Jaylah

New York City, New York | Film Short

Drama, LGBTQ

16 days :19 hrs :28 mins

Until Deadline

12 supporters | followers

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Goal: $5,000 for production

After receiving a text from her crush, Jaylah, a naive, 17-year-old, must decide between looking after her grandmother or losing her virginity.

About The Project

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Mission Statement

With this film, our goal is to humanize black, masculine women. On-screen and in real life, studs bear the expectation to be a protector, and a hypersexual vessel for pleasure. By telling this story from my perspective, I want to challenge those stereotypes.

The Story

Cramped in the tract homes of a white suburban neighborhood, Jaylah, a 17-year-old, music-obsessed stud cares for her grandmother. When Maggie, Jaylah’s crush from school, randomly calls her asking to hang out, Jaylah, embarrassed by her home's Afrocentric decor, decides to leave her Grandmother for a hook-up.


When Jaylah arrives at Maggie’s house, she is confronted by several of Maggie’s micro-aggressions. Faced with the fact that Maggie’s perception of Jaylah is superficial and perhaps racist, Jaylah confronts Maggie. An argument arises and Maggie asks Jaylah to leave. 


Jaylah returns home to the consequences of her haste, finding her grandmother has fallen. With an apology, Jaylah does her best to right her wrongs, but is left feeling guilty and the realization that few people truly understand her.




This film speaks of being torn between two cultures as a black kid in a predominantly white environment.


Growing up in a predominately white, conservative town as a queer black kid, I was faced with two options: Turn my back to my inner feelings to be more palatable to my peers, or to choose myself and become an outcast. As a teenager, my most excruciating coming-of-age moments were when I denied myself to fit the images of what my white peers expected me to be. This film is an exploration of those experiences.


'Jaylah' depicts the nuances of teenage attraction as a black, masc lesbian. This film is a tale of identity, offering a new perspective on navigating the racism and fetishization within the queer community. While there is queer representation on-screen, there is none quite like this.





A Few Keywords for This Film’s Visual Language.


Natural – Instead of focusing on stylized camera moves and production design, our visual approach is very naturalistic. We aim to immerse you in this story. 


Warm – Because this story is being told retrospectively, we aim to emulate the warmth and softness of a memory. 


Intentional Although we are immersed in an unpolished universe, our framing and composition are very intentional.




Here are a few stills that we’ve drawn upon for visual inspiration.



Here are a few stills that we’ve drawn upon for visual inspiration.




To bring this story to life, we need your support. We need to reach the 80% minimum of our goal to get the funds from Seed & Spark. We have 30 days to make that happen.


Every contribution, big or small, helps us secure essential resources, from transporting our talented cast and crew to obtaining locations that will allow us to capture the essence of this story authentically. Your donations will not only support our film but also amplify the voices of those often marginalized in our society. With your help, we can create a powerful narrative that resonates with audiences everywhere.




To keep up with our production, including behind-the-scenes looks at our film, follow us on Instagram at @jaylahfilm.





Development, Fall 2024: 

“Jaylah” is a project that has been in development since September 2024.


Preproduction + Crowdfunding, January-March 2025:

Our crowdfunding campaign will be running throughout February of 2025, as pre-production continues. During this period, our team will be hiring cast and crew members, and securing our locations to make this film happen. 


Production, March 2025:

We are incredibly excited to be shooting in early March, on location in NYC/New Jersey.


Post-Production, Spring-Summer 2025:

From March to August 2025, our post-production team will be working on a finalized cut of the film, which includes the sound mix, an original score, and color grading. 


Distribution, 2025:

We anticipate submitting “Jaylah” to several film festivals with an emphasis on those celebrating women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ voices. 









Wishlist

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Cash Pledge

Costs $0

Locations

Costs $2,000

Setting is central to this story. We're looking to film in a suburban home. Please help us cover the costs of renting this location.

Food & Lodging

Costs $1,500

Please help us ensure that our cast and crew are properly fed during production.

Transportation

Costs $500

To cover the costs of transportation for our cast and crew as well as the equipment to and from the set.

Production Design

Costs $500

To cover the expenses of props and dressing our set.

Camera Rentals

Costs $500

To cover the cost of renting lenses and camera accessories needed to achieve our film's look.

About This Team

I am so excited to be working with my frequent collaborators Madeleine Tran and Amira Aboudallah on the project. We've worked on 4 films together including both Madeleine and Amira's NYU Thesis films. In addition, our crew in this production is predominantly women and people of color.

Current Team

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