SONDER
Chicago, Illinois | Film Short
Romance, Drama
Columbia grad Sean returns to a transformed Chicago for a tech job but feels disconnected—until he meets Nicole, a soulful photographer documenting the city’s changing streets. Together, they stroll through familiar yet altered places, prompting Sean to wonder: has Chicago changed, or has he?
SONDER
Chicago, Illinois | Film Short
Romance, Drama
2 Campaigns | California, United States
15 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$920
Goal: $25,250 for post-production
Columbia grad Sean returns to a transformed Chicago for a tech job but feels disconnected—until he meets Nicole, a soulful photographer documenting the city’s changing streets. Together, they stroll through familiar yet altered places, prompting Sean to wonder: has Chicago changed, or has he?
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Freshly minted alumni of Columbia’s Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science, Sean Eberhart, returns to his hometown of Chicago, IL after receiving a 1-year rotational job offer at a tech start up there. Upon arriving he is greeted to the uncomfortable and somber city he once remembered until he meets Nicole. She is a soulful, multi-faceted, and mysterious documentary photographer capturing photos outside of the childhood church his cousin Cam is holding him captive at.
Nicole convinces Sean to join her on her weekly stroll through the city as she is documenting its changes and seemingly ordinary wonders. Eagerly Sean agrees, anxious to flee the familiarity that only brings haunting memories. Through this sprawling journey through the Southside, Downtown, and then over to the Westside Sean is forced to take a deeper look at the places he thought he knew, finding a renewed perspective- has Chicago changed or maybe he has? Or maybe they both have.
Sonder is Written and Produced by a team of South Side Chicago Natives, Booker Vance and Sydney Cusic, who have first hand experience on what it’s like to be grown on the cornerstone of Cottage Grove but apprehensive to return as full time residents again. Sonder has been a labor of love blossoming from a trip home for Booker in the Winter of 2020. He was overwhelmed by memories and the beauty of his hometown when acting as a tour guide for his girlfriend who had never been to Chicago. Through sharing it with someone who had never experienced it he realized it was time for Chicago to get its own love letter that could be experienced through film by the folks who call it home and beyond. Deeply inspired by films like Last Black Man in San Francisco which explores gentrification in San Francisco and Residue which dives deep into rapidly changing Southwest D.C.
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Booker began to envision a story exploring the deep but complicated love for the city that was not imbued by violence but held space for the resilience of its survivors. He then called up his friend and writer Sydney Cusic to co-write the film and from that call Sonder was born. Additionally, a plethora of people under 35 are returning home due to the various crises in the world and are forced to reckon with our memories of an environment that has changed in our absence. As a team of people mainly under 35 many of us have first hand accounts and experiences of this societal change. To sum it up, we are an artistic team that loves Chicago (either through being Chicagoans, having deep familial ties or being patrons to the city) and understands as a 20-somethings in our post-pandemic society that many of us are being forced to return home. We are speaking to an experience that is more common than people realize and bringing a renewed light to a place that is not shown nearly enough love led by Native Chicagoan 20-Somethings. Sonder is a film that is FUBU (For Us By Us)!
"I met this girl when I was three years old And what I loved most, she had so much soul” - Homecoming (Kanye West)
“I met this girl when I was ten years old And what I loved most, she had so much soul She was old school when I was just a shorty Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me” - I Used to Love H.E.R (Common)
Sonder is a film using traditional metaphorical Chicago storytelling methods originated through rappers Common and Kanye West to tell a fresh story on what it looks like to have a homecoming, when home hasn’t been easy. An Ode to Chicago. An Ode to Hip-Hop. An Ode to Steppin’. An Ode to Harold’s. To the Westside. To the Southside. An Ode to Homecoming. An Ode to coming home back to yourself. Utilizing elements of magical realism and stylistic theatricality Sonder brings a fresh perspective to the controversial and complex city and people that make up Chicago. Leaning on sweeping shots showcasing the intricate architectural design and community institutions of the South and West sides of the city reminiscent of shots from Insecure. Bringing in intercuts of theatrical vignettes of daily life, like Last Black Man in San Francisco. While utilizing a deeply personal narrative style to juxtapose the odyssey of the environment that is being curated to give a biting vulnerability to the film, think Rye Lane. To create a journey, that is only a day that encapsulates a lifetime in the blink of an eye. Sonder will speak to people who left wherever they called home in search for greener pastures on learning to rekindle a love; even if it’s flawed while allowing people to fall in love (maybe for the first time) with the beauty and culture of Chi-town.
