Happy Birthday
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Drama
Let's face the facts, how much does the general public know about Parkinson's Disease? It's scary to live in a reality where there isn't yet a cure but considering the fact that about 60,000 are diagnosed each year, there needs to be a platform for discussion, education and support.
Happy Birthday
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
Drama
2 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $10,243 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
56 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Let's face the facts, how much does the general public know about Parkinson's Disease? It's scary to live in a reality where there isn't yet a cure but considering the fact that about 60,000 are diagnosed each year, there needs to be a platform for discussion, education and support.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE STORY
Happy Birthday explores the struggles of learning how to let go, when life serves cards that don't seem fair, such as being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.
It's Jules' birthday and she's got some much to celebrate! She's pregnant with her first and getting ready to launch her very own art exhibit, something she's been working hard on for ages. Then she receives the heavy news: she's showing early symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. She's only thirty-two years old. We follow her the day of receiving the news, celebrating her birthday with friends and her loving partner, Harry while keeping the truth buried inside.
Jules is a fiercely independent creative artist who creates five year game plans, and follows through on them! Her partner, Harry is absent-minded and easy going. Her diagnosis will be the toughest test to their relationship. Will they be able to make it through this earth-quaking diagnosis?
Not to mention the additional stakes for Jules and Harry as they prepare to embark on this next chapter of their lives as parents. It's difficult for Jules to know she'll be handing such a weight of responsibility to Harry to parent their child when she is no longer able to perform at her full capacity.
“Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.”
-Michael J. Fox
Why "Happy Birthday"?
My dad passed away in 2019 after suffering with Parkinson’s Disease for about fifteen years. With the exception of Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali, I had never heard of anyone else afflicted with the disease. It was an isolating experience for our family- heartbreaking and scary. I held onto the hope for a cure but also for some outside reassurance that everything would be okay. I waited to meet someone else who was also living in Limbo.
I wrote this script a little over a year after he passed. I wanted to feel close to him and to grasp what it must have felt like to process the news that fateful day but I didn’t want to write a tragedy. His diagnosis wasn’t a life sentence but a redirection, paved with suffering but also so many precious memories. I wanted to tell a story about a person who was fiercely independent, a fighter who in the name of vulnerability and circumstances must learn to surrender some of that independence and learn to lean on the people around them.
Along with my remarkable team of creative women, I hope to share this story with all of you. To those of you hurting with loved ones struggling with this disease, to those of you personally afflicted and lastly, those of you struggling to reach out and let yourself be helped.
-Madeleine <3
The Aesthetic
This film is rooted in Jules' point of view as she processes the news of her diagnosis. She's a painter so we wanted to play with color and that feeling of nostalgia. She's looking backwards of what she thought her life would look like and towards the uncertainty of the future.
In order to capture that feeling of nostalgia, we want to shoot this on film which will create a beautiful raw intimacy. Although this story takes place in present day, it has a timeless feel that could belong in a number of different past decades. Madeleine is influenced by Joe Wright's period films stylistically. (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Anna Karenina, Cyrano)
Tonally this is very much a character drama and unflinchingly discusses the crisis at hand.
What we're asking for
We've got a script, cast, our core crew: now we're prepping for production!
Our story takes place at a doctor's office, art gallery and apartment. We need resources to rent out spaces for the doctor's office and art gallery.
In order to achieve the desired nostalgic feel and aesthetic we need the resources to purchase and develop film which isn't a cheap process, but so worth it! We need to rent out equipment, purchase food to keep everyone fed and happy and last but certainly not least, we want to pay everyone for their time and work on this project.
Madeleine and Natalie have crunched the numbers and found savvy ways to bring down the budget but these are still necesssary expendables we don't want to short cut. We hope to raise $12,000 through a dedicated audience on Seed & Spark to cover the bare minimum costs of shooting the film.
Why us?
