A widowed father is forced to unfold the concept of racial divide to his impressionable daughter after a life threatening experience.
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Story
Mission Statement
This film explores the fragility of innocence and the harsh realities of being Black and disabled in America. While this film will highlight this plight, our main focus is to celebrate the people striving to maintain joy in a world that continues to break their hearts.About The Project
In her bedroom, 7 year old Levi (BLACK) wakes up and her eyes land on the calendar marking her late mother's birthday. With more excitement than usual, she rushes into her Dad, Leon's, bedroom and wakes him up. Leon who is deaf, signs to her to go finish her morning routine. After finishing her daily affirmations, Levi reaches under her bed and pulls out a box. Inside there's jewelry, photos, a doll, and a cookbook. As she looks through the cookbook, she lands on a pie recipe. She asks her Dad Leon if they can bake it in honor of Mom's birthday and he agrees. After breakfast, Levi and Leon head out to get the ingredients for their cake. However, on their way back from the store, Leon gets pulled over by a Cop, and Levi's life changes forever as the innocence of her youth is ripped away.
THE CHARACTERS
LEVI LAWSON,7, BLACK, is an outgoing, curious little girl. She’s affectionate, optimistic and sassy. Needless to say, a daddy’s girl. While she’s never met her mother, she loves learning about her. Only having one parent, her biggest fear is losing him, so she holds on tight with love. Although she’s sheltered, she remains curious and fearless.
LEON LAWSON, EARLY 30's, BLACK, DEAF, is a family-oriented man’s man, a wellrespected mechanic in his community. His exterior is tough but he’s sensitive. He’s charming and patient but has his own insecurities of not being a good enough parent. Unfortunately, his wife, who he met in high school, died after giving birth to their daughter. Now living as a single father, he’s slightly overprotective of Levi because she’s all he’s got.
OFFICER WHITE, 30's, WHITE, MALE, has a pictureperfect family that he loves, a wife and two kids. However, he is a modern-day racist in plain sight. Ex-military suffering from PTSD turned police officer who is ignorant to many minority groups. He is a very prideful, entitled, boisterous republican man who has a strong prejudice against people of color.
Fourth of July weekend in 2020, at least 6 children were killed by gun violence across the nation. The daughter of Philando Castille witnessed his murder during a traffic stop. George Floyd was murdered in front of his entire community like a modern day lynching and if it wasn’t for the bravery of 17-year-old Damella Frazier, we would not have seen the day that his murderer was charged. Jacob Blake was shot in the back in front of his three children, 3, 5 and 7.
This film is acknowledging a small portion of the consequences we are charged with being Black in America. Not to mention the double minority of being Black while deaf or hard of hearing in America like 64-year-old Pearl Pearson, who was beaten by Police Officers because he could not hear them and “resisted arrest”. In many cases like this one, the Officers were not well equipped to communicate with people with such disabilities and that is unacceptable.
We are all suffering from PTSD and instead of healing and changing, We are just passing along the trauma to our children. I write this from the perspective of the little girl in our story, Levi, to show how fragile innocence is in this world. While Levi is a fictional character, her story is one shared by many young girls in this country. Memories mold you into who you are, and trauma should not be the initiation fee to growing up. It isn’t a badge of honor. With this film, I hope to shed light on the things of which are most neglected and begin a healthy dialogue about the effects of police brutality and violence on our youth.
While I'm a filmmaker, I am also a film student at New York Film Academy. This film serves not only as my final thesis project before my graduation in the summer but also the calling card to my professional filmmaking career. I'm excited to show my audience the high calibur filmmaking that students are capable of - even with a limited budget. Making a film is a challenging, yet exhilerating feat, but it is a worth it when there's a story like Imprint that needs to be shared with the world.
WE CANNOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!