After months of dedication, passion, and love for Chicago, Sonder—a deeply personal love letter to the city—has been beautifully captured on 16mm film. Now, we’re entering the crucial post-production phase, and we need your support to ensure this story is told the way it deserves. With your help, we can complete essential editing, color correction, sound design, and original music composition, ensuring Sonder is a visually stunning and emotionally resonant experience.
Our goal with this fundraiser is to reach our initial $25,250 goal, which will cover the bare essentials of post-production—allowing us to complete the film at a foundational level. However, our stretch goal of $57,120 will ensure we can fully realize our vision by not only finishing the film but also securing archival materials, equitably compensating our team, and giving Sonder the promotion it deserves. With these funds, we can submit to major festivals, reach a wider audience, and spark meaningful conversations about home, identity, and change. Created by a team of young Chicagoans, Sonder is more than just a film—it’s a movement. It’s about returning to the place that shaped you, seeing it with fresh eyes, and rediscovering its beauty. At its heart, this story is about resilience, memory, and finding love in the everyday.
This is more than just a film; it’s a Chicago story told by Chicagoans for Chicago and beyond. It’s for those who’ve left home in search of something more, only to realize that home itself holds a depth they never fully understood. It’s for those who love this city—not just for its skyline but for its soul, its people, and its stories.
By pledging today, you’re not just supporting a film—you’re investing in a vision that honors Chicago’s beauty and complexity. Every dollar gets us closer to completion, and every share spreads the word further. Let’s bring this film home, together.
• Pledge today to help Sonder reach the finish line
• Follow & share to amplify our Chicago-made story
• Join the movement as we take Sonder from post-production to the world stage!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Archivist
Costs $750
Help us hire an Archivist to assist with collecting additional footage and photos of Chicago from the Great Migration to the Present.
Sound Designer
Costs $2,000
Help us hire a sound designer to assist our post production team.
Graphic Designer
Costs $3,000
Help us hire a graphic designer for our poster, website, and titles.
Share this update!
About This Team
Kiara Lauren is a multi-hyphenate artist based in Brooklyn, known for her work as a director and producer. Her productions have been featured at The Apollo Theater, WAM Theater, and WP Theater Off-Broadway. In 2023, she was awarded a Directorial Fellowship from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. Kiara’s artistic practice emphasizes empathic storytelling to cultivate vulnerability and truth for Black and Brown femmes. A proud Spelman College graduate, she holds a B.A. in Theatre and Performance with a concentration in Directing and is eager to tell stories about Chicago youth in today's context.
Sydney Lolita Cusic is a bi-coastal producer and filmmaker from the South Side of Chicago, now living in Brooklyn, NY. An alumna of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, her work examines relationships and their impact on the human experience. Notable projects include Away From Home, Bluebird, and The Rider and The Bull. Sydney has produced numerous short films and commercials and serves as Head of Production for Juniper Productions. Recently, she co-directed the Off-Broadway production of Wine in the Wilderness and actively advocates for the arts beyond film and theater. juniperprod.com
Booker Vance is an actor and writer from the South Side of Chicago, currently based in NYC. He earned his MFA from The New School of Drama and a BA in Theatre & Performance Studies from Morehouse College. Committed to representing African-American culture, he draws inspiration from filmmakers like Charles Burnett, John Singleton, and Spike Lee. As a writer, he has been a semi-finalist for BlackBoysWrites and has contributed to writers' rooms across the country, focusing on narratives that reflect connections to Black Middle America.
Nkosi Roma is a US-based filmmaker specializing in shooting 16mm film. With five years of experience as a full-time cinematographer, Nkosi is a self-taught artist who values trial and error and approaching each project as his first. Nkosi's grounded and immersive visual style emphasizes closeups to convey emotions, always serving the story. Recent achievements include screening the music video, BY THE DAWN at the DeadCenter Film Festival and acceptance of the short, HONORABLE into the St. Louis International Film Festival. With humility and professionalism, Nkosi is dedicated to preserving the film medium and inspiring others through his art.
