Night Rain in My Mother City
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Family
We hope audiences will support this project because fear is an innately human experience that expands our suffering and gets in the way of our ability to love one another. Night Rain encourages us to address our resentments so that we can empathetically see one another even when it’s uncomfortable.
Night Rain in My Mother City
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Family
Green Light
This campaign raised $8,500 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
78 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
We hope audiences will support this project because fear is an innately human experience that expands our suffering and gets in the way of our ability to love one another. Night Rain encourages us to address our resentments so that we can empathetically see one another even when it’s uncomfortable.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"Night Rain in My Mother City" is an NYU Thesis Film that follows nail tech and client, Kim and Amaya, as they navigate their marriages amidst crises of life, death, and immigration.
See You Next Time (Crystal Kayiza, 2020)
Nguyet Kim Thuy came to New York from Vietnam with her late father over 20 years ago, where she still lives with her Asian American husband, Alex, in the apartment where they raised their daughter. Unable to go home, she has lived in a helpless fear of her mother’s health for years. Exhausted by her sister’s resentments and overwhelmed by her husband’s attempts at connection, Kim retracts into herself and pushes Alex away as the inevitable nears.
The Grandmaster (Wong Kar-Wai, 2013)
Amaya Williams lives with her husband, Kalel, and her mother, Abra, surrounded by generations of her family. Having met Kalel at six years old when his sister moved he and his siblings to the city, Amaya is now pregnant with their first child. When the two receive devastating news, Kalel makes a decision that terrifies Amaya and might change their relationship forever.
Belly (Hype Williams, 1998)
Belly (Hype Williams, 1998)
Amidst their personal crises, the women still meet for their tender biweekly ritual in the nail salon where their relationship exists as nail tech and client, and though it doesn’t extend beyond their appointment, their consistent relationship has been healing for years.
Poetic Justice (John Singleton, 1993)
Poetic Justice (Jon Singleton, 1993)
"Minari," "Farewell Amor," "Past Lives," and "In the Mood for Love" all dance between conversations of immigration, tensions of marriage and parenthood, love and discomfort, moral ambiguity, conflicting expressions of self, and misaligned understandings of home. "Night Rain in My Mother City" invites us to host these conversations in the tender familiarity of the nail salon, like in "See You Next Time," where worlds come together and vulnerability is built over the repeated return to the salon table.
Night Rain finds a visual contrast between our characters' warm and at times overwhelming homes, and the bright, glossy escape of the nail salon itself.
Atlanta (Hiro Murai, 2018)
Our crowdfunding goal is $8,490, most of which is for feeding our cast and crew. We also need funds for transporting our team and equipment, securing camera, lighting, and other equipment, renting our locations, and dressing our cast and our sets. If you are unable to make a financial pledge at this time we understand, and it would mean the world to us if you would support us by following our Instagram and Seed and Spark pages and sharing both with your friends, family, and colleagues!
We hope you feel recognized and loved by this story and you will join us in bringing this world to life.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Renting Locations
Costs $2,500
We need three locations for this shoot! A home for each Kim and Amaya, and the nail salon where they meet every two weeks.
Feeding Our Cast and Crew!
Costs $2,520
This is arguably the most important piece of our budget - meant to ensure our entire team is properly fed throughout our production!
Transportation
Costs $1,470
We need transportation to bring our cast, crew, production design, and equipment to set each day.
Camera / G+E Equipment
Costs $1,200
We need help securing all our camera, lighting, grip, and electrical equipment so that we can create our character's visual worlds.
Art
Costs $800
We need help so that we can turn our locations into Kim and Amaya's homes where they have grown into themselves.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Natalija Joi Skoko is a writer, director, editor, and production designer, passionate about women-led narratives that explore interpersonal relationships and the layers of a complex self. Her short films have screened at Lightworks Film Festival, Rockaway Film Festival, and soon New York Short Film Festival. Most recently having edited an experimental narrative feature for Ghanaian filmmaker, Ama Mintah, Natalija is currently writing a screenplay adaptation of an autobiography for Paris Films. As she finishes her undergraduate degree at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Natalija dreams of using filmmaking and programming to archive the lives and emotional histories of individuals and communities, through beautiful audiovisual aesthetics that bring us closer to ourselves.
Winona Lu is a director, writer, and proud producer of “Night Rain in My Mother City.” Her experience growing up in an immigrant household has informed much of her work and her guiding principle that all people, all stories, deserve respect and the dignity of being heard.
Mame Astou Toure is a Senegalese American producer who was born and raised in New York City. She currently studies Film at NYU and has interest in writing, history, and editing. She has presented works in various Film Festivals, including TFI’s My City, Our Story, and Astoria’s Film Festival. She is focused on revisualizing history into film, to dissect societal structures of racism, homophobia, and misogyny.
Maya Daughty is an Award-winning filmmaker with a strong work ethic and creative ability, seeking to develop and expand her knowledge of film. Her goal is to become a film director and producer, bringing diverse stories to the big screen. This past spring, she studied directing at the prestigious National Film & Television School in London. She wrote and directed the micro-short A Little Tipple which has been nominated for awards at various film festivals. Maya is currently an Acquisitions Intern at Bleecker Street. This past summer she worked at The Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival and she has previously interned for Academy Award-winning Peggy Stern and as an Acquisitions Intern at Screen Media. She is always open to collaborating, connecting, and sharing new ideas.
