In all 50 states, legal or illegal, marijuana is a controversial yet lucrative king crop. This is the story of a young marijuana grower, her connection to both sides of the business, and her determination to keep full control of everything she has built.
In all 50 states, legal or illegal, marijuana is a controversial yet lucrative king crop. This is the story of a young marijuana grower, her connection to both sides of the business, and her determination to keep full control of everything she has built.
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Story
Mission Statement
As a Black woman from a Southern background, my goal is to make distinctive art. Our stories are told incorrectly or not, and that gap in the film industry needs filling. God's Gift is thrilling but provides a level of realness lacking in America's depiction of Black woman in film.About The Project
WILLOW (29) is a conscientious, diligent plantswoman and marijuana grower. Her careful and methodical approach has gained recognition throughout the world of legal and illegal growing and selling.
Fresh out of a botched engagement, Willow plans to move on with her life and business until she realizes that her ex-fiancé, SEAN (29), has been spying on her via CASSIDY (21), a long-time client along the illegal route, and has no plans to leave the business.
Never one to go down without a fight, Willow lures Cassidy in, convincing her to be a pawn in a plot to get rid of Sean for once and for all.
As the legal use of marijuana grows in popularity, the controversy surrounding the well loved - and equally hated plant grows. Finding out that some people with legal licenses to grow and dabble on the illegal side fascinated me. I was attracted to the crime, noir, and suspense of using a legal business as a front for a more lucrative, tax-free, more dangerous, illegal one. During this time, I also learned that some 24-hour donut shops, abundant in the Los Angeles area - but suspiciously always empty - are used for money laundering, and decided to incorporate this into the story. I immediately knew that I wanted to tell this story from a diverse, inclusive lens that includes Black people and queer Black women.
In spite of the growing acceptance and legality of marijuana, the plant's disparity and stigma remain.
A Black person is 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than a white person (ACLU, 2020). Black people made up for 86% of marijuana arrests in New York in 2017 (Politco, 2018), while 99% of license holders are Caucasian (McClatchy DC Bureau, 2018).
Despite these alarming numbers and disparities, the number of Black people growing and selling weed is expected to grow throughout the coming decade.
Although God's Gift is not directly about the disparities, it's impossible to tell this story without acknowledging them. I hope God's Gift opens minds to what a marijuana grower looks and acts like while making something thrilling, entertaining, and mysterious. Artistic integrity, originality, and representation is essential to me. While both the marijuana and film industries have been slow to open up to diversity and Black people, my goal is to make a film that breaks barriers in both facets.
God's Gift is also woman-centric. My goal is to make as many dynamic depictions of Black women as possible. Our stories get told incorrectly, if at all, and I want to make as many developed, thought-provoking depictions as possible.
We need it! Making movies is expensive, and even though my previous films have come out of my pocket and personal funds, I want to go as big as possible production-wise for my thesis film. We have a PD (production design) heavy script.
To make sure we're able to build a beautiful grow room with all the prop marijuana plants, florescent lighting, garden, and a home that is unique to our protagonist, we will need a heftier budget than usual. Even though I'm a student, I strive for high-quality films that don't look or function like the typical student film. For reference, please check out my short film, Mary Jane and the Marvelous Menacing Tabs.
An ample amount of the budget will also go to crafty and paying actors and outside crew. The school is giving us a budget for PPE; however, I plan to have extra PPE and sanitizing stations on set.
Every cent you donate will go to the production, post, and festival submissions for God's Gift.Character Descriptions (In order of appearance)
Willow (29)- A quiet, intuitive young woman who uses her green thumb to grow and sell marijuana. Former business partner and ex-fianceé to Sean, uses Cassidy to do her dirty work. Her cold demeanor is a result of her dysfunctional relationship, but she’s not the victim that she appears to be.
Buyer (25+) - Heard through the phone only. A legal buyer who doubts Willow's ability to run the business without Sean.
Cassidy (21)- Sweet, sensitive, quick on her feet drug dealer who gets caught between Willow & Sean’s mess. Masculine and dominant, yet naive in the most unsuspecting of ways.
Sean (29)- Willow’s ex-fiancé, hell bent on making sure his ex continues to share the weed business with him. Abusive, but aloof and not the kingpin that sees himself as.
My inspiration for the character design and development is simple: diversity. All different types of Black people exist - we are not a monolith. The three main characters, Willow, Cassidy, and Sean, are all very different from one another, yet their lives intersect in all directions. Although cold personality-wise, Willow has a physical softness that Cassidy doesn't have. Cassidy appears cold physically, while her personality is much softer. Willow and Sean both know that Cassidy is young and impressionable, and therefore, an easy pawn.
