In equal parts a rom-com cut from the same wry cloth as When Harry Met Sally and Tootsie, a visual ode to the sights and sounds of New York City, and a treatise on the blissful magic of romance, Earnestly Yours tells a story about what it means to love and be earnest in a society increasingly dismissive of the same.

Meet Dr. Earnest Slater, a prominent and very successful marriage counselor, who has been utterly frustrated in his own search for love. With the unwitting help of his clients, and a variety of potential romantic interests, he sets out on a personal odyssey to solve this exasperating conundrum. Along the way, he discovers that perhaps not everything in life can be boiled down to a series of academic theories and scientific solutions.

Prior to Earnestly Yours, Sebastian’s filmography has by-and-large consisted of dark, absurdist comedies.

Whether it be Served, his award-winning short that took a bleakly funny microscope to the death penalty, or The Lord’s House, which recently garnered accolades for its dissection of the practice of religious worship, all of his films thus far have had something of a jaded edge.

So naturally, for his next project, he wanted to do something a little more, for lack of a better word, earnest.

Earnestly Yours shoots across four days and two nights in late November. Post-production is anticipated to require two or three months, meaning the film will be completed in early 2024. At that point, it will be submitted to a variety of top film festivals in the US and overseas; a private screening will also be held in early 2024.

Casting is completed, with 28 talented actors committed to the project. We have actors from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts working with us to bring this film to life.

Interior locations have been secured (a restaurant in Manhattan, an office in Brooklyn and an apartment in Manhattan) and external locations have been identified. In fact, we are all ready for the shoot to begin, except for one little thing… funding.

STRETCH GOALS

We are looking to raise a total of $17,200 for this project. This is the bare minimum to pay for location fees, actors, props, costumes, equipment, insurance, transportation, catering, administration and payment processing fees.

• If we raise $20,000, the additional funds will be used to enhance production design and pay a stipend to each crew member (all 19 crew members are currently giving their time for free).
• If we raise $22,000, the additional funds will be used to increase the payments to actors, all of whom are working for significantly less than the industry average, simply because they love the project.
• If we raise $25,000, the additional funds will be used to submit the film to more film festivals, increasing its chance to make a real impact in the industry.
• If we raise more than $25,000, the additional funds will be used to allay any unforeseen expenses and help launch future Pocket Almonds Productions projects.

But even though these numbers might seem big, ANYTHING you can give will be an enormous help. Every dollar raised will help ensure that this timely, funny and ultimately hopeful film can be made.

OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP

FOLLOW our campaign on Seed & Spark! Growing followers unlocks access to products, services, and festival fee waivers courtesy of Seed & Spark.

SHARE our campaign via social media or email! Spreading the word with your network will help us build an audience and bring this project to life! Send this campaign out to someone you know. Text, email, or post: anything you do to get our film out there is a major help.

Thank you for supporting us in our efforts to tell this story. We can't wait to share it with you!