Forevertown
Berkeley, California | Film Short
Thriller, Horror
FOREVERTOWN is a short narrative film about a backup singer named Ash, as her ambition to go solo forces her to decide: is it worth her life? FOREVERTOWN is an allegory of intimate partner abuse, presented in the form of a band whose members are prevented from leaving.
Forevertown
Berkeley, California | Film Short
Thriller, Horror
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $9,148 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
25 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
FOREVERTOWN is a short narrative film about a backup singer named Ash, as her ambition to go solo forces her to decide: is it worth her life? FOREVERTOWN is an allegory of intimate partner abuse, presented in the form of a band whose members are prevented from leaving.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
SYNOPSIS
ASH, a backup singer in the band FOREVERTOWN, invites a booking agent to a show, making a play for her solo career. But when mysterious deaths reveal the band’s true dynamic, Ash must reconcile the vulgarity of her own ambition with her actual survival — and figure out who the killer is, before they come for her.
Michaela Coel - I MAY DESTROY YOU
THE ORIGIN
This project began with an idea for a hook for a song: NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO. I imagined it as a breakout hit for a band, helmed by a charismatic but unrelenting bandleader. FOREVERTOWN is a short narrative film inspired by an intimate relationship with a creative partner who did anything he could to keep me from leaving.
Miles Teller - WHIPLASH
WHY NOW
FOREVERTOWN is an ambitious next step in my creative portfolio. By establishing our protagonist's strong desire to achieve her own career ambitions, our story is driven by a woman's deepest wants. Of course, nothing is ever so simple, and our protagonist Ash must face impossible choices. These story beats resonate through history, and today.
As I engage with my emerging screenwriter peers, I notice something that has been pointed out by Pixar alums, Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna on their excellent podcast, The Screenwriting Life: it's hard for writers, of all genders, to write women with wants. Even as a real-life woman with real ambitions and desires, there is something murky about laying it out there on paper. Plain as day. Declarative.
For me personally, making this film is an echo of just that. I stepped way outside my comfort zone in declaring myself a filmmaker, and as I build this dream team around an original work, I find new opportunities and collaborators. By declaring my true intent, a whole story has unfurled, and it is driven by my very wants and creative ambitions. Highly recommend. It's powerful stuff.
For years, I had a note to myself framed on my piano: JUST DO YOUR BEST. Earlier this year, I swapped it out for a new one: DO BETTER. It was some kind of private graduation, from years spent in survival mode to having a measure of healing, enough to show up more fully in my work and my life.
Riley Keough and Taylour Paige - ZOLA
THE CAST
I am delighted to announce AMANDA BLAKE (Avenue 5, The Batman) will star in the role of ASH, an ambitious backup singer with a plan, who finds kinship in a comparably ambitious bandleader, MILTON.
SARA GERSTEL, whom I first came to know through her outstanding work as a graphic designer and visual artist, plays the role of BECKS, a less-ambitious backup singer who becomes vulnerable to malicious suggestion.
I wrote this script with these two actors in mind. Stay tuned for a special treat from Amanda and Sara, during this campaign.
Elizabeth Moss - HER SMELL
THE MUSIC
I presented my hook to BENJAMIN ANDREWS and JONATHAN KIRCHNER, who scored and mixed, respectively, my first narrative short film, CHARISMA JONES: APOLOGY TOUR. We spent a day very well, and left with a respectable a demo of NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO. Listen to our collaboration, composed and performed entirely by Benjamin, recorded and mixed by Jonathan, in our Pitch Video and beyond.
Florence Pugh - MIDSOMMAR
THE TEAM
I approached Harold Adler, who runs Art House Gallery, about filming at his colorful venue. With Harold aboard, I pitched Stacy McKenzie, who immediately saw the potential for telling this story, in this alluring setting. Stacy and I have worked together on two short films, including our award-winning 48 Hour Film Project short, TUNE UP. Stacy and I are both interested in creating grounded works centering women with real wants, and real problems. We share values and work ethic, and are committed to a set that is respectful and generous with all, without sacrificing the integrity of our work. Click over to THE TEAM tab to learn more about who is joining us behind the scenes, and the ways in which Stacy feeds my skillset as a director and storyteller.
