Long Away
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
LGBTQ, Sci-Fi
Victoria travels 25 years into her own past to meet a man she barely remembers - her father - and hopes he will love her for who she is... Written and directed by Tilly and Susan Bridges, this trans grounded sci-fi film is based on a comic they wrote about memory and love.
Long Away
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
LGBTQ, Sci-Fi
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $18,872 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
257 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Victoria travels 25 years into her own past to meet a man she barely remembers - her father - and hopes he will love her for who she is... Written and directed by Tilly and Susan Bridges, this trans grounded sci-fi film is based on a comic they wrote about memory and love.
In Partnership With
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Set twenty-five years into the future, Long Away is a sci-fi story about Victoria and the father who died when she was very young. As a trans woman who transitioned as an adult, Victoria's father never got to know her truth. She uses a one-round-trip-only time travel device to jump back to our present and meet the man she can barely remember... and try to find out if he'd love her for who she really is.
Long Away is a very personal story and is semi-autobiographical. Partly based on co-writer/director Tilly Bridges' own life, and the father she lost at the age of five, it’s difficult to try and reckon with parents who never knew the real you. In wondering what her father would think about her (and her transition) if she could tell him, Tilly and her wife/co-writer/director Susan imagined what Tilly would hope to get out of such an encounter, and what experiencing something like that might do to the human heart.
The film was also partly inspired by the Queen song it shares a title with, which explores similar themes. Writer, guitarist, and lead vocal performer on the song, Brian May, has said he hoped it would be one of a small handful of songs he'd be remembered for.
Long Away is a short live-action film, approximately 15 minutes, and will make a festival run and hopefully help to increase understanding of some of what trans folks go through.
Trans stories told by trans people are so very needed, maybe now more than ever.
Victoria -- Our time traveler going back to meet her dad as her authentic self
Leah -- Victoria's partner, anxiously waiting for her return
Dad -- Victoria's father, owner of a struggling comic store
Vick -- Victoria's younger self, and a huge Moon Bug comic fan!
The total we are asking for to make this film at a minimum is $12,700. This includes kit rentals from our crew, our crew's time, location rental (already secured), original art for the film (no AI-generated content!), as well as post production. You can see a breakdown of the budget here, as well as on our Wishlist tab above:
We also have Stretch Goals if we are lucky enough to raise more than the $12,700 needed!
Stretch Goals
- $600 (Total: $13,300) - A professional Behind-The-Scenes photographer: J.W. Hendricks (whom you may know from his excellent footage of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Los Angeles!)
- $1500 (Total: $14,800) - License for use of the titular Queen song: "Long Away" which helped inspire the original comic
- Any Extra - Additional funds do not have a quoted cost, and are not a requirement to make the film, but will be allocated in this order. If these are not met, we will provide for these with our own personal funds, to the extent we can:
- Film screening in Los Angeles
- Film Festival application costs
- Compensation to co-writers/co-directors (currently not taking money for making this film)
- Compensation to producers (currently not taking money for making this film)
- Additional compensation to crew
January 2025: Pre-Production Begins
February: Crowdfunding Campaign
March 31: Shoot Day!
April: Post-Production
June: Film Screening
Does this seem ambitious? Yes! However, here is what is already done:
- Crew hired and locked in for the shoot day
- Location is secured
- Equipment is rented (rental packages provided by crew members)
- Insurance is finalized
In progress:
- Cast is currently being queried and auditioned
- Post-production crew is 80% hired and committed
Thanks to our experience (read more at "Spacetime Productions" below!) we have hired proven crew members with whom we trust this film. We also realize how most films die in post-production, which is why we make sure to hire our post-production crew before we even shoot, and agree to a schedule for delivery.
Will there be unexpected bumps in the road? Of course! But our whole crew is committed to getting this story told and out in the world, and we guarantee we will keep you updated every step of the way.
We are genuinely excited to be crowdfunding this film. Community is important, maybe now more than ever, and making this a joint venture with friends, family, and like-minded people is exactly what we all need right now. We are thrilled to share this project with you, and appreciate any support you are able to give us.
Here are some of the ways you can support us:
- Make a pledge! You can find our incentive tiers on the side of this page, and we need to make 80% of our goal to keep our funds. You are also welcome to check out the wishlist page and contribute to a specific category. Every dollar will help us make sure this film gets made! Thank you!
- Share this campaign on social media and with anyone you think may be interested in this project! You can follow the making of this film on Spacetime Production's Instagram and Bluesky pages. Repost, engage, ask questions...we are here for the community spirit! Use the #LongAwayShort to talk about the project!
