Sad SAC
Berkeley, California | Series
Comedy, Family
Priya and Audrey have spent their entire lives as the Sad Second Asian Children (Sad SACs), struggling behind their frustratingly-perfect older sisters. It’s time for a change. It’s time to grow up. It’s time to ignore their deeper issues and just life-hack their way to happiness! Right?!
Sad SAC
Berkeley, California | Series
Comedy, Family
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $9,476 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
89 supporters | followers
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Priya and Audrey have spent their entire lives as the Sad Second Asian Children (Sad SACs), struggling behind their frustratingly-perfect older sisters. It’s time for a change. It’s time to grow up. It’s time to ignore their deeper issues and just life-hack their way to happiness! Right?!
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Second Children. First Disappointment.
Sad SAC is a comedy web series about being the youngest child in an Asian-American family and the struggle to measure up to the success of older siblings.
Best friends Priya and Audrey are four years out of college but still can’t seem to get their acts together. They straggle behind their older sisters, who appear to effortlessly fulfill the dreams of Asian parents everywhere: high-paying jobs, respectable life partners, and making other aunties feel bad about their kids.
Priya and Audrey, on the other hand, can’t even go a week without wearing a shirt inside out. As they bumble through adulthood, the pair dub themselves Sad Second Asian Children: Sad SACs.
In a moment of inspiration, they decide to simply life-hack their way to happiness and success. Meal prepping to avoid betraying your ancestors with Trader Joe’s Tikka Masala? Check. Throwing away everything you own, Mari Kondo-style? Check. Bullet Journaling every 90 minutes because maybe it’s your fault that you’re unhappy and you should just try harder and make more lists? Check...
Our two Sad SACs try to do enough so they can be enough — enough for their sisters, their parents, their friends, and everyone else around them.
But which BuzzFeed quiz will break the news to Priya and Audrey that being enough for others and being enough for yourself might be two different things? (Hint: It’s not, “Which Salad Dressing Are You?”)
You don’t have to be a second child (or even Asian!) to be a Sad SAC. To millenials of all backgrounds struggling with burnout and high expectations, this show is for you. With “self care” and “self love” getting so much buzz these days — from the Queer Eye reboot to exquisite Lush bath bombs to VC-backed meditation apps — we wanted to craft a project that peels back the hashtags and explores the real, hard, messy work of accepting yourself.
In the show, Priya and Audrey’s vivid, fantastical daydreams intrude on their daily lives: Instagram photos come to life, their inner demons host a podcast, and an unseen narrator mansplains to them from the sky. For our duo, living inside their heads is often the best (and only) way to process the world around them.
After a year of hard work, shooting in every kind of Berkeley weather with multiple trips to Blick Art Materials, we are thrilled to bring you the first three episodes of Sad SAC and introduce you to Priya, Audrey, and their new quest for happiness. Now, we want to finish telling the story of our two Sad SACs with four new episodes. And we need your help to do it.
The process of making the pilot of Sad SAC was an incredible experience of collaboration and community. Our friends came together and shared their time, equipment, and talents, largely for free to make this project happen. Any amount you pledge will help us support our amazing cast and crew across the production of future episodes.
On behalf of Priya, Audrey, younger siblings, Asian daughters, daydreamers, and anyone who has ever questioned how to be happy, thank you for helping us bring this story to the screen!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Music Licensing & Original Score
Costs $1,250
Help us support Bay Area musicians and score our episodes!
Share this update!
About This Team
THE CREATORS
Series creators, writers, costars, and best friends Ela Banerjee and Nicole Won first met during their freshman year at UC Berkeley, when they attempted to listen to Fleet Foxes for free in the potentially-condemned lot behind the Greek Theatre (Cheapskate Hill, anyone?). They instantly bonded over their shared love of all things pop culture and TV, as well as having older sisters who set high bars for classic Asian-American success. In 2016, Ela and Nicole co-founded the independent production team, Odd Folk Films. Both women are fiercely proud to bring you Sad SAC, a story inspired by their personal experiences that they hope will resonate with the Asian-American community and beyond.