Taylour Paige - ZOLA
THE NUMBERS
As of October 30, 2022, our budget for a 2-day shoot with 2 half days to set and wrap, breaks down as follows:
PRODUCTION: $10,523
Cast, Production Staff, Camera & Lighting, Grip & Electric, Wardrobe, Hair & Makeup, Production Sound, Locations, Food, BTS Unit, Insurance.
POST: $3,650
Editorial, Music, VFX, Post Sound, Color Correction and Finishing.
TOTAL BUDGET: $14,173
Thanks to the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Council, we have already raised $4K towards our goal! Yes, we have been invested in, by the City of Berkeley. This idea is vetted! This leaves us with $10,173 to raise, to get us to a completed film.
Because this is our first crowdfunding endeavor, we are not including festival submission or distribution expenses at this time. Based on the strength of our end product, we will revisit those numbers in 2023.
COVID
As we have all learned by now, COVID is an ongoing concern. We will follow Berkeley local COVID compliance with testing, vaccination and PPE made available and will be utilized by all Cast and Crew.
LET'S MAKE A MOVIE
Here's where you come in. Take a look at our Incentives and our WishList, and consider donating to FOREVERTOWN. We can't do it without our community, and we are so lucky to count you among those who are interested in seeing work like this made. You're part of this creative mission, and it is because of you that this story can come to life.
Click on through, and make your pledge or contribution. We can't do it without you.
You can also help us by spreading the word about our campaign! Consider:
- Like/Share/Comment on our social media posts, and tag people on your own posts, and ask them to share the campaign!
- Write a blog post about our creative endeavors!
- Tell your friends about how much you love supporting independent works in your community, i.e. this one!
- Tell everyone at work that you’re supporting this project, and why!
- Donate! No amount too small, no amount too big!
Copy/pasta this message:
*Hey Folks! @oonalandia is making a short film called #FOREVERTOWN, a psychedelic horror short about a backup singer with big dreams who learns the hard way: she’ll never leave the band she’s in. Join them at http://seedandspark.com/fund/forevertown*
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Talent
Costs $2,808
Let's pay our actors the Guild day rate for microbudget films!
Production Staff
Costs $2,085
Let's pay our PAs and ADs a standard microbudget day rate!
Camera & Lighting
Costs $1,000
Our grant covers part of these expenses. Let's get Stacy's team taken care of!
Hair, Makeup & Wardrobe
Costs $1,000
Gorgeous, gorgeous continuity.
Food
Costs $880
2 shoot days, 2 strike days, people gotta eat.
BTS Unit
Costs $300
Behind-the-scenes photography is part of it all
Sound
Costs $1,200
Boom operator and recordist, live band mixer. It's gonna be great.
Insurance
Costs $500
Of course, we need insurance.
Props, Art and Key Wardrobe
Costs $400
Hand props, band gear, labor hours. This $400 would be far more, if not offset by our grant.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
OONA GARTHWAITE - Writer/Director
Oona Garthwaite had a whole career as a musician before she turned to writing for the screen. Her recordings have traveled the world, appearing in So You Think You Can Dance, Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Round The World, and even Olympic synchronized swimming. Drawing on her years producing music videos for herself and other artists, Oona began making narrative short films in 2021.
Oona writes stories about flawed characters drifting into extreme choices, and reconciling the consequences. A perennial observer of the human condition, Oona seeks to reflect the deep ironies that bring us to our hardest moments, and how we get through.
STACY McKENZIE - Cinematographer
I first met Stacy when a Sound Recordist called out with COVID the day before our final shoot day. I texted everyone I could think of, and our mutual friend Ryder Freed put me in touch. Despite being a highly in-demand Cinematographer, Stacy made time to come help me out recording audio. It was a skeleton crew, and she did a great job, contributing not just reliable soundwork, but to the overall success of the team.
When the 48 Hour Film Project came around, I reached out to Stacy immediately. You can watch the fruits of that no-holds barred scramble to the finish line (yes, we did it in 48 hours) here.
