Homeward
New Haven, Connecticut | Film Short
Drama, Fantasy
Homeward follows a mother and her daughter as they prepare for her return to Cambodia after leaving 40 years prior. The film uses haunting and fantastical imagery to project its audience into a dreamworld shaped by histories of genocide, refugee experiences, irreconcilable distance, and longing.
Homeward
New Haven, Connecticut | Film Short
Drama, Fantasy
1 Campaigns | Connecticut, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $10,800 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
75 supporters | followers
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Homeward follows a mother and her daughter as they prepare for her return to Cambodia after leaving 40 years prior. The film uses haunting and fantastical imagery to project its audience into a dreamworld shaped by histories of genocide, refugee experiences, irreconcilable distance, and longing.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Cambodian American films are hard to come by. As an emerging generation of filmmakers, we seek to reimagine and broaden the narratives of Cambodia and its diaspora. While we may not have the star-power of Angelina Jolie to draw attention to Cambodia, we do have a story of our own to tell.
Homeward grapples with the deeply personal and unique, yet universal, struggle of redefining “home.”
The story follows Rotha, a middle-aged Cambodian American, and her college-age daughter, Isa, as they pack up their suburban American home the day before Rotha returns to Cambodia for the first time since she left the country as a refugee over four decades ago.
Photos by Annie Ling & Rina Yang
Photos by Rina Yang & Willem Verbeeck
This film is Annelise Ayuravann Ratner's senior thesis project in film at Yale University and it’s inspired by the anxieties she feels and witnesses within her own Cambodian American family. And much like the different generations of women in Annelise's family, Rotha and Isa each have different relationships to the idea of homeland that they bring into the space of the domestic home.
We will drift between intimate moments of dream, horror, projection, and memory to witness how these characters imbue a place with their own fantasies and fears. The film will use haunting and fantastical imagery to project its audiences into a dream world shaped by histories of genocide, refugee experiences, irreconcilable distance, and longing.
Photos by Olan Collardy & Oswaldo Cepeda
Homeward is such a collaborative endeavor of imagination, and we need your help to bring it to life. So much of the film's storytelling is about place and space, and we need money to find the right location, to energize it with set design and lighting, and to house and feed our crew & talent, who will be putting in the hours to tell a story centered on a community whose history of genocide, displacement, and incredible resilience is under threat of being forgotten.
We've set our crowdfunding goal to $10,000 and will use this money to compensate everyone's hard work, bring the intricate imaginations of our fantasy dream to the screen through production design and the right equipment, and make sure that we deliver a version of this story that we can be proud of. Our Post Production and Emergency fund will also accomodate any unforeseen complications due to COVID-19.
After our crowdfunding campaign ends in late February, the team will be be continuing with pre-production until we shoot in mid-March. We'll be in production from March 14th - 18th, during the first week of Yale’s spring recess, and most of us on the shoot will be taking time out of our spring break to help out! The rest of the spring semester will be spent on post-production, aiming to finish a final cut of the film by late April, in time for senior thesis submissions! We will also be preparing for a festival run and, finally, a public release!
We ask you to consider contributing to this campaign — no amount is too little or too much. If you can’t contribute financially at the moment, please consider sharing this campaign with your friends, family, and community!
SPREAD THE WORD!
Follow and repost us on Instagram @homeward.film!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Crew & Housing
Costs $3,100
To compensate and house our very talented crew who will bring Homeward’s dreamscape to life!
Talent & Housing
Costs $1,750
To compensate and house our talent for their hard work in bringing these two characters to life!
Meals & Craft Services
Costs $1,500
Help us, our crew, and our talent eat during our 5-day shoot!
Equipment
Costs $1,500
We’re college students who need to rent lens/camera & lighting/grip equipment. Please help us!
Set Design
Costs $1,000
This covers the cost of creative construction as we magically transform our set into a dream world!
Post-Production & Emergency
Costs $650
Covers the costs of post-production and contingency/emergency funds for just-in-case.
Transportation
Costs $500
Transporting production team, crew, equipment, and talent to our location.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Annelise Ayuravann Ratner, Writer-Director
Raised in Southeast Asia, Annelise seeks, among other narrative endeavors, to tell stories focused on the region and its diasporic histories and imaginations. Between binging YouTube videos on cinematography and screenwriting, she likes to go on long, meandering walks (and talks) and eat spicy food until her eyes water. She’s currently a senior at Yale University, studying Film and Media Studies.
Diza Edgina Hendrawan, Producer
Diza is fond of ghosts, cultural folklore, and queer anecdotes. Standing at 5'2.5" and raised in Honolulu, Hawai'i, they produce films and theatre projects that center undercelebrated Asian narratives. They are a Historical, Artistic, and Cultural Resources Coordinator at the Yale Asian American Cultural Center and a 2022 MTV Entertainment Group Joel Schumacher/Sophia Cranshaw Scholar. They are a sophomore in Film and Media Studies at Yale.
