Pink Moon
Chicago, Illinois | Film Feature
Comedy, Crime
K and Mira are far from your typical western heroes. One nonbinary, stubborn and antsy, the other a wispy, anxious lady who doesn’t know which end is up unless someone instructs her. Their union is not one cut out for a hard life of crime on the road, but it will be fun to watch them try.
Pink Moon
Chicago, Illinois | Film Feature
Comedy, Crime
1 Campaigns | Wisconsin, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $10,160 for pre-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
87 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
K and Mira are far from your typical western heroes. One nonbinary, stubborn and antsy, the other a wispy, anxious lady who doesn’t know which end is up unless someone instructs her. Their union is not one cut out for a hard life of crime on the road, but it will be fun to watch them try.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
K and Mira are stuck. They have been living in their van with no money, job prospects, or way out. As a last ditch effort to escape their desolate life, they plan a bank heist in the small town of Worden, Kansas. But executing a bank heist amidst a crumbling relationship yields tougher than they thought. As Mira and K adjust to small town living, they realize they must confront the failings of their relationship or lose everything they’ve got left.
We think a disfunctional queer couple deserves their place at the center of a genre dominated by cisgender masculinity.
Having these two van-dwelling queer people dumped in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere with nothing but their preconceived notions about rural areas is what excites us the most about the challenging world of Pink Moon.
In recent years, several westerns seen through a woman’s lens have entered the limelight. MEEK’S CUTOFF, THE POWER OF THE DOG, and A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT are some of the recent few. MARLINA THE MURDERER IN FOUR ACTS, LITTLE WOODS, and FIRST COW are some others.
Our team is comprised of 100% women and nonbinary folks. Everyone above the line, all of our vendors, everyone we employ; on this shoot, the minorities are the majority.
Since the landscape of filmmaking has drastically changed in the last few years, we acknowledge that productions now require extra due diligence to keep everyone safe and healthy on set.
The set of Pink Moon will be no exception.
Not only will we be in compliance with all COVID-19 safety measures as laid out by the current SAG-AFTRA guidelines, we are working with crew members who are also immunocompromised, so their safety is our top priority as we gear up for the shoot.
Our budget for Pink Moon is the largest we've ever attempted to raise for a feature film. $600,000. This extra push will get us exactly where we need to be in terms of funding.
Thus far, we have raised almost all of our budget through investors, tax incentives, etc. And we are almost there. So very close!
This campaign is our last hurrah; our final ditch effort; our hail mary. Raising this small amount will put us over the number we need to hit the green light on our tax incentives, begin to start casting the film in earnest, and hiring crew.
Essentially, your pledge will be another newton of strength to our proverbial foot on the gas pedal! And we love you for that!
This is a proof of concept teaser containing an alternate ending with our lead actress (and writer/co-director) Meredith Johnston. She is playing the role of Mira in the film.
In this piece, Mira has just robbed the bank in the small town of Worden, and is now walking aimlessly. She is unsure of what to do next. As she contemplates the open and empty railroad tracks before her, the past begins rapidly catching up with her in the form of a fast-moving train.
We shot this teaser with a two person crew and our single actor. Imagine what we could do with a 15 or 20 person crew!
We can only reach so many people through texts and emails. The only way we can be sure our campaign will be successful is if we reach beyond our network and out into the world as far as we can.
If you'd like to see this film get made as much as we do, you can help broaden our reach by sharing our campaign and posting about it on social media.
Here are some examples, copy and paste if you feel so inclined!
A quick shoutout to @tinypanicfilms on their current crowdfunding campaign! PINK MOON is a film about a queer couple who try to rob a bank in a tiny town. I think this story sounds worth donating to and I can't wait to see it on the big screen! Follow the film at @pinkmoonfilm on Instagram and @pinkmoon2023 on Twitter! You can make a contribution here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/pink-moon
Help @keerolbrandt and her team reach their crowdfunding goal! PINK MOON is Carol and her co-director Meredith's newest project, and I hope you'll consider helping this film get to the finish line for funding! You can make a contribution here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/pink-moon
If you liked PET NAMES (SXSW 2018), you'll love PINK MOON, the next film from @keerolbrandt and her co-director Meredith Johnston. It's about a queer couple who try to rob a bank in a small town. Help the PINK MOON team hit their fundraising goal by donating to their Seed&Spark campaign! You can make a contribution here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/pink-moon
We wouldn't be here without the people who love and support us and our artistic pursuits. We are so grateful to be able to make films, and the magic is real. Thank you for your time, advocacy, and your pledges. You make independent films possible. YOU'RE A GODDAMN HERO.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Hire Casting Director
Costs $6,000
Hire and secure cast!
Legal Fees
Costs $2,500
Legal investor documents, location securing, finalize actor deals through SAG.
