High is a brazen exploration of the pervading desire for love in two wildly different lives. What are the consequences of the choices we make surrounding relationships? Deconstructing false ideas of wholeness, the film challenges us to examine what is blocking our own fulfillment.
High is a brazen exploration of the pervading desire for love in two wildly different lives. What are the consequences of the choices we make surrounding relationships? Deconstructing false ideas of wholeness, the film challenges us to examine what is blocking our own fulfillment.
Participating In
Hometown Heroes 2017
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Story
Mission Statement
Behind the camera, we have a woman writer/director/producer and another woman co-producer. In front of the camera, we have two women protagonists; one who is an open bisexual, and one who is struggling with her sexuality.About The Project
Hometown
Tabernash, Colorado.
Population: 417.
Heart of the Rockies. World-class skiing, hiking, biking, and climbing.
Many who live here moved from elsewhere because of an obsession with the mountains.
I grew up here.
My mom escaped to Breckenridge at nineteen and started working as a ski lift attendant. She met my Dad there twenty years later, and they moved to Tabernash so my Dad could work at the nearby Winter Park Resort; where I went to preschool, learned to ski, and had my first job bussing tables at fourteen.
Even after we'd moved to Denver, and even as I went away to school in Texas - went to work in France, and now New York - I've returned to these mountains every winter, every summer. I've grown up working seasonal resort jobs alongside young people who, like my mom, have big spirits and a passion for outdoor adventure that can't be restrained to loud cities and claustrophobic cubicles.
In my emptiest of moments, I return to these mountains, and they provide a seemingly eternal generosity. This film is a love letter to the nature that endures in the face of our weak humanity. The mountains act as a constant sanctuary for the film's rattled characters as their perceptions of themselves and their relationships are uprooted and thrashed about. When everything else is violently unsure, the mountains stand as beacons of serenity.
With this project, I hope to inspire reverence for the Rocky Mountains I know so well, and for nature as a whole, so that we can remember why we need a healthy earth to survive not just physically but spiritually - and so that we can be inspired to preserve nature's sanctuaries in this rapidly industrializing world.
^^ The view from Mark and Meg's mountain home - the central location of the film.
Single vs Family
Growing up, Disney told me stories of a man and a woman meeting, falling in love happily, getting married, and staying together forever in bliss.
In reality, watching the adults in my life, I did see some people come together, young and fresh-faced, head over heels, ready to commit. They did not always live in bliss. I also saw divorce, cheating, and marriages crumbling after years of loveless boredom. There also were - and still are - adult women and men in my life who never partnered off at all, and are dealing with the outcomes of it, good and bad.
This film is born to address the fact that, so often, a healthy partnership doesn't happen or last.
How do we endure the hard parts of belonging primarily to ourselves?
How are we blocking our own fulfillment?
Story Outline (Feature)
Sam - 32 - adrenaline-addicted nomad. Harbors a dark past. Isolated.
Meg - 26 - married at 22 to her first boyfriend. Prone to spells of depression and anxiety. A new mother who cares for the baby alone in her "dream" mountain home while her husband is away during the week for work. Isolated.
^^ Alone on the mountain, in a storm.
Winter. Current Day.
Sam falls off a cliff and hikes to a roadside where Meg finds her. Meg, alone and miserable with the baby, instantly recognizes her and picks her up. Long suppressed confrontations ensue.
The film is releasing summer 2018.
Incentives
$5
Snowshoe
You will receive a social media shout out of thanks!
$10
Magic Carpet
You will receive the social media shout out, a link to the film once it is released, and behind-the-scenes exclusives as we produce the film.
$25
Bunny Hill
You will receive everything from the "Magic Carpet" incentive AS WELL AS a free, personalized short poem (7 lines or more) for you or a loved one written by Eva MeiLing Pollitt.
Check out some of Eva's poems here.
$100
Green Circle Run
You will receive everything from the "Magic Carpet" incentive AS WELL AS either two short poems (at least 7 lines), a long poem (at least 14 lines), or a short song (1 minute) by Eva MeiLing Pollitt for you or your loved ones, AND a signed poster from the cast & crew.
$250
Blue Square Run
You will receive everything from the "Green Circle Run" incentive AS WELL AS either
a. A TOP-NOTCH home-cooked meal for five from Madeline Barr delivered to you or a loved one*.
Madeline Barr is a professional chef with barrskitchen (Instagram: @barrskitchen).
b. A one on one lesson* with Eva for you or a loved one in either:
- Beginning snowboarding** (Full-day session at Winter Park Resort)
- Beginning to Conversational French (or English if you want!) (one two hour session, or two one-hour sessions)
- Creative Writing (one two hour session, or two one-hour sessions and unlimited email feedback)
- Monologue (for this, Eva will work with you or a loved one on a short monologue - one two-hour session or two one-hour sessions)
Eva has worked as a professional language tutor for French speakers, professional theatre teacher, and volunteer snowboard instructor. She holds bachelor's degrees in Theatre and in Languages.
*For the meal or in-person lessons, the student or meal-recipient will need to coordinate with either Madeline or Eva to assure they are within proximity location wise. Any travel and/or lodging costs will not be covered. French and Creative Writing lessons can occur via the web.
** For the snowboarding lesson; equipment rental costs, the cost of the resort pass, and lodging/travel/food costs will not be covered.
$500
Black Diamond Run
You will receive everything from the "Green Circle Run" incentive AS WELL AS
a combination of two of the offerings from the "Blue Square Run";
a. two meals
b. a meal and a lesson
c. two lessons
$1,000
Backcountry
EITHER you will receive
A. An executive producer credit and a product placement in the film. For example, if you own a bar in Grand County, we'll film there. Or if you make a certain type of snowboard or hand soap, it will be the product our character uses. Etc. We will also mention your product in social media blasts.