Collectively as a team working behind the scenes and in front of the camera, we all offer perspective and life experiences that round out this story. For Madeleine, this is a personal story that brings light to an underrepresented disease. As a team, we understand what it means to be a woman driven to make moves in her career and the frustration of the uncontrollable obstacles, some posed by nature or society or ourselves! To feel the pressure of an hourglass to keep to a schedule before the times up, terminal illness or not.
We believe in the power of film and the impact of stories rooted in truth and unanswered questions. We're so excited to be collaborating on this special passion project. Most of us met in the most serendipitous ways, those are stories themselves!
The film industry still has a long way to go when it comes to representation and hiring women in prominant roles such as Director, Producer, Director of Photography. Every aspect of this film aims to bring light to underrepresented subjects; we're bringing awareness to living with Parkinson's Disease, sharing the point of view of a woman struggling to resemble a strong woman, and fighting for this platform to collaborate and make art. For everyone involved, we hope their work on this film will give them credibility and further experience in their respective craft. Who knows, this could be further developed into a feature one day...
Thank you so much for considering our project and joining us on this ride!
-Madeleine & Natalie
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast!
Costs $3,000
We're the luckiest to have a group of talented actors on board, we want to pay them for their work!
Locations!
Costs $600
A few scenes call for specific sets, we've got to rent out spaces.
Crew!
Costs $4,700
Our crucial personnel include our very talented DP, Sound, Camera Operator, AD, Gaffer & Grip.
Craft Services!
Costs $350
Fed cast and crew = happy cast and crew!
Music/ Post Production!
Costs $350
Music licensing, post production magic all takes time and money!
16 mm Film Camera
Costs $3,000
This film is destined to be shot on film. Film gives an authentic and intimate feel to the story.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Madeleine Perez: writer/director
Madeleine Perez fell in love with storytelling as soon as she could read and muster up the gumption to direct her six younger siblings in her productions back in Napa, California. She moved out to LA after graduating from John Paul the Great Catholic University where she studied screenwriting and production with the hopes of walking in the footsteps of Greta Gertwig, Tamara Jenkins, Phoebe Waller Bridge and Nora Ephron. She worked on a few short films with friends including the short, "Farah" which she co-wrote and co-directed. This will be mark her solo directorial debut after years dedicated to her writing portfolio. She is drawn to character driven stories that highlight the challenges of navigating life, relationships, addictions and mental illness.
Natalie Perez: producer/dp
Natalie Perez is an LA-based cinematographer and filmmaker who is passionate about telling untold, inspiring, and impactful stories. Her work includes narrative and documentary films, shorts, and web series— from quirky comedies to dark thrillers, dynamic musicals to stark dramas. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Film & TV Production and Women’s Studies at Loyola Marymount University.
Natalie co-Founded She TV Media, alongside her good friend and fellow LMU Film School
Alumni, Meredith Yinger. Together, they produce content focused on empowering women in the
film industry.
Jessica Wingenbach: editor
Jessica Wingenbach is an LA native who grew up acting in theatre and film. After years of binge-watching movie trailers on YouTube and being inspired by the editing, she decided to pursue an education and career in post production. Jessica is very excited to be editing her first official narrative piece, alongside many other talented women in the crew and cast.
Roberta Rigano: lead actress, "Jules"
Born and raised in Acireale (CATANIA- Sicily), Roberta Rigano began her artistic journey as a singer, when she was just 4 years old before transitioning into acting. While in Italy, she studied at the prestigious theatre school, La Scuola del Piccolo Teatro di Milano. She spent five years in Rome working in film and television before moving to the USA for two different projects she was cast for. She worked on an HBO limited series called "I know this much is true" directed by Derek Cianfrance, where Mark Ruffalo plays the lead role, and more recently she played one of the lead roles on a new Netflix limited series called "From Scratch", directed by Nzingha Stewart with Zoe Saldana, that will be released this summer.