Location Rental
Costs $1,500
Securing our star locations for the film.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Carol Brandt (she/her) | director, producer
Carol Brandt wrote and directed her first feature, Things Found on the Ground, at the age of 20. The film had its world premiere at the New Orleans Film Festival in 2013. Her fourth feature, Pet Names, premiered at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, garnering critical acclaim and comparisons to Kelly Reichardt.
Meredith Johnston (she/her) | director, writer, actress
Meredith Johnston is a graduate of the BFA acting program at the renowned Theatre School at DePaul University. She is also a graduate of the True Acting Meisner Institute, iO comedy training, and the second city conservatory. She has starred in a variety of midwestern indie films including Our Place, Christopher Darling, By Crook and Wherever You Go, There You Are. In 2018, she starred in the film Pet Names, which garnered top 10 of SXSW according to the Hollywood Reporter among other glowing reviews.
Suzanne Jurva (she/her) | producer
Suzanne Jurva created the research department at Dreamworks SKG and was a feature film development executive, supervising many Academy Award nominated and winning films, including: Saving Private Ryan, Amistad,Minority Report,Gladiator and others.She is an award-winning documentarian, director, and producer and has been part of many film festivals for Messwood (DocNYC 2021), Flowers Forever (Cream City Award winner 2022), Pet Names (SXSW 2018), Yoopera! (PBS), The Fabulous Ice Age (Netflix), and Changing Keys, Billy McLaughlin & The Mysteries of Dystonia (PBS). Her work has been seen on The Weather Channel, NBC, NBC News, PBS, MTV, Fox, BBC, Showtime, and at the Library of Congress. In 2020, she was part of Gotham's Episodic Lab, and Tribeca's short film Pitch Competition.
Emily Kuester (she/her) | producer
Emily got her start in Milwaukee, WI, producing short and long form documentaries, virtual reality experiences (2019 Sundance VR experience, “Ashe 68”), podcasts, and mobile apps. Most recently, Emily directed her first feature documentary, “Messwood” with 371 Productions and Participant Media, which had its world premier at DOC NYC 2021. She is the co-creator of the fiction series Black Girl Training, which won the first annual Keep It Colorful campaign with Seed and Spark and is now being executive produced by Mary Ann Marino. Emily was also a facilitator at the 2018 Mozilla Festival in London and was on a 2019 SXSW panel for a new WebVR experience, The Colored Girls Museum. Her career started in 2014 with a full ride to the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee’s Film Program where she served as the first Black woman to be elected as student body president.
Dana Shihadah (she/they) | director of photography
Dana Shihadah is a filmmaker and cinematographer based in Los Angeles whose work includes documentaries, narrative films, music videos, and advertisements. Partnering with director Carol Brandt, the duo premiered at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival their narrative feature “Pet Names” (one of The Hollywood Reporter’s “10 Best Films of SXSW 2018”).
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
K and Mira are stuck. They have been living in their van with no money, job prospects, or way out. As a last ditch effort to escape their desolate life, they plan a bank heist in the small town of Worden, Kansas. But executing a bank heist amidst a crumbling relationship yields tougher than they thought. As Mira and K adjust to small town living, they realize they must confront the failings of their relationship or lose everything they’ve got left.
We think a disfunctional queer couple deserves their place at the center of a genre dominated by cisgender masculinity.
Having these two van-dwelling queer people dumped in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere with nothing but their preconceived notions about rural areas is what excites us the most about the challenging world of Pink Moon.
In recent years, several westerns seen through a woman’s lens have entered the limelight. MEEK’S CUTOFF, THE POWER OF THE DOG, and A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT are some of the recent few. MARLINA THE MURDERER IN FOUR ACTS, LITTLE WOODS, and FIRST COW are some others.
Our team is comprised of 100% women and nonbinary folks. Everyone above the line, all of our vendors, everyone we employ; on this shoot, the minorities are the majority.
Since the landscape of filmmaking has drastically changed in the last few years, we acknowledge that productions now require extra due diligence to keep everyone safe and healthy on set.
The set of Pink Moon will be no exception.
Not only will we be in compliance with all COVID-19 safety measures as laid out by the current SAG-AFTRA guidelines, we are working with crew members who are also immunocompromised, so their safety is our top priority as we gear up for the shoot.
Our budget for Pink Moon is the largest we've ever attempted to raise for a feature film. $600,000. This extra push will get us exactly where we need to be in terms of funding.
Thus far, we have raised almost all of our budget through investors, tax incentives, etc. And we are almost there. So very close!
This campaign is our last hurrah; our final ditch effort; our hail mary. Raising this small amount will put us over the number we need to hit the green light on our tax incentives, begin to start casting the film in earnest, and hiring crew.
Essentially, your pledge will be another newton of strength to our proverbial foot on the gas pedal! And we love you for that!
This is a proof of concept teaser containing an alternate ending with our lead actress (and writer/co-director) Meredith Johnston. She is playing the role of Mira in the film.
