Given
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Drama
GIVEN explores what happens when what was supposed to be a pit stop in life turns into 4 years. Miserable comfort is so much easier than change. What if you had to face a truth you didn't know existed?
Given
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Drama
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $17,891 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
129 supporters | followers
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GIVEN explores what happens when what was supposed to be a pit stop in life turns into 4 years. Miserable comfort is so much easier than change. What if you had to face a truth you didn't know existed?
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WHAT'S THE STORY?
Callie works days, nights and weekends as the General Manager of a 24 hour diner in the Mojave desert. She used to have a husband, a mother and a fancy job in tech in Seattle. Now she just has a job and an inherited house that she keeps not selling. One night her high school boyfriend appears at the diner. It seems to be a coincidence until he asks her to take a ride with him. They return to the lake they spent their teen years sneaking off to, less of a lake now due to climate change, where he reveals a secret he's kept from her for 25 years and begs her to reconsider a life decision she made at 17 and drive with him to Las Vegas.
WHY US? WHY NOW?
Given is a short film with women at the helm. Our writer, director, producers and lead are all women. We will continue to add women, non-binary and/or trans folks as we crew up where possible. In 2022 only 19% of all Film Directors and 17% of all Screenwriters were women.*
Our lead female character is in her mid 40s. In 2015 only 20% of the female roles on screen in films were over 40. In 2022 it was only 14%. The time is now for us to tell women's stories. To show women of all ages being vital. With women's rights being chipped away at in this country we must shine a light on our voices now more than ever.
* San Diego State University- Center for The Study of Women in Television and Film
TIMELINE
Our aim is to shoot our 20 page script for 5 days this fall in Los Angeles County and/o Ventura County. We are shooting under the SPA Contract with SAG-AFTRA which is not struck. We are not WGA writers or working with signatory producers so the WGA strike does not affect us.
WHAT DO WE NEED? HOW YOU CAN HELP?
PLEDGE
MONEY MONEY MONEY - Filmmaking is expensive and we have a 20 page hopefully 18 minute SAG/AFTRA film we are making with a couple complicated locations we have to pay for ( as in not our apartment or our dad's office etc.) We want to make this right in production and not try to "fix it in post" so we need a top notch and full crew. It's a 5 day shoot so everyone needs to be paid for all days plus a few key crew for two prep days before.
You can choose to give straight cash or pick an incentive to go with your pledge. Any amount helps.
See our wishlist for details on each piece of the pie. 
FOLLOW
Follow us on our journey here and on instagram @giventhefilm
SHARE
Whether you can contribute funds or not we would appreciate it if you shared our campaign with at least 5 people and/or on your social media.
If you really love us; consider sharing 3 times over our 30 day campaign. Advertising rules say the more you see it the more you remember it and are likely to take action. Help us reach our goal and beyond!
JOIN OUR TEAM
Does our story excite you enough to join us? We are still crewing up for production/post and need extras for the diner scenes. If interested reach out to us at [email protected]
LOCATIONS
Do you know someone with a wadeable ( over 3 feet deep) creek on their Los Angeles County property or know of any secret creeks and streams where we can shoot? We would be eternally grateful to hear from you at [email protected]
NON PROFIT PARTNERSHIP /FISCAL SPONSORSHIP
Do you want to partner with us through your organization? Email us; [email protected]
ARE YOU STILL READING? HERE'S SOME EXTRA CREDIT.
WHERE DID THE STORY COME FROM?
Given was born from a tiny seed of an idea for a film about the Mad Greek Cafe a diner in the Mojave Desert, 93 miles from Las Vegas, 60 miles from Barstow- that I’ve been enamored with for over 25 years. I wanted to know who ends up in that town, working at that diner? I knew I wanted to be in it and I didn’t want it to be the blue collar uneducated small town story we’ve seen 1000 times. Beyond that, I had nothing...So I planted the seed and forgot about it.