Mike Bash: lead actor, "Harry"
Mike Bash is originally from NY but has been lucky to live and work all over the world. He has been in LA for the last 9 years and even though there are too many cars and not enough parks he keeps coming back. Probably because there are great stories like this one to tell. Madeleine has written a beautiful script and he is excited to be a part of this story working with Roberta and the wonderful team assembled. You can watch Mike this year on Shameless, Law and Order, The Orville and in a few films in theaters later this year: Salems Lot, Boston Strangler and The Valet. Full credits on imdb.me/mikebash
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
THE STORY
Happy Birthday explores the struggles of learning how to let go, when life serves cards that don't seem fair, such as being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.
It's Jules' birthday and she's got some much to celebrate! She's pregnant with her first and getting ready to launch her very own art exhibit, something she's been working hard on for ages. Then she receives the heavy news: she's showing early symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. She's only thirty-two years old. We follow her the day of receiving the news, celebrating her birthday with friends and her loving partner, Harry while keeping the truth buried inside.
Jules is a fiercely independent creative artist who creates five year game plans, and follows through on them! Her partner, Harry is absent-minded and easy going. Her diagnosis will be the toughest test to their relationship. Will they be able to make it through this earth-quaking diagnosis?
Not to mention the additional stakes for Jules and Harry as they prepare to embark on this next chapter of their lives as parents. It's difficult for Jules to know she'll be handing such a weight of responsibility to Harry to parent their child when she is no longer able to perform at her full capacity.
“Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.”
-Michael J. Fox
Why "Happy Birthday"?
My dad passed away in 2019 after suffering with Parkinson’s Disease for about fifteen years. With the exception of Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali, I had never heard of anyone else afflicted with the disease. It was an isolating experience for our family- heartbreaking and scary. I held onto the hope for a cure but also for some outside reassurance that everything would be okay. I waited to meet someone else who was also living in Limbo.
I wrote this script a little over a year after he passed. I wanted to feel close to him and to grasp what it must have felt like to process the news that fateful day but I didn’t want to write a tragedy. His diagnosis wasn’t a life sentence but a redirection, paved with suffering but also so many precious memories. I wanted to tell a story about a person who was fiercely independent, a fighter who in the name of vulnerability and circumstances must learn to surrender some of that independence and learn to lean on the people around them.
Along with my remarkable team of creative women, I hope to share this story with all of you. To those of you hurting with loved ones struggling with this disease, to those of you personally afflicted and lastly, those of you struggling to reach out and let yourself be helped.
-Madeleine <3
The Aesthetic
This film is rooted in Jules' point of view as she processes the news of her diagnosis. She's a painter so we wanted to play with color and that feeling of nostalgia. She's looking backwards of what she thought her life would look like and towards the uncertainty of the future.
In order to capture that feeling of nostalgia, we want to shoot this on film which will create a beautiful raw intimacy. Although this story takes place in present day, it has a timeless feel that could belong in a number of different past decades. Madeleine is influenced by Joe Wright's period films stylistically. (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Anna Karenina, Cyrano)
Tonally this is very much a character drama and unflinchingly discusses the crisis at hand.
What we're asking for
We've got a script, cast, our core crew: now we're prepping for production!
Our story takes place at a doctor's office, art gallery and apartment. We need resources to rent out spaces for the doctor's office and art gallery.
In order to achieve the desired nostalgic feel and aesthetic we need the resources to purchase and develop film which isn't a cheap process, but so worth it! We need to rent out equipment, purchase food to keep everyone fed and happy and last but certainly not least, we want to pay everyone for their time and work on this project.
Madeleine and Natalie have crunched the numbers and found savvy ways to bring down the budget but these are still necesssary expendables we don't want to short cut. We hope to raise $12,000 through a dedicated audience on Seed & Spark to cover the bare minimum costs of shooting the film.
Why us?
Collectively as a team working behind the scenes and in front of the camera, we all offer perspective and life experiences that round out this story. For Madeleine, this is a personal story that brings light to an underrepresented disease. As a team, we understand what it means to be a woman driven to make moves in her career and the frustration of the uncontrollable obstacles, some posed by nature or society or ourselves! To feel the pressure of an hourglass to keep to a schedule before the times up, terminal illness or not.