In this piece, Mira has just robbed the bank in the small town of Worden, and is now walking aimlessly. She is unsure of what to do next. As she contemplates the open and empty railroad tracks before her, the past begins rapidly catching up with her in the form of a fast-moving train.
We shot this teaser with a two person crew and our single actor. Imagine what we could do with a 15 or 20 person crew!
We can only reach so many people through texts and emails. The only way we can be sure our campaign will be successful is if we reach beyond our network and out into the world as far as we can.
If you'd like to see this film get made as much as we do, you can help broaden our reach by sharing our campaign and posting about it on social media.
Here are some examples, copy and paste if you feel so inclined!
A quick shoutout to @tinypanicfilms on their current crowdfunding campaign! PINK MOON is a film about a queer couple who try to rob a bank in a tiny town. I think this story sounds worth donating to and I can't wait to see it on the big screen! Follow the film at @pinkmoonfilm on Instagram and @pinkmoon2023 on Twitter! You can make a contribution here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/pink-moon
Help @keerolbrandt and her team reach their crowdfunding goal! PINK MOON is Carol and her co-director Meredith's newest project, and I hope you'll consider helping this film get to the finish line for funding! You can make a contribution here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/pink-moon
If you liked PET NAMES (SXSW 2018), you'll love PINK MOON, the next film from @keerolbrandt and her co-director Meredith Johnston. It's about a queer couple who try to rob a bank in a small town. Help the PINK MOON team hit their fundraising goal by donating to their Seed&Spark campaign! You can make a contribution here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/pink-moon
We wouldn't be here without the people who love and support us and our artistic pursuits. We are so grateful to be able to make films, and the magic is real. Thank you for your time, advocacy, and your pledges. You make independent films possible. YOU'RE A GODDAMN HERO.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Hire Casting Director
Costs $6,000
Hire and secure cast!
Legal Fees
Costs $2,500
Legal investor documents, location securing, finalize actor deals through SAG.
Location Rental
Costs $1,500
Securing our star locations for the film.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Carol Brandt (she/her) | director, producer
Carol Brandt wrote and directed her first feature, Things Found on the Ground, at the age of 20. The film had its world premiere at the New Orleans Film Festival in 2013. Her fourth feature, Pet Names, premiered at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival, garnering critical acclaim and comparisons to Kelly Reichardt.
Meredith Johnston (she/her) | director, writer, actress
Meredith Johnston is a graduate of the BFA acting program at the renowned Theatre School at DePaul University. She is also a graduate of the True Acting Meisner Institute, iO comedy training, and the second city conservatory. She has starred in a variety of midwestern indie films including Our Place, Christopher Darling, By Crook and Wherever You Go, There You Are. In 2018, she starred in the film Pet Names, which garnered top 10 of SXSW according to the Hollywood Reporter among other glowing reviews.
Suzanne Jurva (she/her) | producer
Suzanne Jurva created the research department at Dreamworks SKG and was a feature film development executive, supervising many Academy Award nominated and winning films, including: Saving Private Ryan, Amistad,Minority Report,Gladiator and others.She is an award-winning documentarian, director, and producer and has been part of many film festivals for Messwood (DocNYC 2021), Flowers Forever (Cream City Award winner 2022), Pet Names (SXSW 2018), Yoopera! (PBS), The Fabulous Ice Age (Netflix), and Changing Keys, Billy McLaughlin & The Mysteries of Dystonia (PBS). Her work has been seen on The Weather Channel, NBC, NBC News, PBS, MTV, Fox, BBC, Showtime, and at the Library of Congress. In 2020, she was part of Gotham's Episodic Lab, and Tribeca's short film Pitch Competition.
Emily Kuester (she/her) | producer
Emily got her start in Milwaukee, WI, producing short and long form documentaries, virtual reality experiences (2019 Sundance VR experience, “Ashe 68”), podcasts, and mobile apps. Most recently, Emily directed her first feature documentary, “Messwood” with 371 Productions and Participant Media, which had its world premier at DOC NYC 2021. She is the co-creator of the fiction series Black Girl Training, which won the first annual Keep It Colorful campaign with Seed and Spark and is now being executive produced by Mary Ann Marino. Emily was also a facilitator at the 2018 Mozilla Festival in London and was on a 2019 SXSW panel for a new WebVR experience, The Colored Girls Museum. Her career started in 2014 with a full ride to the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee’s Film Program where she served as the first Black woman to be elected as student body president.
Dana Shihadah (she/they) | director of photography
Dana Shihadah is a filmmaker and cinematographer based in Los Angeles whose work includes documentaries, narrative films, music videos, and advertisements. Partnering with director Carol Brandt, the duo premiered at the 2018 SXSW Film Festival their narrative feature “Pet Names” (one of The Hollywood Reporter’s “10 Best Films of SXSW 2018”).