Who is making sure this gets made?
To make this film, Tilly and Susan Bridges teamed up with Spacetime Productions, an independent short film production company dedicated to uplifting and sharing stories of LGBTQIA+ creators in the sci-fi genre. Erin Macdonald, the owner and CEO, is most well-known for her work as the science advisor on the Star Trek franchise, but she has a love and passion for leading projects and enabling creatives to get their story told.
Since its founding in 2022, Spacetime Productions has seen two "short" films (both were over 35 minutes!) through the entire production cycle to completed delivery. Part of the company's mission is to build a network of under-represented filmmakers in the industry, and as such the vast majority of her crews are LGBTQIA+ and/or women/gender non-conforming. Both of the films, Every Morning and IDENTITEAZE, were awarded the Women In Media #ParityInAction certificate for having at least 50% women and gender non-conforming crew (a percentage they easily passed!).
This is the first film Spacetime Productions has crowdfunded for, not wanting to ask folks for their hard-earned money without being confident that we could see the film through to its finish line. We are confident in our network, our colleagues, and our resources to get this film done in time and at a high quality.
PLEASE NOTE:
- This film will not be made using any AI-generated material. We are committed to paying artists and commissioning original work.
- Our set will follow strict COVID protocols, including hiring a COVID compliance officer, requiring masks on set, and regular testing to protect everyone
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Crew Compensation
Costs $3,100
To pay all of our amazing crew for their time coming out to help us with the project.
Crew Equipment
Costs $1,600
Equipment rental costs for crew (camera, sound gear, makeup kit)
Locations and Admin
Costs $2,500
Rental of the location space and costs including safety (masks, testing) equipment and insurance
Post Production Equipment and Services
Costs $4,000
To cover compensation for post-production work (editing, score composition, etc), equipment (hard drives), and location rentals (sound mix)
Share this update!
About This Team
Tilly Bridges (she/her) & Susan Bridges (she/her)
Co-director and Co-writer
Tilly & Susan Bridges are a trans woman/cis woman writing team, most recently writing for season two of the Monster High animated series (for which they won an inaugural Velma Award for LGBTQIA+ representation in children’s media). They also consulted on season two of Star Trek: Prodigy, and are currently writing a queer YA romcom graphic novel for Mad Cave Studios, and another graphic novel that’s still under NDA. They’re regular writers for the Star Trek Adventures and Fallout role-playing games, and were head writers for the 2023 Nebula Awards and the 2021 Hugo Awards ceremonies. They’ve produced award winning scripted podcasts for over a decade at PendantAudio.com with six of their shows cracking Apple Podcasts top 60 all-time most popular scripted sci-fi podcasts. Tilly’s book Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix is available now, and you can find Tilly’s essays on trans life at TillysTransTuesdays.com.
Iliana Ipes (she/her)
Director of Photography
Iliana Ipes is a Latinx cinematographer who has a passion for visually exploring stories about people whose narratives are not often told. She loves challenging seemingly cemented ideas of sexuality, gender and race while interweaving the theme of human connection. Her goal is to help create content with real and complex characters that she wishes 10 year old Iliana could have seen on TV. Being behind the camera comes second only to watching a futbol game with her abuelo and eating her abuela's peaches and merengue cake. Iliana was the DP for Spacetime Productions’ first short film: Every Morning, and we are all excited to work together again. Website: https://www.ilianaipes.com/
Jessie Earl (she/they)
Producer, 1st AD, and Editor
Jessie is a writer, producer, journalist and LGBTQ advocate. She is mainly known for her YouTube channel “Jessie Gender” and their work on streaming service Nebula where she educates about LGBTQ, gender, sexuality and specifically transgender issues through a geek lens. They also create nonfiction web series content such as Microsoft Unboxed, a series produced by Microsoft about the behind the scenes of some of the projects at the tech giant. Her written and video work has appeared on Gamespot, The Advocate, Out Magazine, Rotten Tomatoes, Skybound Entertainment, and they have contributed to the book Navigating Trans* And Complex Gender Identities. In 2023 she wrote and directed the short film IDENTITEAZE which explores gender assignment in a virtual corporate environment, now available to stream on Nebula.
YouTube: Jessie Gender
Erin Macdonald (she/her)
Lead Producer and Unit Production Manager
Erin is a writer, producer, and science advisor in Los Angeles. With a PhD in Astrophysics, she has worked as a researcher, educator, science communicator, and aerospace engineer before transitioning to the entertainment industry. She started her production company Spacetime Productions in 2022 to lift and give opportunity to marginalized voices in the entertainment industry, in front of and behind the camera. The company’s first two short films (including IDENTITEAZE) were recognized with a Women In Media #ParityInAction Badge and nods at multiple short film festivals. She is also known for being the official Star Trek franchise science advisor, a position she has held since 2019.
