A conservative fascist has just been re-elected president in a landslide as the country careems towards individualism. It’s…1984 in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. And teenager Patricia Miller is looking for anything to numb her existential depression.

In a desperate attempt to beat back her sadness, Patricia journeys someplace new –– a punk show in neighboring Minneapolis. Over the course of one night, and one performance by the band HYSTER!A, she uncovers a new world for herself that might just change her life.

This film is about a lot of things. It’s about falling in love for the first time, the heightened emotional contrasts of growing up, and about live music and art’s capability to move us. The feeling of connection in a room of bodies all sharing a communal experience is a radical force –– a sense of purpose and community even amidst the abject powerlessness of encroaching fascism. 

The uniting force of all these themes? Minnesota.

No matter where I’ve gone in my life, where I’ve lived, what I’ve done, I feel like I’m always carrying Minnesota with me. This film is an outgrowth of that feeling, and I’m hoping to not just recreate that state and this particular music scene, but to also evoke the love, community, resilience, and spirit of my home state.

The Minneapolis punk scene –– co-existing alongside the meteoric rise of Prince and the Minneapolis sound –– has always felt under-explored. Bands like The Replacements and Hüsker Dü balanced chaos, melody, and evocative emotionally resonant songwriting to create a new strain of punk rock, one that rejected the homophobia and hyper-masculinity prevalent in many hardcore scenes of the era, and that evoked the angst and loneliness of being working class in an increasingly corporatized America. 

Listening to their music, along with the many other incredible bands of the era, I feel Minnesota coursing through every note –- the pain of that state’s history, its resilient pride, its passive-aggressive tendencies, and its outsized influence. Not to mention that the Minneapolis punk scene got SO CLOSE to stardom only to flame out, paving the way for Seattle’s grunge boom renaissance a few years later… which feels like an ironic twist familiar to anyone who cares about Minnesota sports.

But I know that that music, and those feelings, are not limited to people familiar with -20°F winters and a disdain for Chuck Knoblauch...

"When I first read this script, I was struck by not only its ability to succinctly capture a deep emotional shift in our Patricia’s life, but the vibrance and the presence with which I was able to recall where this happened to me. Immediately upon entering Carlsen’s, I was transported back to my own home bar in Richmond, VA. I was 19 again, and experiencing music’s power to turn a dark, sparse bar with a modest stage into a hallowed site of sacred memories."

– Celina West, our incredible producer

That's what we're ultimately trying to capture with this film, and we have been hard at work for months already to make sure that we can create a visceral, beautiful, and authentically human-made film this fall.

We are building a film of contrasts –– something scrappy and raw, but with a great attention to period detail, careful compositions, and poetic cinematic storytelling.

To do that, we're drawing on a wide range of influences: the intimate interiority of Lynn Ramsay's MORVERN CALLAR, the '80s grit of films like Susan Seidelman's SMITHEREENS and DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, the ecstatic emotional bliss of VELVET GOLDMINE, MOULIN ROUGE! and CAROL, and the unapologetic punk sensibilities of SID & NANCY, HER SMELL, and DAISIES. And so, so, so many more.

But first and foremost, we're working to build a film that operates fully on its own heartbeat –– or more accurately –– on Patricia's. This is her journey, and we're dead-set on making a film that reflects everything she feels on her odyssey into this exciting world. From '80s midwest suburbia, into the apex of a historic punk scene amidst a rapidly changing metropolis. Balancing the cold limestone browns (and winter blues and whites) of a Minneapolis winter, with the harsh, bold lighting of a bar-turned-punk-nightclub. And obviously, a booming, deeply immersive soundscape (and soundtrack to match).

To do all that (even on a scrappy and resourceful level) and still be able to make sure we create a safe AND collaborative environment while hiring a deeply talented crew of creative geniuses, we're going to need to raise some extra cash.

While I'm lucky to have been able to put a fair bit of cash into the film myself to make sure we can hire our key creative roles and get the ball rolling, there are a lot of factors that go into making a film like this.