THE CREW
Odd Folk Films (OFF) is an independent film crew based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are a group of friends from a diverse range of backgrounds and careers, all united by one thing: we love telling stories. Stories that are fun, funny, thoughtful, and resonate with real life in the Bay Area. Check us out at @oddfolkfilms (IG & FB). The OFF Sad SAC team includes:
Ela Banerjee (Creator/Writer/Director/Producer)
Ela is a filmmaker and writer living in Berkeley, CA. She is the proud daughter of Bengali immigrants and a graduate of UC Berkeley. When she’s not making creative stuff with her friends and rewatching 2005’s Pride & Prejudice, she works at the oral history nonprofit, Voice of Witness. Ela is the Sad SAC to her big sister, Deya, who is as successful as she is supportive, loving, and knowledgeable about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. IG: @nutelabanerjee
Nicole Won (Creator/Writer/Director/Producer/Editor/Colorist)
Though Nicole always had a passion for television and films, she followed her older sister's path of studying business at UC Berkeley and pursuing a corporate career. However, she quietly explored her curiosity for filmmaking by editing fan videos of shows she is too embarrassed to share for public knowledge. Now, her pursuit of film making is not so quiet. As a founder member of Odd Folk Films and creator of Sad SAC, she loves this world of working with fellow creatives and true friends.
Lauren Schwartzman (Director of Photography/Producer)
Lauren is a filmmaker living in Oakland, CA. Her documentary short Dust Rising won a Student Academy Award in 2018. She has a Master of Journalism from UC Berkeley. She loves snuggling dogs, speaking in a bad British accent, and getting creative with her friends. She’s a proud overbearing older sibling to her sister, Rachel. IG: @laurenschwartzman. www.laurenschwartzman.com
Kevin Hotalen (Sound Recordist/Sound Mixer/Producer)
Kevin is a Bay Area filmmaker and a founding member of Odd Folk Films. When he's not making movies with his bestest friends, he's working in IT and/or attempting to play guitar. After nearly a year and a half of working on Sad SAC, he's excited to share it with everyone and show off the talents of the amazing team. He has one awesome older sister who has her life together (unlike him). Sound familiar? IG: @kevinhotalen
Sooin Yoon (Assistant Director/Props/Web Designer/Producer)
Sooin is excited to be working on her first series production with this wonderful group of folks. She enjoys cool ocean breezes and has a habit of starting random side hobbies based off of DIY videos that show up on her feed. She is the only child of loving, adventurous, and supportive parents.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Second Children. First Disappointment.
Sad SAC is a comedy web series about being the youngest child in an Asian-American family and the struggle to measure up to the success of older siblings.
Best friends Priya and Audrey are four years out of college but still can’t seem to get their acts together. They straggle behind their older sisters, who appear to effortlessly fulfill the dreams of Asian parents everywhere: high-paying jobs, respectable life partners, and making other aunties feel bad about their kids.
Priya and Audrey, on the other hand, can’t even go a week without wearing a shirt inside out. As they bumble through adulthood, the pair dub themselves Sad Second Asian Children: Sad SACs.
In a moment of inspiration, they decide to simply life-hack their way to happiness and success. Meal prepping to avoid betraying your ancestors with Trader Joe’s Tikka Masala? Check. Throwing away everything you own, Mari Kondo-style? Check. Bullet Journaling every 90 minutes because maybe it’s your fault that you’re unhappy and you should just try harder and make more lists? Check...
Our two Sad SACs try to do enough so they can be enough — enough for their sisters, their parents, their friends, and everyone else around them.
But which BuzzFeed quiz will break the news to Priya and Audrey that being enough for others and being enough for yourself might be two different things? (Hint: It’s not, “Which Salad Dressing Are You?”)
You don’t have to be a second child (or even Asian!) to be a Sad SAC. To millenials of all backgrounds struggling with burnout and high expectations, this show is for you. With “self care” and “self love” getting so much buzz these days — from the Queer Eye reboot to exquisite Lush bath bombs to VC-backed meditation apps — we wanted to craft a project that peels back the hashtags and explores the real, hard, messy work of accepting yourself.