Website: spacetimeproductions.net
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Set twenty-five years into the future, Long Away is a sci-fi story about Victoria and the father who died when she was very young. As a trans woman who transitioned as an adult, Victoria's father never got to know her truth. She uses a one-round-trip-only time travel device to jump back to our present and meet the man she can barely remember... and try to find out if he'd love her for who she really is.
Long Away is a very personal story and is semi-autobiographical. Partly based on co-writer/director Tilly Bridges' own life, and the father she lost at the age of five, it’s difficult to try and reckon with parents who never knew the real you. In wondering what her father would think about her (and her transition) if she could tell him, Tilly and her wife/co-writer/director Susan imagined what Tilly would hope to get out of such an encounter, and what experiencing something like that might do to the human heart.
The film was also partly inspired by the Queen song it shares a title with, which explores similar themes. Writer, guitarist, and lead vocal performer on the song, Brian May, has said he hoped it would be one of a small handful of songs he'd be remembered for.
Long Away is a short live-action film, approximately 15 minutes, and will make a festival run and hopefully help to increase understanding of some of what trans folks go through.
Trans stories told by trans people are so very needed, maybe now more than ever.
Victoria -- Our time traveler going back to meet her dad as her authentic self
Leah -- Victoria's partner, anxiously waiting for her return
Dad -- Victoria's father, owner of a struggling comic store
Vick -- Victoria's younger self, and a huge Moon Bug comic fan!
The total we are asking for to make this film at a minimum is $12,700. This includes kit rentals from our crew, our crew's time, location rental (already secured), original art for the film (no AI-generated content!), as well as post production. You can see a breakdown of the budget here, as well as on our Wishlist tab above:
We also have Stretch Goals if we are lucky enough to raise more than the $12,700 needed!
Stretch Goals
- $600 (Total: $13,300) - A professional Behind-The-Scenes photographer: J.W. Hendricks (whom you may know from his excellent footage of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Los Angeles!)
- $1500 (Total: $14,800) - License for use of the titular Queen song: "Long Away" which helped inspire the original comic
- Any Extra - Additional funds do not have a quoted cost, and are not a requirement to make the film, but will be allocated in this order. If these are not met, we will provide for these with our own personal funds, to the extent we can:
- Film screening in Los Angeles
- Film Festival application costs
- Compensation to co-writers/co-directors (currently not taking money for making this film)
- Compensation to producers (currently not taking money for making this film)
- Additional compensation to crew
January 2025: Pre-Production Begins
February: Crowdfunding Campaign
March 31: Shoot Day!
April: Post-Production
June: Film Screening
Does this seem ambitious? Yes! However, here is what is already done:
- Crew hired and locked in for the shoot day
- Location is secured
- Equipment is rented (rental packages provided by crew members)
- Insurance is finalized
In progress:
- Cast is currently being queried and auditioned
- Post-production crew is 80% hired and committed
Thanks to our experience (read more at "Spacetime Productions" below!) we have hired proven crew members with whom we trust this film. We also realize how most films die in post-production, which is why we make sure to hire our post-production crew before we even shoot, and agree to a schedule for delivery.
Will there be unexpected bumps in the road? Of course! But our whole crew is committed to getting this story told and out in the world, and we guarantee we will keep you updated every step of the way.
We are genuinely excited to be crowdfunding this film. Community is important, maybe now more than ever, and making this a joint venture with friends, family, and like-minded people is exactly what we all need right now. We are thrilled to share this project with you, and appreciate any support you are able to give us.
Here are some of the ways you can support us:
- Make a pledge! You can find our incentive tiers on the side of this page, and we need to make 80% of our goal to keep our funds. You are also welcome to check out the wishlist page and contribute to a specific category. Every dollar will help us make sure this film gets made! Thank you!
- Share this campaign on social media and with anyone you think may be interested in this project! You can follow the making of this film on Spacetime Production's Instagram and Bluesky pages. Repost, engage, ask questions...we are here for the community spirit! Use the #LongAwayShort to talk about the project!
Who is making sure this gets made?
To make this film, Tilly and Susan Bridges teamed up with Spacetime Productions, an independent short film production company dedicated to uplifting and sharing stories of LGBTQIA+ creators in the sci-fi genre. Erin Macdonald, the owner and CEO, is most well-known for her work as the science advisor on the Star Trek franchise, but she has a love and passion for leading projects and enabling creatives to get their story told.