Faoileán Cosgrove is a producer based out of New York and Los Angeles. Her narrative work has been featured in festivals such as NewFest, Chelsea Film Festival, NFFTY (Audience Award Winner), Buffalo International Film Festival, Fantasia Film Festival, Final Girls Film Festival, Academy Award Qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival, Kodak Shoot Film, and others. She has produced commercial and music video content for brands such as Warner Music, Hopeless Records, Condé Nast East, Vogue China, Ralph Lauren, and others. juniperprod.com
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Freshly minted alumni of Columbia’s Graduate School of Engineering and Applied Science, Sean Eberhart, returns to his hometown of Chicago, IL after receiving a 1-year rotational job offer at a tech start up there. Upon arriving he is greeted to the uncomfortable and somber city he once remembered until he meets Nicole. She is a soulful, multi-faceted, and mysterious documentary photographer capturing photos outside of the childhood church his cousin Cam is holding him captive at.
Nicole convinces Sean to join her on her weekly stroll through the city as she is documenting its changes and seemingly ordinary wonders. Eagerly Sean agrees, anxious to flee the familiarity that only brings haunting memories. Through this sprawling journey through the Southside, Downtown, and then over to the Westside Sean is forced to take a deeper look at the places he thought he knew, finding a renewed perspective- has Chicago changed or maybe he has? Or maybe they both have.
Sonder is Written and Produced by a team of South Side Chicago Natives, Booker Vance and Sydney Cusic, who have first hand experience on what it’s like to be grown on the cornerstone of Cottage Grove but apprehensive to return as full time residents again. Sonder has been a labor of love blossoming from a trip home for Booker in the Winter of 2020. He was overwhelmed by memories and the beauty of his hometown when acting as a tour guide for his girlfriend who had never been to Chicago. Through sharing it with someone who had never experienced it he realized it was time for Chicago to get its own love letter that could be experienced through film by the folks who call it home and beyond. Deeply inspired by films like Last Black Man in San Francisco which explores gentrification in San Francisco and Residue which dives deep into rapidly changing Southwest D.C.
Booker began to envision a story exploring the deep but complicated love for the city that was not imbued by violence but held space for the resilience of its survivors. He then called up his friend and writer Sydney Cusic to co-write the film and from that call Sonder was born. Additionally, a plethora of people under 35 are returning home due to the various crises in the world and are forced to reckon with our memories of an environment that has changed in our absence. As a team of people mainly under 35 many of us have first hand accounts and experiences of this societal change. To sum it up, we are an artistic team that loves Chicago (either through being Chicagoans, having deep familial ties or being patrons to the city) and understands as a 20-somethings in our post-pandemic society that many of us are being forced to return home. We are speaking to an experience that is more common than people realize and bringing a renewed light to a place that is not shown nearly enough love led by Native Chicagoan 20-Somethings. Sonder is a film that is FUBU (For Us By Us)!
"I met this girl when I was three years old And what I loved most, she had so much soul” - Homecoming (Kanye West)
“I met this girl when I was ten years old And what I loved most, she had so much soul She was old school when I was just a shorty Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me” - I Used to Love H.E.R (Common)
Sonder is a film using traditional metaphorical Chicago storytelling methods originated through rappers Common and Kanye West to tell a fresh story on what it looks like to have a homecoming, when home hasn’t been easy. An Ode to Chicago. An Ode to Hip-Hop. An Ode to Steppin’. An Ode to Harold’s. To the Westside. To the Southside. An Ode to Homecoming. An Ode to coming home back to yourself. Utilizing elements of magical realism and stylistic theatricality Sonder brings a fresh perspective to the controversial and complex city and people that make up Chicago. Leaning on sweeping shots showcasing the intricate architectural design and community institutions of the South and West sides of the city reminiscent of shots from Insecure. Bringing in intercuts of theatrical vignettes of daily life, like Last Black Man in San Francisco. While utilizing a deeply personal narrative style to juxtapose the odyssey of the environment that is being curated to give a biting vulnerability to the film, think Rye Lane. To create a journey, that is only a day that encapsulates a lifetime in the blink of an eye. Sonder will speak to people who left wherever they called home in search for greener pastures on learning to rekindle a love; even if it’s flawed while allowing people to fall in love (maybe for the first time) with the beauty and culture of Chi-town.
