Our cast is 90% Hispanic, and our crew joins men and women of different ethnicities who grew up in varied households. A goal of this film is to create relatable content for those who are underrepresented while also encouraging audience compassion for stories they may not be familiar with.

Stormie is the coming-of-age story of a Hispanic teenager, Juan, searching for where he belongs in this world. Our objective is to raise funds for the Development Stage of this film! We are confident that with the help of Seed & Spark and the Duplass Bros, as well as the support from YOU, we can do this story justice and create a film that will leave its audience thinking. This film means so much to this team, and we will continue to push toward making this dream a reality!

 

 

Stormie touches on the basic theme of wanting to belong, but in a very unique way. The audience will be taken through Juan’s life choices to see how the basic human desire of seeking acceptance and a genuine belonging can lead an individual down undesirable paths. Nothing in life is black and white, and while it may be easy to pass judgment on the choices of others, this film aims to highlight the person behind those choices. There is a lack of acceptance in our society due to an absence of exposure to people different from one’s self. We hope to both share a relatable story for those who feel underrepresented while also generating acceptance by helping viewers who are different from our subject see life through their eyes.

 

Real life doesn’t always have a Hollywood happy ending complete with beating the odds and achieving the nearly impossible. Sometimes just getting by is enough to be proud of. By overcoming the roadblocks put up by society and himself and finding happiness in spite of mistakes made, Juan becomes a true hero in our eyes. This is real life, and these stories beg to be told.

 

Juan is adopted at a young age and always feels like he was given the opportunity at a better life. However, instead of seeing this through a positive light, Juan feels guilty for leaving his biological family. This causes him to resist his adoptive family and search for his own path to belonging. He spends time in gangs and in jail, both of which bring him a sense of belonging and community, but through these experiences, he begins to also see how life will be if he cannot find the right path. 

 

The Story

Juan's story begins during his mother’s latest drug binge, where at five-year-old he had to assume a parenting role for himself and his baby brothers. One morning, all the children are taken by Social Services and separated into different foster homes, after no one in their family steps up to take them.

 

Fast-forward 13 years, Juan is in high school and feels out of place at home with his adoptive parents and new younger brother. Juan now lives in a multiracial household on the privilege, predominately white side of town. Other areas of his hometown struggle with gang populations, and it is easy for him to see the road he had previously been destined for. He can’t help but feel like he never deserved the life he was adopted into. His parents do not understand how he could feel this way, which leads to arguments about what is best for him, pushing Juan away even more and driving him to search for a place where he belongs. He sleeps on the street and under bridges until his friend, Gabriel, introduces him to gang life where he becomes enamored with the sense of family that comes with it.

 

 

From that point, Juan disappears from the lives of his family. In the gang, he finds a temporary place of belonging. He feels protected, valued, and sense of earning his place. Juan falls for Gabriel’s sister, Isabella, and feels as though he is unstoppable. Slowly, the gang life that felt so comfortable begins to sour. The gang no longer has his back, and Isabella reveals her manipulative side. After fighting with Gabriel and Isabella, Juan is forced back onto the streets. Having hit rock bottom and with nowhere else to go, he feels it is time to find his birth mother.

 

 

 

Like the gang, Juan feels another sense of belonging once reunited with his birth family. He gets to reconnect with his younger brothers that were taken from him so many years ago. At first, it seems like this is the place Juan wants to be, but then he sees how selfish this family truly is. When Juan confronts his birth-mother about her continued drug use and selling, she tells him that he needs to accept all parts of their family or leave. With nowhere to go, Juan must figure out a way to get back to where he truly belongs.