Our film seeks to normalize: 1 - Seeing characters with special needs onscreen as much as they're a part of our everyday lives. 2 - Escaping toxic environments comes in many shades but is as necessary as it is difficult. It affects more than most realize, even homes that look perfect on the outside.

Why We Need Your Help

Now that post production has finished it's time for us to bring the film around the festival circuit. This is such an integral part to the exhibition portion of any film. Festivals are our opportunity to have One Foot In Front screened in front of audiences all around the United States and even around the world that may not stumble upon a link to the film if we immediately made it publicly available. It's also a great way to build momentum around the project. As we get into festivals we will post about it so that people attending the festivals will know to look out for it.

 

We poured our hearts, souls, sweat, tears, and every last dollar into shooting the film to guarantee we made the best product we possibly could and put all the money we raised last year to its very best possible use. Now we just need your help to cross this last finish line! Fees for submitting to film festivals range from $15 - $150 and we hope to submit to as many reputable festivals as possible, therefore - those costs add up. Ultimately, we want to make sure all that work last year was worth every penny and give One Foot In Front the best chance to be seen and reach as many hearts as possible.

 

The Shoot in Ohio

It was cold. Like, really cold. Night shoots in the snow with wind chill that brought it down to -15 degrees and we were shooting exteriors. But don't worry, even though camera batteries were dying every 15 minutes and we ran out of hand warmers in the final hour, we got to bundle together, eat good hot food, and share A LOT  of laughs along the way.

    

 

Our lead actress, Laura Allen, flew out from L.A. along with eight our key crew members to all brave the bitter cold and make the magic happen. We shot a good chunk of the film in our Director's mother's house - which just so happened to also be where we housed the crew while they were visiting. It was definitely a full house, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We shot noon-midnight 3 days in a row and every night got to come home and decompress together. The ultimate bonding experience. 

   

 

All of our catering was prepared by Hudson Moms so they all have our undying love for always and eternity because a well fed crew is a happy crew. We would not have been able to carry on without their love and support.

   

 

And last but absolutely not least: our incredible, amazing, fearless, and joyful volunteers from our Director's alma mater, Hudson High School, wove the final threads of this shoot together. Without their hard work and fantastic attitudes, the shoot simply would not have been the same. We are so grateful to every single crew member who joined us from HHS. And each one of them should be incredibly proud of the work they accomplished over this shoot.

 

Cast

The Family is the key to the whole heart of One Foot In Front and our film would be nothing without these players!

Laura Allen / THE MOM

 

Amy Grecol / MARY

 

Caroline Adams / LIZZIE

 

Bella Campi / CLAIRE

 

The Post Process

After we wrapped, I sat down with our brilliant editor Sarah Marinello and we worked our a**es off to not only cut One Foot In Front well, but we were not satisfied until every beat, every moment landed precisely the way we wanted it to. "Great things take time," they say. Well if that's true, then it goes doubly as true for making movies. 

 

A movie is only half done by the time you wrap that last day on set. It goes through the third and final "rewrite" process in post production. We cut the picture and then we:

- MIX THE SOUND which includes dialogue, sound effects, room tone (because there are rarely moments of true silence in movies), and music;

- WRITE AND RECORD THE SCORE to underlay and emphasize the emotional beats throughout the story;

- COLOR GRADE the entire film so that way every scene truly feels like the right temperature both visually and emotionally;

- LAY IN VISUAL EFFECTS. I wish I could say it's because there's cool explosions, but no it's indeed to save us from a few mistakes we made in the shooting process, but as they say "We'll fix it in post." We should probably say "the VFX artist is about to work some real life magic;"

- and finally WRITE AND RECORD THE PERFECT ENDING SONG. Nick Nord created a piece for this film that captures the mood perfectly and gives this story the ending it deserves.

 

We did not rest until the entire film - from the first second until the very end of the credits - felt exactly how we intended it to feel. We believe that when audiences see our film, they will feel that hard work we poured into every frame.

 

Director's Statement

"This film is a very personal one for me; the story near and dear to my heart. And watching cast and crew rally together to bring it to life was truly one of the most touching and extraordinary experiences of my life. I will never be able to thank everyone that worked on it enough. From the bottom of my heart - you do not know what this meant to me. But I hope that the finished product is one that you can all be as proud of as I am. 

 

I have never made anything that I am as proud of as I am of One Foot In Front. It feels like everything, everyone, and every moment fell into place as it was meant to. And the finished film feels like my own little slice of movie magic. 

 

Thank you. I will cherish this experience for the rest of my life. And I look forward to where the journey goes from here...

 

All the love, Kelsie"

 

Supporting Each Other

If you are interested in donating to these charities and organizations which are near and dear to our subject matter, you can find the links to them below.

 

Al-Anon Family Groups

 Al-Anon/Alateen is a mutual support program for those whose lives have been affected by someone else's alcoholism. They encourage the abuser to seek the proper help and often aid the family members in realizing that it is okay to break free - that it can often be the right decision for all involved.

https://al-anon.org/

 

National Down Syndrome Society

 NDSS is the leading human rights organization for all individuals with Down Syndrome. They envision not only a more inclusive world for those with Down Syndrome, but a world in which they have the proper opportunities to enhance their quality of life, realize their life aspirations, and be valued members of their communities.

http://www.ndss.org/

 

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

 Though we do not deal with physical abuse in our film, the NCADV is the nation's leading grassroots voice on domestic violence. They guide women who feel trapped in their toxic relationships to freedom and encourage them not to let the fear of financial self-sufficiency keep them from leaving. 

https://ncadv.org/