We believe in the power of film and the impact of stories rooted in truth and unanswered questions. We're so excited to be collaborating on this special passion project. Most of us met in the most serendipitous ways, those are stories themselves!
The film industry still has a long way to go when it comes to representation and hiring women in prominant roles such as Director, Producer, Director of Photography. Every aspect of this film aims to bring light to underrepresented subjects; we're bringing awareness to living with Parkinson's Disease, sharing the point of view of a woman struggling to resemble a strong woman, and fighting for this platform to collaborate and make art. For everyone involved, we hope their work on this film will give them credibility and further experience in their respective craft. Who knows, this could be further developed into a feature one day...
Thank you so much for considering our project and joining us on this ride!
-Madeleine & Natalie
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast!
Costs $3,000
We're the luckiest to have a group of talented actors on board, we want to pay them for their work!
Locations!
Costs $600
A few scenes call for specific sets, we've got to rent out spaces.
Crew!
Costs $4,700
Our crucial personnel include our very talented DP, Sound, Camera Operator, AD, Gaffer & Grip.
Craft Services!
Costs $350
Fed cast and crew = happy cast and crew!
Music/ Post Production!
Costs $350
Music licensing, post production magic all takes time and money!
16 mm Film Camera
Costs $3,000
This film is destined to be shot on film. Film gives an authentic and intimate feel to the story.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Madeleine Perez: writer/director
Madeleine Perez fell in love with storytelling as soon as she could read and muster up the gumption to direct her six younger siblings in her productions back in Napa, California. She moved out to LA after graduating from John Paul the Great Catholic University where she studied screenwriting and production with the hopes of walking in the footsteps of Greta Gertwig, Tamara Jenkins, Phoebe Waller Bridge and Nora Ephron. She worked on a few short films with friends including the short, "Farah" which she co-wrote and co-directed. This will be mark her solo directorial debut after years dedicated to her writing portfolio. She is drawn to character driven stories that highlight the challenges of navigating life, relationships, addictions and mental illness.
Natalie Perez: producer/dp
Natalie Perez is an LA-based cinematographer and filmmaker who is passionate about telling untold, inspiring, and impactful stories. Her work includes narrative and documentary films, shorts, and web series— from quirky comedies to dark thrillers, dynamic musicals to stark dramas. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Film & TV Production and Women’s Studies at Loyola Marymount University.
Natalie co-Founded She TV Media, alongside her good friend and fellow LMU Film School
Alumni, Meredith Yinger. Together, they produce content focused on empowering women in the
film industry.
Jessica Wingenbach: editor
Jessica Wingenbach is an LA native who grew up acting in theatre and film. After years of binge-watching movie trailers on YouTube and being inspired by the editing, she decided to pursue an education and career in post production. Jessica is very excited to be editing her first official narrative piece, alongside many other talented women in the crew and cast.
Roberta Rigano: lead actress, "Jules"
Born and raised in Acireale (CATANIA- Sicily), Roberta Rigano began her artistic journey as a singer, when she was just 4 years old before transitioning into acting. While in Italy, she studied at the prestigious theatre school, La Scuola del Piccolo Teatro di Milano. She spent five years in Rome working in film and television before moving to the USA for two different projects she was cast for. She worked on an HBO limited series called "I know this much is true" directed by Derek Cianfrance, where Mark Ruffalo plays the lead role, and more recently she played one of the lead roles on a new Netflix limited series called "From Scratch", directed by Nzingha Stewart with Zoe Saldana, that will be released this summer.
Mike Bash: lead actor, "Harry"
Mike Bash is originally from NY but has been lucky to live and work all over the world. He has been in LA for the last 9 years and even though there are too many cars and not enough parks he keeps coming back. Probably because there are great stories like this one to tell. Madeleine has written a beautiful script and he is excited to be a part of this story working with Roberta and the wonderful team assembled. You can watch Mike this year on Shameless, Law and Order, The Orville and in a few films in theaters later this year: Salems Lot, Boston Strangler and The Valet. Full credits on imdb.me/mikebash