, and architecting visual cues for the dueling tensions and themes in the film. It is something that audiences will definitely feel and can catch different artistic realizations after watching multiple times.
Choke is a film about identity, and the choices we make to hide parts of our selves in order to survive, especially in today's climate.
We hope the themes and message resonate with you, and if they do, we would love your influence in making this film happen.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Color Grading
Costs $1,500
Crafting the look and feel of the film through beautiful color.
Sound Design + Mix
Costs $700
Sound effects that pop with realism, and mixing clean dialogue.
Music Licensing
Costs $1,000
Music from renowned artists from Syria and the Middle East that connect authentically to the film.
DCP + Film Export
Costs $500
Digital Camera Package exports used by festivals for screenings.
Share this update!
About This Team