In the show, Priya and Audrey’s vivid, fantastical daydreams intrude on their daily lives: Instagram photos come to life, their inner demons host a podcast, and an unseen narrator mansplains to them from the sky. For our duo, living inside their heads is often the best (and only) way to process the world around them.
After a year of hard work, shooting in every kind of Berkeley weather with multiple trips to Blick Art Materials, we are thrilled to bring you the first three episodes of Sad SAC and introduce you to Priya, Audrey, and their new quest for happiness. Now, we want to finish telling the story of our two Sad SACs with four new episodes. And we need your help to do it.
The process of making the pilot of Sad SAC was an incredible experience of collaboration and community. Our friends came together and shared their time, equipment, and talents, largely for free to make this project happen. Any amount you pledge will help us support our amazing cast and crew across the production of future episodes.
On behalf of Priya, Audrey, younger siblings, Asian daughters, daydreamers, and anyone who has ever questioned how to be happy, thank you for helping us bring this story to the screen!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Music Licensing & Original Score
Costs $1,250
Help us support Bay Area musicians and score our episodes!
Share this update!
About This Team
THE CREATORS
Series creators, writers, costars, and best friends Ela Banerjee and Nicole Won first met during their freshman year at UC Berkeley, when they attempted to listen to Fleet Foxes for free in the potentially-condemned lot behind the Greek Theatre (Cheapskate Hill, anyone?). They instantly bonded over their shared love of all things pop culture and TV, as well as having older sisters who set high bars for classic Asian-American success. In 2016, Ela and Nicole co-founded the independent production team, Odd Folk Films. Both women are fiercely proud to bring you Sad SAC, a story inspired by their personal experiences that they hope will resonate with the Asian-American community and beyond.
THE CREW
Odd Folk Films (OFF) is an independent film crew based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are a group of friends from a diverse range of backgrounds and careers, all united by one thing: we love telling stories. Stories that are fun, funny, thoughtful, and resonate with real life in the Bay Area. Check us out at @oddfolkfilms (IG & FB). The OFF Sad SAC team includes:
Ela Banerjee (Creator/Writer/Director/Producer)
Ela is a filmmaker and writer living in Berkeley, CA. She is the proud daughter of Bengali immigrants and a graduate of UC Berkeley. When she’s not making creative stuff with her friends and rewatching 2005’s Pride & Prejudice, she works at the oral history nonprofit, Voice of Witness. Ela is the Sad SAC to her big sister, Deya, who is as successful as she is supportive, loving, and knowledgeable about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. IG: @nutelabanerjee
Nicole Won (Creator/Writer/Director/Producer/Editor/Colorist)
Though Nicole always had a passion for television and films, she followed her older sister's path of studying business at UC Berkeley and pursuing a corporate career. However, she quietly explored her curiosity for filmmaking by editing fan videos of shows she is too embarrassed to share for public knowledge. Now, her pursuit of film making is not so quiet. As a founder member of Odd Folk Films and creator of Sad SAC, she loves this world of working with fellow creatives and true friends.
Lauren Schwartzman (Director of Photography/Producer)
Lauren is a filmmaker living in Oakland, CA. Her documentary short Dust Rising won a Student Academy Award in 2018. She has a Master of Journalism from UC Berkeley. She loves snuggling dogs, speaking in a bad British accent, and getting creative with her friends. She’s a proud overbearing older sibling to her sister, Rachel. IG: @laurenschwartzman. www.laurenschwartzman.com
Kevin Hotalen (Sound Recordist/Sound Mixer/Producer)
Kevin is a Bay Area filmmaker and a founding member of Odd Folk Films. When he's not making movies with his bestest friends, he's working in IT and/or attempting to play guitar. After nearly a year and a half of working on Sad SAC, he's excited to share it with everyone and show off the talents of the amazing team. He has one awesome older sister who has her life together (unlike him). Sound familiar? IG: @kevinhotalen
Sooin Yoon (Assistant Director/Props/Web Designer/Producer)
Sooin is excited to be working on her first series production with this wonderful group of folks. She enjoys cool ocean breezes and has a habit of starting random side hobbies based off of DIY videos that show up on her feed. She is the only child of loving, adventurous, and supportive parents.