After months of dedication, passion, and love for Chicago, Sonder—a deeply personal love letter to the city—has been beautifully captured on 16mm film. Now, we’re entering the crucial post-production phase, and we need your support to ensure this story is told the way it deserves. With your help, we can complete essential editing, color correction, sound design, and original music composition, ensuring Sonder is a visually stunning and emotionally resonant experience.
Our goal with this fundraiser is to reach our initial $25,250 goal, which will cover the bare essentials of post-production—allowing us to complete the film at a foundational level. However, our stretch goal of $57,120 will ensure we can fully realize our vision by not only finishing the film but also securing archival materials, equitably compensating our team, and giving Sonder the promotion it deserves. With these funds, we can submit to major festivals, reach a wider audience, and spark meaningful conversations about home, identity, and change. Created by a team of young Chicagoans, Sonder is more than just a film—it’s a movement. It’s about returning to the place that shaped you, seeing it with fresh eyes, and rediscovering its beauty. At its heart, this story is about resilience, memory, and finding love in the everyday.
This is more than just a film; it’s a Chicago story told by Chicagoans for Chicago and beyond. It’s for those who’ve left home in search of something more, only to realize that home itself holds a depth they never fully understood. It’s for those who love this city—not just for its skyline but for its soul, its people, and its stories.
By pledging today, you’re not just supporting a film—you’re investing in a vision that honors Chicago’s beauty and complexity. Every dollar gets us closer to completion, and every share spreads the word further. Let’s bring this film home, together.
• Pledge today to help Sonder reach the finish line
• Follow & share to amplify our Chicago-made story
• Join the movement as we take Sonder from post-production to the world stage!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Archivist
Costs $750
Help us hire an Archivist to assist with collecting additional footage and photos of Chicago from the Great Migration to the Present.
Sound Designer
Costs $2,000
Help us hire a sound designer to assist our post production team.
Graphic Designer
Costs $3,000
Help us hire a graphic designer for our poster, website, and titles.
Share this update!
About This Team
Kiara Lauren is a multi-hyphenate artist based in Brooklyn, known for her work as a director and producer. Her productions have been featured at The Apollo Theater, WAM Theater, and WP Theater Off-Broadway. In 2023, she was awarded a Directorial Fellowship from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation. Kiara’s artistic practice emphasizes empathic storytelling to cultivate vulnerability and truth for Black and Brown femmes. A proud Spelman College graduate, she holds a B.A. in Theatre and Performance with a concentration in Directing and is eager to tell stories about Chicago youth in today's context.
Sydney Lolita Cusic is a bi-coastal producer and filmmaker from the South Side of Chicago, now living in Brooklyn, NY. An alumna of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, her work examines relationships and their impact on the human experience. Notable projects include Away From Home, Bluebird, and The Rider and The Bull. Sydney has produced numerous short films and commercials and serves as Head of Production for Juniper Productions. Recently, she co-directed the Off-Broadway production of Wine in the Wilderness and actively advocates for the arts beyond film and theater. juniperprod.com
Booker Vance is an actor and writer from the South Side of Chicago, currently based in NYC. He earned his MFA from The New School of Drama and a BA in Theatre & Performance Studies from Morehouse College. Committed to representing African-American culture, he draws inspiration from filmmakers like Charles Burnett, John Singleton, and Spike Lee. As a writer, he has been a semi-finalist for BlackBoysWrites and has contributed to writers' rooms across the country, focusing on narratives that reflect connections to Black Middle America.
Nkosi Roma is a US-based filmmaker specializing in shooting 16mm film. With five years of experience as a full-time cinematographer, Nkosi is a self-taught artist who values trial and error and approaching each project as his first. Nkosi's grounded and immersive visual style emphasizes closeups to convey emotions, always serving the story. Recent achievements include screening the music video, BY THE DAWN at the DeadCenter Film Festival and acceptance of the short, HONORABLE into the St. Louis International Film Festival. With humility and professionalism, Nkosi is dedicated to preserving the film medium and inspiring others through his art.
Faoileán Cosgrove is a producer based out of New York and Los Angeles. Her narrative work has been featured in festivals such as NewFest, Chelsea Film Festival, NFFTY (Audience Award Winner), Buffalo International Film Festival, Fantasia Film Festival, Final Girls Film Festival, Academy Award Qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival, Kodak Shoot Film, and others. She has produced commercial and music video content for brands such as Warner Music, Hopeless Records, Condé Nast East, Vogue China, Ralph Lauren, and others. juniperprod.com