DARLING VERA is a touching adaptation of Anton Chekhov's VEROTCHKA, set in the picturesque North Georgia mountains of 1954. The story revolves around Vera, a country girl smitten with Ivan, a farmhand on her father's farm. As Ivan prepares to leave for Atlanta, Vera bravely confesses her love, hoping for his returned affection.

While Ivan loves the farm and the mountains, he doesn’t love Vera. He's stuck at a crossroads: whether to feign love for Vera and get the farm of his dreams or remain true to himself, knowing it could lead to heartbreak for both of them.

The film concludes with the bittersweet realization of missed opportunities and unrequited love, leaving the audience with a powerful and complex exploration of human emotions and relationships.

The cinematography of DARLING VERA will masterfully weave together dark, atmospheric shots with lush, scenic landscapes, evoking a mixture of Old Hollywood films like PICNIC (1955, Dir. Joshua Logan) and modern impressionism in pieces like SHARP OBJECTS (2018, Dir. Jean-Marc Vallée).

The Southern Gothic aesthetic will infuse every frame, as the characters grapple with personal struggles amid the tranquil backdrop. To do this, we will use low lighting and shadows to create an air of mystery and tension in the close shots that will contrast with the beauty of the mountains, depicting the themes of this story visually. 

DARLING VERA revitalizes Anton Chekhov's classic story, VEROTCHKA, infusing it with a fresh sensibility that bridges the gap between classic and contemporary storytelling. With its compelling themes of love, relationships, and personal choices, this adaptation promises to bring a unique and culturally rich perspective to the screen with stunning visuals and a heartbreaking narrative that is sure to resonate with audiences everywhere.

Seed & Spark requires that we raise at least 80% of our goal for the project to be funded.

We must reach this goal in 30 days

or we won't receive a single penny!

Your contribution is crucial to our project. With your support, we have the potential to make the best version of this film! With the current WGA and SAG strikes, please support independent films over studio films!

In order to bring together the best team to collaborate and capture the stunning Appalachian landscapes for this story, we are aiming to raise a total of $5,000 for DARLING VERA.

The majority of the budget will cover production expenses like location permits, equipment rental, and catering for the cast and crew. Additionally, a portion of the budget will go towards time-period costumes for our amazing cast members. Your contributions mean the world to a small indie short film like ours and will help in our mission to bring classic literature to modern audiences everywhere!

My name is Alex Richard Thomas and I am a director who focuses on films that reexamine the past with a Southern slant. I recently completed my thesis film in the MFA program at the University of Georgia which was also a Chekhov adaptation and is about to go into festivals, having achieved rave reviews from Chekhov experts across the United States.

My goal in directing this piece is to bring Chekhov’s timeless ideas and characters to life in a way that connects with contemporary audiences, highlighting the depths of emotion that Chekhov so beautifully captures in his writing. In setting the film in the Blue Ridge Mountains, I hope to add a new layer of depth and relevancy that will reinforce Chekhov's source material, showing the similarities between 1880s Russia and the American South of the 1950s. 

While reading Chekhov’s stories in grad school, I was struck by how his timely themes resonated with my experiences in the American South. The rich history and culture of Appalachia, which I grew up around, will provide a unique and evocative backdrop for the project, allowing us to explore the themes of love, loss, regret, and hidden beauty in a new and exciting way, and examine how these forces shape the lives of the characters in the film. Together, we can craft a powerful and moving piece that will leave audiences thinking long after the credits roll.

As we launch our crowdfunding campaign, our dedicated team is hard at work bringing DARLING VERA to life! From finalizing the cast and crew to securing location permits, rehearsing, and wardrobe fittings, our to-do list is buzzing with action! Each step takes us closer to creating a beautiful film.

In October, we'll kick off the exciting phase of physical production, capturing the breathtaking beauty of autumn in North Georgia with its vibrant foliage and golden sunlight. Following a three-day shoot, we'll dive into post-production and editing, shaping DARLING VERA into a completed film. Our ultimate goal is to share this compelling story with audiences worldwide by submitting the film to prestigious festivals. We hope you will be part of our film's incredible journey!

Thank you so much for following along with our campaign. Please help us spread the word by tagging @darlingverafilm and sharing the example post below on social media:

Join us in supporting the upcoming short film "DARLING VERA", a 1950s Appalachian drama based on Anton Chekhov's "Verotchka". Follow @Darlingverafilm and click the link below to find out how you can help bring this story to life! https://seedandspark.com/fund/darling-vera