Collector’s Item is an 8-10 minute short thriller drama that explores themes of sexual assault, manipulation of kink, and the underestimation of women and femmes. A sub-genre of film is finally emerging around these topics and we can't let it be a short-lived trend. Support us in continuing this as a movement! 

Story

Tyler, a controlling financier, arrives home on his birthday to discover Zee, an inquisitive stranger, waiting for him. He assumes her to be a sex worker based on her demeanor, and the two circle each other like animals as they fight to establish their roles. Over their one night together, they can’t wait to show each other the unexpected collections they keep, but who will be the first to complete this reveal? 

What This Brings Up

Collector's Item does not have simple answers, but it invites the audience to ask difficult questions. How far can empowerment expand before it turns into something else? Does vengeance become so all-consuming that it leaves one disenfranchised? When we’re in a broken system, should we enforce justice with our own hands? Who has the right to judge?   

Director's Note

I want to tell this story because I am exhausted by the confines of how women and femmes have to live. They are neglected but then expected to maintain functionality. They endure unequal pay, objectification, slut-shaming, assault, physical abuse, assumed weakness, invasion of privacy, death by a thousand other cuts and yet are expected to hold everything together. However, never holding it together so well that they achieve success greater than the rigid limits of gender expectations that have been forced upon them. On a personal note, manipulative men have hurt me psychologically, and in some ways physically, in a wide range of instances throughout my life. I have experienced invasions of privacy with personal photos, betrayal, blurred lines of consent, possessive entitlement, and situations where my physical safety has been threatened by men who twist the parameters of kink. These topics can be very difficult to talk about, and there isn’t a simple singular solution. Women deserve better, femmes deserve better, survivors deserve better, and we need to be discussing what it’s going to take for that to happen. 

Start a Dialogue around Sexual Assault, Empowerment, and Justice

According to RAINN, the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization, every 73 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, yet only 5 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison. One out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed r*pe in her lifetime. We have begun to see the truth boil to the surface through movements like Time's Up and Me Too, but we need to continue having entirely candid discussions if we want long-term and legislative change. Film acts as a platform to do so, and this is a priority of our short. We will explore a blend of power dynamics because there is no right way to react to trauma, and these experiences are by no means one size fits all.

Directly Support Women in Film

By contributing to this project you are supporting emerging female filmmakers within an industry that is heavily dominated by cis men. Not only are women and nonbinary creatives underrepresented in higher levels of the industry, but they are severely outnumbered on the indie scale as well. A study from Dr. Martha M. Lauzen has found that women represented 38% of directors on indie features and docs selected for major fests in 2019-2020, and 35% of writers. It makes us really proud that although women and nonbinary creatives have been shut out of the industry for the majority of its existence, they have continuously found ways to create their own work. The film industry at large is finally making room for non-cis male artists, but we can't let this be a short-lived trend. To achieve structural, and sustainable, changes we need to ensure that women and nonbinary creatives receive support early on in their careers. 

We are a predominately LGBTQ+ and female ensemble of artists who are passionate about creating work that navigates multilayered themes. We know that film has the capacity to create cultural shifts, particularly through the representation of diverse perspectives followed by open community dialogue. Many of us are emerging artists or recent graduates from respected institutions around the world. We represent new voices on the scene, looking at age-old issues through a modern lens. 

Find out more about each of us on "The Team" tab above! 

Our overall budget is $6,500.

Your contributions will be going directly towards covering the costs of: 

Equipment Rentals, Production Design, Craft Services, COVID Safety Compliance, Costumes, Props, Transportation, and Post Production Services. 

Some of the most important elements of our wish list include: 

- The ability to shoot on film (we need to cover the costs of renting a film camera, lenses, purchasing the film itself, and the process of scanning and developing it). This will create an extremely realistic effect and capture subtle details that digital cinematography does not always pick up.  

- Production design that creates the look of a luxury apartment

- Professional Editing and Coloring Services   

- Equipment Insurance

If we receive enough generous contributions that we meet our minimum budget of $6,500 we will then enter our stretch goal of $10,000. These additional funds would enable us to pay our entire cast and crew, the majority of whom are doing this as a pro-bono passion project, and would give us more flexibility with the amount of film purchased and developed.

We are currently in pre-production for Collector's Item! We've been having ongoing zoom rehearsals with the actors, location viewings, and frequent calls with our cinematographer, producers, production designer, and other heads of departments to continue development in each area. Collector's Item is being filmed in Manhattan in April and will be edited over the following months, with the goal of submitting to a variety of film festivals come Autumn. Depending on our festival circuit, we will then begin the process of distribution. Unless you have access to an early screener link, Collector's Item will be accessible for viewing around Spring 2022. 

COVID-19 poses many challenges for all film sets and we want to ensure that our cast and crew remain as safe as possible. We are implementing industry standards of precaution, sanitization, and distance. Members of our team have completed COVID Compliance Officer Certification Courses with Safe Sets and Health Education Services. 

1. Follow this page! Once we hit 250 followers, regardless of how many people pledge, we'll start unlocking creator discounts for this and future projects. 

2. Follow us on Instagram at @collectors.item.film 

3. Share this page with your friends and peers who might be interested in our project! 

3. Reach out to us with any ideas, questions, or points of collaboration 

Thank you so much for your contribution!