Stacy's depth of knowledge of cinema is a key component to pulling off this ambitious and visually rich story.
Alexandra is a writer, director, actor and film producer whom I met on the first film I was ever part of, I THINK IT'S RAINING. These many years later, I am delighted to be collaborating with her once again. Check out her IMDB for an idea of what she's been working on, lately.
AYSE ARF - Production Designer
Ayse Arf earned her BA in Fine Art from USC before working as a Set Decorator, Art Director and Producction Designer in TV and film. In addition to her work in TV and Film, Ayse serves as Vice President on IATSE Local 44.
Bronwyn Dexter is an interdisciplinary artist, performing musician and educator. She received her B.A. in Ecological Studies from Seattle University and M.F.A. from San Francisco State University where she was awarded the Graduate Student Award for Achievement.
Dexter transplanted to San Francisco, CA from her native Seattle, WA in 2008 and fell in love with the vibrant art scene and queer communities of the Bay Area. When she is not making or teaching art, Dexter can be found composing music with her band or getting into nature.
MIRANDA J. FRIEDMAN - Assistant Director
Miranda Friedman is a filmmaker, artist and designer working with psychologists to explore kin making innovation and relationships of care. Friedman grounds unfamiliar kin structures in the familiar vernacular of reality TV and virtual sites. Friedman has exhibited in the US, Germany, Turkey, and Hungary and holds an MFA from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. Miranda’s background includes eight years in corporate advertising as an art director and designer. Additionally, Miranda teaches time-based media to film, art and design undergraduates in Rutgers’ Art and Design department and is the virtual Studio Manager at galerie PLUTO.
BENJMAIN ANDREWS and JONATHAN KIRCHNER - Music
I've known Jonathan for over a decade, since he reached out to me about playing a show with this then-newish band, CON BRIO. When I told him I was struggling to soundtrack CHARISMA JONES, he suggested getting in touch with Ben to compose.
So I did, it went well, and I haven't left them alone since. I sent a voice memo of the chorus hook for NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO, and we set a date. In the short session while Ben to composed and arranged, I wrote a topline and lyric, and soon we had this recording you can hear in our Pitch Video, and beyond. Ben performed everything.
As some of you know, music is a core medium for me as a creative, and this collaboration has already been essential to this project.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
SYNOPSIS
ASH, a backup singer in the band FOREVERTOWN, invites a booking agent to a show, making a play for her solo career. But when mysterious deaths reveal the band’s true dynamic, Ash must reconcile the vulgarity of her own ambition with her actual survival — and figure out who the killer is, before they come for her.
Michaela Coel - I MAY DESTROY YOU
THE ORIGIN
This project began with an idea for a hook for a song: NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO. I imagined it as a breakout hit for a band, helmed by a charismatic but unrelenting bandleader. FOREVERTOWN is a short narrative film inspired by an intimate relationship with a creative partner who did anything he could to keep me from leaving.
Miles Teller - WHIPLASH
WHY NOW
FOREVERTOWN is an ambitious next step in my creative portfolio. By establishing our protagonist's strong desire to achieve her own career ambitions, our story is driven by a woman's deepest wants. Of course, nothing is ever so simple, and our protagonist Ash must face impossible choices. These story beats resonate through history, and today.
As I engage with my emerging screenwriter peers, I notice something that has been pointed out by Pixar alums, Meg LeFauve and Lorien McKenna on their excellent podcast, The Screenwriting Life: it's hard for writers, of all genders, to write women with wants. Even as a real-life woman with real ambitions and desires, there is something murky about laying it out there on paper. Plain as day. Declarative.
For me personally, making this film is an echo of just that. I stepped way outside my comfort zone in declaring myself a filmmaker, and as I build this dream team around an original work, I find new opportunities and collaborators. By declaring my true intent, a whole story has unfurled, and it is driven by my very wants and creative ambitions. Highly recommend. It's powerful stuff.