Elizabeth Gilbert talks in BIG MAGIC about ideas knocking on the door and being available to let them in or they move on to another host. Several months after that seed was planted, I had a meeting with a creative mentor that I left so annoyed by his suggestions that I was mumbling f *** off, in my head, the whole walk home. The next morning, I woke to a “knock at the door,” I opened it and a story barged in demanding to be born. The first 20 page draft of GIVEN was written in a single day.
At its core GIVEN explores what happens when something that was supposed to be a pit stop in life turns into four years. It’s so much easier to stay in miserable comfort than to change circumstances. After having lost a lot and lost touch with how to be vulnerable, take risks and break free does one do anything about it? What do we do when presented with opportunities for growth? At the story level, the film deals with flipping stereotypes about teen pregnancy, parenting and who that diner manager in the middle of nowhere really is.
WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FROM AUDIENCES AFTER THEY VIEW THE FILM?
We want the film to invite passionate discussions and differing opinions about the themes, circumstances and how they reflect in the viewers own lives. That it makes people think differently about stereotypes. That it keeps people off their devices beyond the length of the film and into connection with each other. That it inspires other women and those lacking representation in films to share their own stories.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
SAG-AFTRA Cast Wages
Costs $2,900
SAG-AFTRA Short film scale for 2 Actors X 1 day +10 for Agents, 1 Actor X 5 days, Scale for 1 Actor X 5 days +15 for Manager
Crew Wages
Costs $8,000
Major Production crew including Producer, DP and Director. Executive Producer is waving wages.
Locations/Transportation
Costs $3,900
Diner 2 day shoot. Outdoor Creek Location 2 day shoot. Other Exteriors/Roads 1 day shoot. Includes permits & site reps. DP travel/lodging.
Catering/Craft Services
Costs $1,600
Need to feed the Cast and Crew for 5 days. 19 page Script. $400 per day! Meals for the 5th day will be donated.
Extras
Costs $400
Need a few folks in our diner scenes, have a few friends willing to play for free too.
Production Expenses/Equipment
Costs $3,700
Light, Sound, Camera Equipment, Hard Drives, Set Dressing, Design, Props etc. Make Up, Wardrobe
Share this update!
About This Team
We will be adding more of our team bios as we cast and crew up.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WHAT'S THE STORY?
Callie works days, nights and weekends as the General Manager of a 24 hour diner in the Mojave desert. She used to have a husband, a mother and a fancy job in tech in Seattle. Now she just has a job and an inherited house that she keeps not selling. One night her high school boyfriend appears at the diner. It seems to be a coincidence until he asks her to take a ride with him. They return to the lake they spent their teen years sneaking off to, less of a lake now due to climate change, where he reveals a secret he's kept from her for 25 years and begs her to reconsider a life decision she made at 17 and drive with him to Las Vegas.
WHY US? WHY NOW?
Given is a short film with women at the helm. Our writer, director, producers and lead are all women. We will continue to add women, non-binary and/or trans folks as we crew up where possible. In 2022 only 19% of all Film Directors and 17% of all Screenwriters were women.*
Our lead female character is in her mid 40s. In 2015 only 20% of the female roles on screen in films were over 40. In 2022 it was only 14%. The time is now for us to tell women's stories. To show women of all ages being vital. With women's rights being chipped away at in this country we must shine a light on our voices now more than ever.
* San Diego State University- Center for The Study of Women in Television and Film
TIMELINE
Our aim is to shoot our 20 page script for 5 days this fall in Los Angeles County and/o Ventura County. We are shooting under the SPA Contract with SAG-AFTRA which is not struck. We are not WGA writers or working with signatory producers so the WGA strike does not affect us.
WHAT DO WE NEED? HOW YOU CAN HELP?
PLEDGE
MONEY MONEY MONEY - Filmmaking is expensive and we have a 20 page hopefully 18 minute SAG/AFTRA film we are making with a couple complicated locations we have to pay for ( as in not our apartment or our dad's office etc.) We want to make this right in production and not try to "fix it in post" so we need a top notch and full crew. It's a 5 day shoot so everyone needs to be paid for all days plus a few key crew for two prep days before.