From LICENSING MUSIC for our titular band (and RECORDING A KICK-ASS COVER), to renting an amazing venue that will function as a snapshot of 1984 Minneapolis and propel Patricia into a new world, to recording engineers, lighting, costuming, props, production design, insurance, not to mention additional post-production resources to bring it all home, we've estimated we'll need an additional $13,000 to bring HYSTER!A to life. (You can see the itemization of how this all breaks down on our WISHLIST page)

That's not nothing! But we believe in the story we're telling, and the cinematic world we're already hard at work building. And in a moment where corporate (and governmental) interests are starving the arts and running tech-based smear campaigns to position human-made art as worthless unless it is engineered to produce profits, we believe wholeheartedly that building a set where everyone is treated fairly, given room to create and collaborate, and come together to help construct a narrative journey about life, art, and community in a conservative world is worth every last cent.

In addition to our deepest, everlasting gratitude for helping us make HYSTER!A, we have a couple of really cool and unique items you can claim by donating. (As you can see in the INCENTIVES part of the page)

These range from digital screenings and access to the finished film as soon as it’s done, to punky handmade items like signed screenprinted film posters, band t-shirts, and an exclusive and comprehensive risograph-printed zine that takes you thru our entire process of making the film! And at the higher levels, you can even take home some one-of-a-kind props from the film shoot itself, signed (and even defaced) by our cast and crew –– not to mention an EXECUTIVE PRODUCER CREDIT.

Plus, we’re incredibly happy to have partnered with our friends at Level Ground as a fiscal sponsor! This means that, because they are a registered (and incredible) 501(c)3, ANY DONATION YOU MAKE TO THE FILM IS FULLY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE. So not only do you get a cool reward AND get to help us out, but you can even stick it to Uncle Sam increase your tax refund in the process!

FUNDRAISING: July 2026

PREP + ASSEMBLE OUR FULL TEAM: May-August 2026

SCOUT + FINAL PREP: September 2026

SHOOT: October 2026

( ALL S&S INCENTIVES SHIPPED TO BACKERS: November 2026 )

POST-PRODUCTION: November 2026-January 2027

FESTIVAL RUN: Spring-Winter 2027

It's a cliché, but it's true: EVERY SINGLE THING HELPS with a campaign like this.

If you are able to donate, we'd be extremely honored (and also very thrilled because we get to give you some really cool rewards!) and want you to know that literally every single dollar we raise is going directly into the production of this film –– either to paying members of our cast or crew, or towards the equipment and rentals that will help us create this exciting world.

But we also know that not everyone is in a situation where they can contribute, and there are still ways for you to help us and follow us along on the journey over the next few months of our production journey!

First, follow our Instagram account (@_hysteriafilm), which will function as a centralized hub for both our crowdfunding campaign and the process of creating film itself! Second, please SHARE OUR POSTS and OUR S&S CAMPAIGN with your friends as much as you can over the next month. Every share and engagement goes a long way in the algorithm-based hellscape of social media and helps expose new people to our film and campaign!

And of course, DIRECT ENGAGEMENT goes even further –– do you know of a friend who this film seems tailor-made for? A coworker who's always playing Hüsker Dü albums at his desk? An aunt who grew up in '80s Minnesota and is excited to see the beauty and chaos of that time-period reflected on screen? Perhaps even a wealthy-ish acquaintance who seems to have a lot of cash to burn and is eager for a tax deduction and a fancy IMDb credit? Email them, text them, call them! The power of direct connection is incredibly and increasingly important...it's one of the reasons we're making this film in the first place. Building communities of support and care are a hallmark of what made both music scenes and queer scenes special in the latter part of the 20th century, and we want this film to be able to foster its own expanding community as well.

If you've read this far, you're a part of our community, and chances are, you'll really love the film we're making. Explore the other tabs at the top of this page to find out more about our team, what the fundraiser will cover, and how to contact us if you have any questions!

Finally, thank you for helping us however you can. We're excited and so, so lucky to be able to tell this story the way it's meant to be told, and we Can't Hardly Wait for you to get to experience Patricia's journey.

–– Devon Manney (writer/director)