For years, I had a note to myself framed on my piano: JUST DO YOUR BEST. Earlier this year, I swapped it out for a new one: DO BETTER. It was some kind of private graduation, from years spent in survival mode to having a measure of healing, enough to show up more fully in my work and my life.
Riley Keough and Taylour Paige - ZOLA
THE CAST
I am delighted to announce AMANDA BLAKE (Avenue 5, The Batman) will star in the role of ASH, an ambitious backup singer with a plan, who finds kinship in a comparably ambitious bandleader, MILTON.
SARA GERSTEL, whom I first came to know through her outstanding work as a graphic designer and visual artist, plays the role of BECKS, a less-ambitious backup singer who becomes vulnerable to malicious suggestion.
I wrote this script with these two actors in mind. Stay tuned for a special treat from Amanda and Sara, during this campaign.
Elizabeth Moss - HER SMELL
THE MUSIC
I presented my hook to BENJAMIN ANDREWS and JONATHAN KIRCHNER, who scored and mixed, respectively, my first narrative short film, CHARISMA JONES: APOLOGY TOUR. We spent a day very well, and left with a respectable a demo of NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO. Listen to our collaboration, composed and performed entirely by Benjamin, recorded and mixed by Jonathan, in our Pitch Video and beyond.
Florence Pugh - MIDSOMMAR
THE TEAM
I approached Harold Adler, who runs Art House Gallery, about filming at his colorful venue. With Harold aboard, I pitched Stacy McKenzie, who immediately saw the potential for telling this story, in this alluring setting. Stacy and I have worked together on two short films, including our award-winning 48 Hour Film Project short, TUNE UP. Stacy and I are both interested in creating grounded works centering women with real wants, and real problems. We share values and work ethic, and are committed to a set that is respectful and generous with all, without sacrificing the integrity of our work. Click over to THE TEAM tab to learn more about who is joining us behind the scenes, and the ways in which Stacy feeds my skillset as a director and storyteller.
Taylour Paige - ZOLA
THE NUMBERS
As of October 30, 2022, our budget for a 2-day shoot with 2 half days to set and wrap, breaks down as follows:
PRODUCTION: $10,523
Cast, Production Staff, Camera & Lighting, Grip & Electric, Wardrobe, Hair & Makeup, Production Sound, Locations, Food, BTS Unit, Insurance.
POST: $3,650
Editorial, Music, VFX, Post Sound, Color Correction and Finishing.
TOTAL BUDGET: $14,173
Thanks to the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Council, we have already raised $4K towards our goal! Yes, we have been invested in, by the City of Berkeley. This idea is vetted! This leaves us with $10,173 to raise, to get us to a completed film.
Because this is our first crowdfunding endeavor, we are not including festival submission or distribution expenses at this time. Based on the strength of our end product, we will revisit those numbers in 2023.
COVID
As we have all learned by now, COVID is an ongoing concern. We will follow Berkeley local COVID compliance with testing, vaccination and PPE made available and will be utilized by all Cast and Crew.
LET'S MAKE A MOVIE
Here's where you come in. Take a look at our Incentives and our WishList, and consider donating to FOREVERTOWN. We can't do it without our community, and we are so lucky to count you among those who are interested in seeing work like this made. You're part of this creative mission, and it is because of you that this story can come to life.
Click on through, and make your pledge or contribution. We can't do it without you.
You can also help us by spreading the word about our campaign! Consider:
- Like/Share/Comment on our social media posts, and tag people on your own posts, and ask them to share the campaign!
- Write a blog post about our creative endeavors!
- Tell your friends about how much you love supporting independent works in your community, i.e. this one!
- Tell everyone at work that you’re supporting this project, and why!
- Donate! No amount too small, no amount too big!
Copy/pasta this message:
*Hey Folks! @oonalandia is making a short film called #FOREVERTOWN, a psychedelic horror short about a backup singer with big dreams who learns the hard way: she’ll never leave the band she’s in. Join them at http://seedandspark.com/fund/forevertown*
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Talent
Costs $2,808
Let's pay our actors the Guild day rate for microbudget films!
Production Staff
Costs $2,085
Let's pay our PAs and ADs a standard microbudget day rate!