Charlie Gleberman, Director of Photography
Charlie is a cinematographer from New York City. He grew up making mediocre street photography and slightly less mediocre theater before finding film in his first year of college. He enjoys long walks but generally not on beaches because he finds sand to be coarse and believes it gets everywhere. Charlie is 23 and a senior at Yale University, majoring in Art with a concentration in photography.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Cambodian American films are hard to come by. As an emerging generation of filmmakers, we seek to reimagine and broaden the narratives of Cambodia and its diaspora. While we may not have the star-power of Angelina Jolie to draw attention to Cambodia, we do have a story of our own to tell.
Homeward grapples with the deeply personal and unique, yet universal, struggle of redefining “home.”
The story follows Rotha, a middle-aged Cambodian American, and her college-age daughter, Isa, as they pack up their suburban American home the day before Rotha returns to Cambodia for the first time since she left the country as a refugee over four decades ago.
Photos by Annie Ling & Rina Yang
Photos by Rina Yang & Willem Verbeeck
This film is Annelise Ayuravann Ratner's senior thesis project in film at Yale University and it’s inspired by the anxieties she feels and witnesses within her own Cambodian American family. And much like the different generations of women in Annelise's family, Rotha and Isa each have different relationships to the idea of homeland that they bring into the space of the domestic home.
We will drift between intimate moments of dream, horror, projection, and memory to witness how these characters imbue a place with their own fantasies and fears. The film will use haunting and fantastical imagery to project its audiences into a dream world shaped by histories of genocide, refugee experiences, irreconcilable distance, and longing.
Photos by Olan Collardy & Oswaldo Cepeda
Homeward is such a collaborative endeavor of imagination, and we need your help to bring it to life. So much of the film's storytelling is about place and space, and we need money to find the right location, to energize it with set design and lighting, and to house and feed our crew & talent, who will be putting in the hours to tell a story centered on a community whose history of genocide, displacement, and incredible resilience is under threat of being forgotten.
We've set our crowdfunding goal to $10,000 and will use this money to compensate everyone's hard work, bring the intricate imaginations of our fantasy dream to the screen through production design and the right equipment, and make sure that we deliver a version of this story that we can be proud of. Our Post Production and Emergency fund will also accomodate any unforeseen complications due to COVID-19.
After our crowdfunding campaign ends in late February, the team will be be continuing with pre-production until we shoot in mid-March. We'll be in production from March 14th - 18th, during the first week of Yale’s spring recess, and most of us on the shoot will be taking time out of our spring break to help out! The rest of the spring semester will be spent on post-production, aiming to finish a final cut of the film by late April, in time for senior thesis submissions! We will also be preparing for a festival run and, finally, a public release!
We ask you to consider contributing to this campaign — no amount is too little or too much. If you can’t contribute financially at the moment, please consider sharing this campaign with your friends, family, and community!
SPREAD THE WORD!
Follow and repost us on Instagram @homeward.film!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Crew & Housing
Costs $3,100
To compensate and house our very talented crew who will bring Homeward’s dreamscape to life!
Talent & Housing
Costs $1,750
To compensate and house our talent for their hard work in bringing these two characters to life!
Meals & Craft Services
Costs $1,500
Help us, our crew, and our talent eat during our 5-day shoot!
Equipment
Costs $1,500
We’re college students who need to rent lens/camera & lighting/grip equipment. Please help us!
Set Design
Costs $1,000
This covers the cost of creative construction as we magically transform our set into a dream world!
Post-Production & Emergency
Costs $650
Covers the costs of post-production and contingency/emergency funds for just-in-case.
Transportation
Costs $500
Transporting production team, crew, equipment, and talent to our location.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Annelise Ayuravann Ratner, Writer-Director
Raised in Southeast Asia, Annelise seeks, among other narrative endeavors, to tell stories focused on the region and its diasporic histories and imaginations. Between binging YouTube videos on cinematography and screenwriting, she likes to go on long, meandering walks (and talks) and eat spicy food until her eyes water. She’s currently a senior at Yale University, studying Film and Media Studies.
Diza Edgina Hendrawan, Producer
Diza is fond of ghosts, cultural folklore, and queer anecdotes. Standing at 5'2.5" and raised in Honolulu, Hawai'i, they produce films and theatre projects that center undercelebrated Asian narratives. They are a Historical, Artistic, and Cultural Resources Coordinator at the Yale Asian American Cultural Center and a 2022 MTV Entertainment Group Joel Schumacher/Sophia Cranshaw Scholar. They are a sophomore in Film and Media Studies at Yale.
Charlie Gleberman, Director of Photography
Charlie is a cinematographer from New York City. He grew up making mediocre street photography and slightly less mediocre theater before finding film in his first year of college. He enjoys long walks but generally not on beaches because he finds sand to be coarse and believes it gets everywhere. Charlie is 23 and a senior at Yale University, majoring in Art with a concentration in photography.