Jason Wang was born in China and moved to the United States when he was 14 years old. He currently studies film at NYU and focuses on cinematography. He has shot many short films that were selected by festivals like Soho International Film Festival and Hollywood Shorts Fest. He also shot the most recent short film, Global Pursuit, which starred streamer Kai Cenat, and has over 12 million views on YouTube.
Camryn Mina is a Brooklyn native and proud Afro-Latina. She’s currently a senior at NYU Tisch Film & Television. Besides Assistant Directing and producing for others, Camryn is also a Junior Creative at an Afrime company, titled N LITE. The company specializes in Black anime and fantasy. Her ultimate goal is to create exceptional cinematic art that empowers lives, shapes the future, and understands the past.
Amira Brown is a filmmaker and photographer based in New York City. She found her voice in filmmaking and creative photography and is pursuing a BFA in Film and TV at NYU Tisch. Her work tends to highlight the beauty from the mundane, overlooked parts of our life, with a focus on community and the many experiences that exist within it. Having worked on multiple award-winning projects, Amira has developed her love for production design and gaffing. She has directed, gaffed, gripped, shot, and production-designed various music videos, short films, and branded content for fashion brands like Urban Jungle, and production companies like Good Company. A director and screenwriter first, Amira hopes to use film to foster unexpected connections, by sharing forgotten perspectives in experimental ways.
Anusha Allamsetty is a sound mixer based in New York City. Her interest in sound started through DJing, and she quickly combined her love for filmmaking with her practices in sound mixing. In the past year, she has worked with various directors and post production sound teams on short and feature length films and has been mentored by NY-based sound mixers who fostered her interest and skill in the world of post-production sound editing and mixing. Currently, she is working on building her skill set and finding creative collaborators through mixing for film, indie, or industry.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"Night Rain in My Mother City" is an NYU Thesis Film that follows nail tech and client, Kim and Amaya, as they navigate their marriages amidst crises of life, death, and immigration.
See You Next Time (Crystal Kayiza, 2020)
Nguyet Kim Thuy came to New York from Vietnam with her late father over 20 years ago, where she still lives with her Asian American husband, Alex, in the apartment where they raised their daughter. Unable to go home, she has lived in a helpless fear of her mother’s health for years. Exhausted by her sister’s resentments and overwhelmed by her husband’s attempts at connection, Kim retracts into herself and pushes Alex away as the inevitable nears.
The Grandmaster (Wong Kar-Wai, 2013)
Amaya Williams lives with her husband, Kalel, and her mother, Abra, surrounded by generations of her family. Having met Kalel at six years old when his sister moved he and his siblings to the city, Amaya is now pregnant with their first child. When the two receive devastating news, Kalel makes a decision that terrifies Amaya and might change their relationship forever.
Belly (Hype Williams, 1998)
Belly (Hype Williams, 1998)
Amidst their personal crises, the women still meet for their tender biweekly ritual in the nail salon where their relationship exists as nail tech and client, and though it doesn’t extend beyond their appointment, their consistent relationship has been healing for years.
Poetic Justice (John Singleton, 1993)
Poetic Justice (Jon Singleton, 1993)
"Minari," "Farewell Amor," "Past Lives," and "In the Mood for Love" all dance between conversations of immigration, tensions of marriage and parenthood, love and discomfort, moral ambiguity, conflicting expressions of self, and misaligned understandings of home. "Night Rain in My Mother City" invites us to host these conversations in the tender familiarity of the nail salon, like in "See You Next Time," where worlds come together and vulnerability is built over the repeated return to the salon table.
Night Rain finds a visual contrast between our characters' warm and at times overwhelming homes, and the bright, glossy escape of the nail salon itself.
Atlanta (Hiro Murai, 2018)
Our crowdfunding goal is $8,490, most of which is for feeding our cast and crew. We also need funds for transporting our team and equipment, securing camera, lighting, and other equipment, renting our locations, and dressing our cast and our sets. If you are unable to make a financial pledge at this time we understand, and it would mean the world to us if you would support us by following our Instagram and Seed and Spark pages and sharing both with your friends, family, and colleagues!
We hope you feel recognized and loved by this story and you will join us in bringing this world to life.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Renting Locations
Costs $2,500
We need three locations for this shoot! A home for each Kim and Amaya, and the nail salon where they meet every two weeks.
Feeding Our Cast and Crew!
Costs $2,520
This is arguably the most important piece of our budget - meant to ensure our entire team is properly fed throughout our production!
Transportation
Costs $1,470
We need transportation to bring our cast, crew, production design, and equipment to set each day.
Camera / G+E Equipment
Costs $1,200
We need help securing all our camera, lighting, grip, and electrical equipment so that we can create our character's visual worlds.
Art
Costs $800
We need help so that we can turn our locations into Kim and Amaya's homes where they have grown into themselves.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!