Growing up isn’t just for kids. This is a sparkly, funny, female-driven comedy about coming of age in your twenties! I love telling heart-warming, playful stories centered around young women, and our team of filmmaker friends is so excited to bring these stories back into our homes and hearts.

Thank you so much to those who have contributed to the campaign so far! We're so grateful to everyone who helped us surpass our goal. For more info on our stretch goals that take us past $10K, take a peak at our Updates tab.

Growing up, I fell in love with movies like 13 Going On 30, Aquamarine, and Sixteen Candles. Movies that were the highlights of slumber parties. I found role models in these female characters and became inspired to tell stories of my own. But where are these movies today?

Women in film are finally being supported and uplifted. We're finally able to tell our own stories on our own terms. But still, there's an impression that those movies I love – those "chick flicks" that appeal to young women like me – are inferior and looked down on. I want to tell a story that makes everyone fall in love with chick flicks again.

The movies that I want to create are bubbly, funny, and heartfelt. But part of me feels like that isn't enough, that a bright, fun movie can't also be important. I hope with this story, people can see the value in a lighthearted, female-centric film.  –Riley

 

Known for riding around on her hot pink Razor scooter without a care in the world, Scooter is a twenty-something stuck in a teenager’s mindset. Her childhood friends have “real jobs,” but all she sees are a bunch of sellouts who left behind their fun teenage selves and became boring, lame, BORING adults. Hayley, Scooter’s old college roommate, is the worst of them all. She’s a hoity-toity corporate wannabe, and she just got engaged to a total snore-fest (and they’ve been together for literally like, a year).

Today, Scooter is living her best life, working her job as a body double, snoring under the covers of a teenage valedictorian who snuck out to party (her mom has NO idea!), and totally dreading Hayley’s engagement dinner she has to go to later that night. But then, she sees a family photo on the wall and realizes – Hayley is her client’s sister! And the engagement dinner is happening DOWNSTAIRS!

In a classic Doubtfire scenario, Scooter is now forced to attend Haley’s engagement dinner AND carry out her body double job duties – in the same house. As she runs back and forth between the dinner and pretending to be Hayley’s sick sister in bed, Scooter comes to realize that living life like a kid forever… is really exhausting.

 

We are already backed by the world's largest festival for emerging filmmakers: The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY). They awarded us a $4,000 grant at their second annual Pitch Competition. We are thrilled to have their support; we have screened films at NFFTY before and know the unique support and guidance they provide!

 

You’ve heard the spiel before: movies cost a lot of money. We need to pay for equipment, locations, food, cast, crew, insurance, permits – it’s a lot. Like Scooter, we are broke recent college graduates, and we need your help to make this film a reality.

Luckily, with our generous grant from NFFTY, we already have a head start on raising the funds we need. That grant will go towards equipment rentals and insurance, but we still need $10,000 more to make this happen. Your money will go directly into the physical production of SCOOTER, and every penny will be seen on screen (figuratively, of course. We're not making a movie about pennies here).

We know how to make every dollar count – how to make the best quality movie at the lowest possible price. Our budget is based on our own experiences making short films, and we're pulling every favor we can in order to bring Riley's vision to life.

 

This isn't our first rodeo, and we already have many production elements in place and ready to go. Once funding is in place, we'll be ready to hit the green light/button/switch and shoot this thing!

Our story takes place entirely in one location (for which our producers are very grateful), and we have that location locked in! As for crew, we have worked with an amazing group of friends for our previous short films, and we're reassembling that dream team once again. Think Ocean's Eleven or Twelve or even 8 – we're just like that, only cooler. Insurance? We're in good hands. Permits? Baby, we've got FilmLA on speed dial. COVID protocols? SafetyFirst is our middle name (it's Danish), and we'll be following all of the necessary rules and regulations to keep our cast and crew healthy.

The point is – we've done this before, and our producers have thought of everything to ensure a smooth, swift, and successful production. With your help, we can get this done.

 

Our core team graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2021, and we’ve been making movies together ever since. We’ve tackled projects of this scale several times before, and we’re confident that – with your help – we can make something great together again.

Riley Street (director) is a filmmaker best known for writing, producing, and directing the award-winning short Finish Line: a story about a young woman navigating the social and dating landscape of high school. Stylistically, she is known for her saturated color palatte and use of montages. Her shorts have shown in over 20 film festivals including The Los Angeles Film Festival, The Newport Beach Film Festival, and NFFTY.  Recently, Riley assisted director Elizabeth Allen on her new Netflix film, Purple Hearts.

Evan O’Brien (producer) is a Texas-born producer based in Los Angeles. A graduate of the University of Southern California's film school, he has produced numerous short films that have been featured in festivals such as SXSW, Chicago International Film Festival, NFFTY, and more. He currently works in development at Sony’s TriStar Pictures.

Connor Williams (producer) is a film and TV producer whose work spans across short and feature films, live television specials, unscripted series, commercials, and music videos. Since graduating from the University of Southern California in 2021, he has produced five independent short films and assisted producers on projects such as the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, Tubi’s Celebrity Exorcism, and Netflix’s The Deliverance. He is currently an associate producer at Done + Dusted Entertainment.

Sofija Elena Alekna (assistant director) is a Lithuanian-American director and assistant director who creates female-driven coming-of-age films. After graduating from the University of Southern California in 2021, she has worked in various production offices on feature films including Being Mortal, Purple Hearts, and most recently, Beverly Hills Cop 4 – where she worked alongside Riley Street!

Tre’len Johnston (director of photography) is a visual artist specializing in still and moving imagery. He graduated with a B.F.A. in Film and TV Production from the University of Southern California in 2020. He has worked on numerous short films, commercials, and music videos, with clients including Maserati, Fabletics, Warner Bros, and more.

 

We are beyond grateful for your time, consideration and support. We would love to have you on this journey of bringing back female-driven coming-of-age comedies! If you love and miss those types of films as much as we do, please consider making a contribution. Our experienced team has the skills to utilize your donations and bring this vision to life. 

Your generous support will give us a chance to show what we are capable of as filmmakers, and this film will (fingers crossed) make the rounds at all of your favorite film festivals. With the success of the short under our belts, SCOOTER will be one step closer to one day becoming a feature film (the script is AMAZING), and you all will feel so great about helping a young female filmmaker reach the big screen.

Any contribution, no matter how small, helps us get to our goal. If you're unable to contibute financially, please spread the word and follow us on Instagram @scootershortfilm. We appreciate each and every one of you!

THANK YOU!!!