B. A combination of four of the offerings from the "Blue Square Run" incentive.
- four meals
- four lessons
- one meal, three lessons
- two meals, two lessons
etc.
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$5
Snowshoe
You will receive a social media shout out of thanks!
$10
Magic Carpet
You will receive the social media shout out, a link to the film once it is released, and behind-the-scenes exclusives as we produce the film.
$25
Bunny Hill
You will receive everything from the "Magic Carpet" incentive AS WELL AS a free, personalized short poem (7 lines or more) for you or a loved one written by Eva MeiLing Pollitt.
Check out some of Eva's poems here.
$100
Green Circle Run
You will receive everything from the "Magic Carpet" incentive AS WELL AS either two short poems (at least 7 lines), a long poem (at least 14 lines), or a short song (1 minute) by Eva MeiLing Pollitt for you or your loved ones, AND a signed poster from the cast & crew.
$250
Blue Square Run
You will receive everything from the "Green Circle Run" incentive AS WELL AS either
a. A TOP-NOTCH home-cooked meal for five from Madeline Barr delivered to you or a loved one*.
Madeline Barr is a professional chef with barrskitchen (Instagram: @barrskitchen).
b. A one on one lesson* with Eva for you or a loved one in either:
- Beginning snowboarding** (Full-day session at Winter Park Resort)
- Beginning to Conversational French (or English if you want!) (one two hour session, or two one-hour sessions)
- Creative Writing (one two hour session, or two one-hour sessions and unlimited email feedback)
- Monologue (for this, Eva will work with you or a loved one on a short monologue - one two-hour session or two one-hour sessions)
Eva has worked as a professional language tutor for French speakers, professional theatre teacher, and volunteer snowboard instructor. She holds bachelor's degrees in Theatre and in Languages.
*For the meal or in-person lessons, the student or meal-recipient will need to coordinate with either Madeline or Eva to assure they are within proximity location wise. Any travel and/or lodging costs will not be covered. French and Creative Writing lessons can occur via the web.
** For the snowboarding lesson; equipment rental costs, the cost of the resort pass, and lodging/travel/food costs will not be covered.
$500
Black Diamond Run
You will receive everything from the "Green Circle Run" incentive AS WELL AS
a combination of two of the offerings from the "Blue Square Run";
a. two meals
b. a meal and a lesson
c. two lessons
$1,000
Backcountry
EITHER you will receive
A. An executive producer credit and a product placement in the film. For example, if you own a bar in Grand County, we'll film there. Or if you make a certain type of snowboard or hand soap, it will be the product our character uses. Etc. We will also mention your product in social media blasts.
B. A combination of four of the offerings from the "Blue Square Run" incentive.
- four meals
- four lessons
- one meal, three lessons
- two meals, two lessons
etc.
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Eva MeiLing Pollitt (Producer/Writer/Director)
Eva MeiLing Pollitt grew up in a ski town. Starting in 6th grade, she spent the school week in Denver to attend Denver School of the Arts as a theatre major. During vacations home in college, she began working with the professional theatre and film community in Denver as a teacher at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, while also working seasonal jobs at the ski resort on the weekends.
Eva grew up immersed in the arts community in Colorado and in the mountains of Colorado. She is thrilled to participate in the Hometown Heroes Rally with her film High not only because the story of the project is keeping her awake at night, but also because it will allow her to merge the artistic community and the splendid natural environment of her childhood.
Eva is an award-winning filmmaker, produced playwright, and prize-winning undergraduate research scholar. You can read more about her work at her Seed & Spark Profile.
Madeline Barr (Co-Producer/Actor - Meg) -
Madeline and Eva met in 6th grade at Denver School of the Arts. Through out adolescence, they collaborated on early projects; music videos filmed on a camcorder in parents' attics, comedic skits performed on cabaret stages, and Shakespeare scenes performed at school. Today, after receiving BFAs from prestigious universities, they share an apartment in Brooklyn and continue to collaborate on professional film and theatre projects in New York. High was born from their conversations about singleness vs. motherhood and their shared dream to film a project in their home state.
Madeline is an award-winning actor, writer, theatre deviser, and director. You can learn more about her work at her website.
Leah Watson (Actor - Sam)
Originally from Denver Colorado, Leah started performing and creating as soon as she could walk. In the last 10 years she has cultivated her craft at Denver School of the Arts, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, The School at Steppenwolf, and University of Colorado. As Madeline and Eva brainstormed on what Colorado-based actors they knew who could rock the role of Sam, they found Leah's reel on IMDB. Leah continues to inspire with her remarkable film work and has now come on board as an enthusiastic collaborator.
Kaitlyn "Kdubbs" Williams (Composer)
Kaitlyn and Eva both grew up in Tabernash, Colorado and attended the same summer musical theatre camp in the nearby Grand Lake, Colorado as pre-teens. Kaitlyn amazed the camp group performing ballads she had written herself. Since then, Eva has continued to follow Kaitlyn on her social media, as Kaitlyn has studied music at the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (best in the country!) and performed concerts all over the Colorado area.
As Eva considered which Colorado musicians she knew, she rewatched some of Kaitlyn's pieces on Kaitlyn's Instagram, and found the strong acoustic guitar, audacious female vocals, and all around powerful warmth she was looking for.
A Note
All of these artists are people who grew up in Colorado alongside one another. They share a passion for the mountains and a passion to tell this story about human connection, love, and isolation.
The producers want to create a team composed of mainly Colorado artists. If YOU are a Colorado-based or Colorado-born filmmaker and are interested in collaborating on this project, please contact us at [email protected]
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