If you are wondering, "Girl, why didn't you save your money?" I did! Unfortunately, the $5,000 I have saved myself is not yet meeting all of our needs! We are currrently in Pre-Production for our film - securing funding, casting, location scouting, hiring our crew. We will be shooting our film, March 19-20, 2022. Following production and post production, we will prepare to go on a festival run where the film will also have it's debut premiere. Your contributions will help offset our production costs which are include but are not limited to:
- Paying Cast and Crew : $3000
- Insurance: $1000
- Equipment Rental: $1000
- Post Production (Editing, Color Correction, Sound Design): $1000
Your contributions will also ensure that we can obtain the best equipment and tools needed to safely do our best work amid the Covid-19 Pandemic. Our Covid Safety Plan includes temperature checks, mask mandates on set, and providing PPE for all cast and crew. We will also ensure that we are complying with the health protocols outlined in the State of Georgia Film and Television Production Best Practices. A COVID Compliance Officer will be on set ensuring that covid protocols are followed and available should any health issues arise.
How can you help?
- By investing in our film and suppporting our fundraiser, you will be helping to bring Imprint off the page and onto the silver screen. Check out our incentives!
- Share on social media and help us spread the word!
- Share any resources that you may have that could help us!
Social Media Prompt
Feel free to copy and paste this example below to help spread the word:
Help filmmaker @jasjetoi by supporting her short film IMPRINT that follows the journey of a widowed father who is forced to unfold the concept of racial divide to his impressionable daughter after a life threatening experience! Join them on @seedandspark at: www.seedandspark.com/fund/imprintshortfilm
My heart is already so full as my friends and colleagues agree to be apart of the team that brings Imprint to life. I’d love for you to be a part of that as well! Thank you!
With Love,
Jas Je'Toi
Incentives
$10
Little Moments Make Big Memories
- A personalized thank you note from the cast and crew of Imprint!
$25
Levi's Millionaire Pie
- A digital copy of our Director's family recipe for Millionaire Pie!
- A special shoutout on social media (Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook)!
- All previous incentives!
$50
ASL Love!
- A Special “Thank You” Message in ASL from our director!
- All previous incentives!
$100
Memories are Timeless
- A "Special Thanks" shoutout in the film's credits!
- All previous incentives!
$250
Virtual Screening
- An invite to our virtual private screening of Imprint upon completion!
- All previous incentives!
$500
Shameless Plug
- Your name and/or logo in the closing credits of the film!
- All previous incentives!
$1,000
A Piece of the Pie
- A producer credit on our film!
- All previous incentives!
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$10
Little Moments Make Big Memories
- A personalized thank you note from the cast and crew of Imprint!
$25
Levi's Millionaire Pie
- A digital copy of our Director's family recipe for Millionaire Pie!
- A special shoutout on social media (Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook)!
- All previous incentives!
$50
ASL Love!
- A Special “Thank You” Message in ASL from our director!
- All previous incentives!
$100
Memories are Timeless
- A "Special Thanks" shoutout in the film's credits!
- All previous incentives!
$250
Virtual Screening
- An invite to our virtual private screening of Imprint upon completion!
- All previous incentives!
$500
Shameless Plug
- Your name and/or logo in the closing credits of the film!
- All previous incentives!
$1,000
A Piece of the Pie
- A producer credit on our film!
- All previous incentives!
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
JAS JE'TOI WRITER|DIRECTOR|PRODUCER
Jas Je’toi is a poet, writer, producer, director, and CEO of A Sistas Productions. A filmmaker based out of Los Ángeles and Atlanta, GA, her works are about supporting, inspiring and promoting a safe space for the underdog, our youth, and women, especially black women to be seen as the complex beings we truly are. Her work has been screened at festivals with diverse audiences such as Awareness Festival and San Diego Black Film Fest. “I allow creativity to flow to me and through me. I am a creative conduit. Nothing more, nothing less.” As an artist, it is not my job to be palatable but it is my job to evoke emotions that inspire conversations, and tell stories that make the world conscious of our commonality.
KAYLA SKIPPER PRODUCER
Kayla Skipper is a screenwriter and spoken word artist who is devoted to using her voice and her writing to spread awareness and share the Black experience. Growing up in predominantly white Oswego NY, Kayla has a unqiue experience that she draws from to shape her stories. Currently, Kayla works as a freelance writer in the Children’s television space, but you can find her writing poetry, binge-watching her favorite shows, thrift store shopping, and collaborating with local creatives in her spare time. She believes that writing is a powerful vehicle of activism and hopes to continue to use it to amplify the voices of marginalized groups.
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