You can choose to give straight cash or pick an incentive to go with your pledge. Any amount helps.
See our wishlist for details on each piece of the pie.
FOLLOW
Follow us on our journey here and on instagram @giventhefilm
SHARE
Whether you can contribute funds or not we would appreciate it if you shared our campaign with at least 5 people and/or on your social media.
If you really love us; consider sharing 3 times over our 30 day campaign. Advertising rules say the more you see it the more you remember it and are likely to take action. Help us reach our goal and beyond!
JOIN OUR TEAM
Does our story excite you enough to join us? We are still crewing up for production/post and need extras for the diner scenes. If interested reach out to us at [email protected]
LOCATIONS
Do you know someone with a wadeable ( over 3 feet deep) creek on their Los Angeles County property or know of any secret creeks and streams where we can shoot? We would be eternally grateful to hear from you at [email protected]
NON PROFIT PARTNERSHIP /FISCAL SPONSORSHIP
Do you want to partner with us through your organization? Email us; [email protected]
ARE YOU STILL READING? HERE'S SOME EXTRA CREDIT.
WHERE DID THE STORY COME FROM?
Given was born from a tiny seed of an idea for a film about the Mad Greek Cafe a diner in the Mojave Desert, 93 miles from Las Vegas, 60 miles from Barstow- that I’ve been enamored with for over 25 years. I wanted to know who ends up in that town, working at that diner? I knew I wanted to be in it and I didn’t want it to be the blue collar uneducated small town story we’ve seen 1000 times. Beyond that, I had nothing...So I planted the seed and forgot about it.
Elizabeth Gilbert talks in BIG MAGIC about ideas knocking on the door and being available to let them in or they move on to another host. Several months after that seed was planted, I had a meeting with a creative mentor that I left so annoyed by his suggestions that I was mumbling f *** off, in my head, the whole walk home. The next morning, I woke to a “knock at the door,” I opened it and a story barged in demanding to be born. The first 20 page draft of GIVEN was written in a single day.
At its core GIVEN explores what happens when something that was supposed to be a pit stop in life turns into four years. It’s so much easier to stay in miserable comfort than to change circumstances. After having lost a lot and lost touch with how to be vulnerable, take risks and break free does one do anything about it? What do we do when presented with opportunities for growth? At the story level, the film deals with flipping stereotypes about teen pregnancy, parenting and who that diner manager in the middle of nowhere really is.
WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FROM AUDIENCES AFTER THEY VIEW THE FILM?
We want the film to invite passionate discussions and differing opinions about the themes, circumstances and how they reflect in the viewers own lives. That it makes people think differently about stereotypes. That it keeps people off their devices beyond the length of the film and into connection with each other. That it inspires other women and those lacking representation in films to share their own stories.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
SAG-AFTRA Cast Wages
Costs $2,900
SAG-AFTRA Short film scale for 2 Actors X 1 day +10 for Agents, 1 Actor X 5 days, Scale for 1 Actor X 5 days +15 for Manager
Crew Wages
Costs $8,000
Major Production crew including Producer, DP and Director. Executive Producer is waving wages.
Locations/Transportation
Costs $3,900
Diner 2 day shoot. Outdoor Creek Location 2 day shoot. Other Exteriors/Roads 1 day shoot. Includes permits & site reps. DP travel/lodging.
Catering/Craft Services
Costs $1,600
Need to feed the Cast and Crew for 5 days. 19 page Script. $400 per day! Meals for the 5th day will be donated.
Extras
Costs $400
Need a few folks in our diner scenes, have a few friends willing to play for free too.
Production Expenses/Equipment
Costs $3,700
Light, Sound, Camera Equipment, Hard Drives, Set Dressing, Design, Props etc. Make Up, Wardrobe
Share this update!
About This Team
We will be adding more of our team bios as we cast and crew up.