Camera & Lighting
Costs $1,000
Our grant covers part of these expenses. Let's get Stacy's team taken care of!
Hair, Makeup & Wardrobe
Costs $1,000
Gorgeous, gorgeous continuity.
Food
Costs $880
2 shoot days, 2 strike days, people gotta eat.
BTS Unit
Costs $300
Behind-the-scenes photography is part of it all
Sound
Costs $1,200
Boom operator and recordist, live band mixer. It's gonna be great.
Insurance
Costs $500
Of course, we need insurance.
Props, Art and Key Wardrobe
Costs $400
Hand props, band gear, labor hours. This $400 would be far more, if not offset by our grant.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
OONA GARTHWAITE - Writer/Director
Oona Garthwaite had a whole career as a musician before she turned to writing for the screen. Her recordings have traveled the world, appearing in So You Think You Can Dance, Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Round The World, and even Olympic synchronized swimming. Drawing on her years producing music videos for herself and other artists, Oona began making narrative short films in 2021.
Oona writes stories about flawed characters drifting into extreme choices, and reconciling the consequences. A perennial observer of the human condition, Oona seeks to reflect the deep ironies that bring us to our hardest moments, and how we get through.
STACY McKENZIE - Cinematographer
I first met Stacy when a Sound Recordist called out with COVID the day before our final shoot day. I texted everyone I could think of, and our mutual friend Ryder Freed put me in touch. Despite being a highly in-demand Cinematographer, Stacy made time to come help me out recording audio. It was a skeleton crew, and she did a great job, contributing not just reliable soundwork, but to the overall success of the team.
When the 48 Hour Film Project came around, I reached out to Stacy immediately. You can watch the fruits of that no-holds barred scramble to the finish line (yes, we did it in 48 hours) here.
Stacy's depth of knowledge of cinema is a key component to pulling off this ambitious and visually rich story.
Alexandra is a writer, director, actor and film producer whom I met on the first film I was ever part of, I THINK IT'S RAINING. These many years later, I am delighted to be collaborating with her once again. Check out her IMDB for an idea of what she's been working on, lately.
AYSE ARF - Production Designer
Ayse Arf earned her BA in Fine Art from USC before working as a Set Decorator, Art Director and Producction Designer in TV and film. In addition to her work in TV and Film, Ayse serves as Vice President on IATSE Local 44.
Bronwyn Dexter is an interdisciplinary artist, performing musician and educator. She received her B.A. in Ecological Studies from Seattle University and M.F.A. from San Francisco State University where she was awarded the Graduate Student Award for Achievement.
Dexter transplanted to San Francisco, CA from her native Seattle, WA in 2008 and fell in love with the vibrant art scene and queer communities of the Bay Area. When she is not making or teaching art, Dexter can be found composing music with her band or getting into nature.
MIRANDA J. FRIEDMAN - Assistant Director
Miranda Friedman is a filmmaker, artist and designer working with psychologists to explore kin making innovation and relationships of care. Friedman grounds unfamiliar kin structures in the familiar vernacular of reality TV and virtual sites. Friedman has exhibited in the US, Germany, Turkey, and Hungary and holds an MFA from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. Miranda’s background includes eight years in corporate advertising as an art director and designer. Additionally, Miranda teaches time-based media to film, art and design undergraduates in Rutgers’ Art and Design department and is the virtual Studio Manager at galerie PLUTO.
BENJMAIN ANDREWS and JONATHAN KIRCHNER - Music
I've known Jonathan for over a decade, since he reached out to me about playing a show with this then-newish band, CON BRIO. When I told him I was struggling to soundtrack CHARISMA JONES, he suggested getting in touch with Ben to compose.
So I did, it went well, and I haven't left them alone since. I sent a voice memo of the chorus hook for NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO, and we set a date. In the short session while Ben to composed and arranged, I wrote a topline and lyric, and soon we had this recording you can hear in our Pitch Video, and beyond. Ben performed everything.
As some of you know, music is a core medium for me as a creative, and this collaboration has already been essential to this project.