Is there a story from your childhood you keep coming back to? A place you’d like to revisit? A person you’d give anything to see again? We all have memories that stick with us much stronger than others. For people who have left their homes, these memories can manifest in different ways. Letter 29 explores what “home” means to those who can’t return through souvenirs of life. 

Emir has immigrated to the United States from Turkey. He has a rich life in his current city, but can’t go back to his home. Using an old picture frame his wife gave him, he takes the time to reflect on his hometown.

Letter 29 is not just a short film. It is a collective project– a work of mass storytelling and organizing. We have collected anonymous stories from all around Chicago through handwritten letters, urging people to share their lives and memories with us. As our film is being produced, people all over the city and surrounding areas share pieces of their pasts and presents. 

These letters not only create the core of our film but will become part of a larger scope screening series once it’s finished. We plan to create a traveling exhibit featuring the letters, allowing different communities to learn about the stories contained within, even if they were not part of the film. 

The film consists of three parts. The first is a reading of different letters. We will hear snippets of different stories with corresponding visuals. The second and third parts come in once we focus on a single letter, Emir’s story. We will see home videos shot on Super 8 from Emir’s family and Emir trying to reconnect with his home through a replica set built on a soundstage. Home is made in the details. The texture of the archival footage emulates the texture of home. Any attempt at recreation, no matter where that might be, in our case, a liminal sound stage, exposes the insufficiency of anywhere else. It is a futile effort.

WHERE YOUR CONTRIBUTION WILL GO

Our initial crowdfunding goal is $8,165. The project can be greenlit only if we reach 80% of our goal, $6,532. If we don’t hit that minimum, we lose all funds raised—every single dollar goes back. So your support now truly makes all the difference. We have a stretch goal of $10,000 to reduce the financial burden on our cast and crew.

Once production is complete in a few months, we will launch a second campaign for post-production, featuring images and clips from our film, so you can see what your contributions helped create.

Cast and crew: We are working with some incredible creatives who are dedicating time, energy, resources, and skills to this project. Even though this film is a labor of love… we would love to give them compensation for their labor. 

Equipment: Good stories deserve the right tools to tell them with. We will be shooting half digital and half analog on Super 8 film. As such, we are facing additional costs to camera rentals like purchasing film stock and paying for developing and scanning fees.

Other Production Expenses: This category encompasses expenses such as food, transportation, production design purchases, insurance, permits, and/or location fees.