FULL CAST COMING SOON! The casting process is ongoing, and we will update this section with headshots and information on the cast as soon as it is finalized. Stay tuned. ✨
If you have any questions, reach out to me personally via my social media, call, text, or email [email protected]gmail.com. Thank you! We appreciate every single one of you from the bottom of our hearts.
jbsiddallfilm.com
Incentives
$20
Dime bag
1 gram of the finest. This ain't no mid. Thank you so much for your pledge! Every cent counts, and we truly appreciate it. In fact, we appreciate it so much, we'll shout you out on social media!
*NOTE. NO ACTUAL MARIJUANA WILL BE GIVEN AWAY AS INCENTIVES. THESE ARE SIMPLY TITLES - THE DONATION AMOUNTS MATCH THE WEED MEASUREMENTS. *
$40
Eighth
3.5 of that gas. This option comes with a personalized thank you post card, sent via email with our exclusive design.
$70
Quater
7 grams of the finest. Now you're (almost) smoking with the big boys. This option comes with a personalized thank you post card, and a private, exlusive link to the film.
$100
Half an Ounce
A half of the finest. All of the above, plus a Zoom link to our wrap party to meet with the cast & crew.
$250
Ounce
Now we're talkin! 28 grams of that gas. This option comes with a personalized post card, exlusive link to the film, and a digital photo book with an exlcusive poster, actor notes, BTS photos, recordings of my Zoom rehersals, table reads with the actors, and more.
$500
Two Ounces
Two ounces of the greenest grass we've got. This option comes up everything above, plus an exclusive Criterion-style commentary video in which I explain each shot, blocking, dialouge choices, etc.
$850
Quater Pound
Wow, you're a really ole pothead huh? I've never even bought this much weed at once! This option includes all of the above, as well as a custom hard copy lookbook including my personal journal notes, BTS photos, shot lists, and more.
Claimed: 0 of 10
$2,500
Pound
Well dang! 448 grams of the finest God has to offer. This option comes with everything above, and most importantly, an associate producer credit. Pretty dope right?
Claimed: 0 of 4
$8,000
The Whole Grow Room
Well, well, well, big chief. You cleaned out my whole grow room! Only Snoop and Seth Rogen can fuck with you. You will recieve everything above, along with an executive producer credit. How amazing is that?
Claimed: 0 of 1
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$20
Dime bag
1 gram of the finest. This ain't no mid. Thank you so much for your pledge! Every cent counts, and we truly appreciate it. In fact, we appreciate it so much, we'll shout you out on social media!
*NOTE. NO ACTUAL MARIJUANA WILL BE GIVEN AWAY AS INCENTIVES. THESE ARE SIMPLY TITLES - THE DONATION AMOUNTS MATCH THE WEED MEASUREMENTS. *
$40
Eighth
3.5 of that gas. This option comes with a personalized thank you post card, sent via email with our exclusive design.
$70
Quater
7 grams of the finest. Now you're (almost) smoking with the big boys. This option comes with a personalized thank you post card, and a private, exlusive link to the film.
$100
Half an Ounce
A half of the finest. All of the above, plus a Zoom link to our wrap party to meet with the cast & crew.
$250
Ounce
Now we're talkin! 28 grams of that gas. This option comes with a personalized post card, exlusive link to the film, and a digital photo book with an exlcusive poster, actor notes, BTS photos, recordings of my Zoom rehersals, table reads with the actors, and more.
$500
Two Ounces
Two ounces of the greenest grass we've got. This option comes up everything above, plus an exclusive Criterion-style commentary video in which I explain each shot, blocking, dialouge choices, etc.
$850
Quater Pound
Wow, you're a really ole pothead huh? I've never even bought this much weed at once! This option includes all of the above, as well as a custom hard copy lookbook including my personal journal notes, BTS photos, shot lists, and more.
Claimed: 0 of 10
$2,500
Pound
Well dang! 448 grams of the finest God has to offer. This option comes with everything above, and most importantly, an associate producer credit. Pretty dope right?
Claimed: 0 of 4
$8,000
The Whole Grow Room
Well, well, well, big chief. You cleaned out my whole grow room! Only Snoop and Seth Rogen can fuck with you. You will recieve everything above, along with an executive producer credit. How amazing is that?
Claimed: 0 of 1
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Producer - Yuqi An
Director of Photography - Yongan Zhu
Editor - Tong Wen
Sound Designer - Felcility Rao
Pictures, bios, and more crew coming soon.
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