Since its founding in 2022, Spacetime Productions has seen two "short" films (both were over 35 minutes!) through the entire production cycle to completed delivery. Part of the company's mission is to build a network of under-represented filmmakers in the industry, and as such the vast majority of her crews are LGBTQIA+ and/or women/gender non-conforming. Both of the films, Every Morning and IDENTITEAZE, were awarded the Women In Media #ParityInAction certificate for having at least 50% women and gender non-conforming crew (a percentage they easily passed!).
This is the first film Spacetime Productions has crowdfunded for, not wanting to ask folks for their hard-earned money without being confident that we could see the film through to its finish line. We are confident in our network, our colleagues, and our resources to get this film done in time and at a high quality.
PLEASE NOTE:
- This film will not be made using any AI-generated material. We are committed to paying artists and commissioning original work.
- Our set will follow strict COVID protocols, including hiring a COVID compliance officer, requiring masks on set, and regular testing to protect everyone
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Crew Compensation
Costs $3,100
To pay all of our amazing crew for their time coming out to help us with the project.
Crew Equipment
Costs $1,600
Equipment rental costs for crew (camera, sound gear, makeup kit)
Locations and Admin
Costs $2,500
Rental of the location space and costs including safety (masks, testing) equipment and insurance
Post Production Equipment and Services
Costs $4,000
To cover compensation for post-production work (editing, score composition, etc), equipment (hard drives), and location rentals (sound mix)
Share this update!
About This Team
Tilly Bridges (she/her) & Susan Bridges (she/her)
Co-director and Co-writer
Tilly & Susan Bridges are a trans woman/cis woman writing team, most recently writing for season two of the Monster High animated series (for which they won an inaugural Velma Award for LGBTQIA+ representation in children’s media). They also consulted on season two of Star Trek: Prodigy, and are currently writing a queer YA romcom graphic novel for Mad Cave Studios, and another graphic novel that’s still under NDA. They’re regular writers for the Star Trek Adventures and Fallout role-playing games, and were head writers for the 2023 Nebula Awards and the 2021 Hugo Awards ceremonies. They’ve produced award winning scripted podcasts for over a decade at PendantAudio.com with six of their shows cracking Apple Podcasts top 60 all-time most popular scripted sci-fi podcasts. Tilly’s book Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix is available now, and you can find Tilly’s essays on trans life at TillysTransTuesdays.com.
Iliana Ipes (she/her)
Director of Photography
Iliana Ipes is a Latinx cinematographer who has a passion for visually exploring stories about people whose narratives are not often told. She loves challenging seemingly cemented ideas of sexuality, gender and race while interweaving the theme of human connection. Her goal is to help create content with real and complex characters that she wishes 10 year old Iliana could have seen on TV. Being behind the camera comes second only to watching a futbol game with her abuelo and eating her abuela's peaches and merengue cake. Iliana was the DP for Spacetime Productions’ first short film: Every Morning, and we are all excited to work together again. Website: https://www.ilianaipes.com/
Jessie Earl (she/they)
Producer, 1st AD, and Editor
Jessie is a writer, producer, journalist and LGBTQ advocate. She is mainly known for her YouTube channel “Jessie Gender” and their work on streaming service Nebula where she educates about LGBTQ, gender, sexuality and specifically transgender issues through a geek lens. They also create nonfiction web series content such as Microsoft Unboxed, a series produced by Microsoft about the behind the scenes of some of the projects at the tech giant. Her written and video work has appeared on Gamespot, The Advocate, Out Magazine, Rotten Tomatoes, Skybound Entertainment, and they have contributed to the book Navigating Trans* And Complex Gender Identities. In 2023 she wrote and directed the short film IDENTITEAZE which explores gender assignment in a virtual corporate environment, now available to stream on Nebula.
YouTube: Jessie Gender
Erin Macdonald (she/her)
Lead Producer and Unit Production Manager
Erin is a writer, producer, and science advisor in Los Angeles. With a PhD in Astrophysics, she has worked as a researcher, educator, science communicator, and aerospace engineer before transitioning to the entertainment industry. She started her production company Spacetime Productions in 2022 to lift and give opportunity to marginalized voices in the entertainment industry, in front of and behind the camera. The company’s first two short films (including IDENTITEAZE) were recognized with a Women In Media #ParityInAction Badge and nods at multiple short film festivals. She is also known for being the official Star Trek franchise science advisor, a position she has held since 2019.
Website: spacetimeproductions.net