Story

During the Summer of 2025, three teens performing sting operations on predators meets someone who makes them question everything that they're doing.

Dylan, Zach and Allen are three reckless, thrill-seeking teenagers. They lure in predators to expose, humiliate, and extort them. Dylan wants virality, Zach wants money, and Allen wants justice. And the most important part? They have fun exercising their power on the scum of society. That is, until they meet Anthony.

At first, the boys think Anthony is just another predator that they need to expose, but upon further glance, they realize that Anthony is a victim of abuse, who is traumatized to the point of mental incapacitation. The boys don't know how to move forward, and moral confliction ensues.

Why Tell This Story?

While growing up, my friends and I used to get up to some dumb stuff online. During one Summer when we were 14 years old, we would join "18+" Discord servers, talk to creeps, and eventually get them to say incriminating stuff. We would then get them banned from the server. This small sense of vigilantism was huge for our 14 year old selves and was thrilling, and we believe that we did the right thing.

Thinking back to that Summer, I wanted to expand more on it; what more could we have done? Could we have exposed them to people they knew? Their family? Maybe even gotten money out of them? And if we did, would we be in the right, or the wrong?

This story comes from a real moment in my life that has stayed with me from that Summer. Predator hunting now, has become a public spectacle and a growing online subculture that isn't really explored in a narrative setting. The rise of viral stings and content-driven "justice" urges me to tell this story, to explore that tension between righteous motivation and performative exposure. The project explores the impact of these actions on victims of sexual abuse, perpetrators, and those who take justice into their own hands.

With the online virality of "predator-hunting" blowing up, I felt that now is the time to make a short film exploring the controversies and complexity of it. Is it more about enacting justice, or content?

Tone, Visual Guides, and Theme:

Summer of '25 shifts from a angsty, darkly funny opening of a successful sting operation, to a starkly serious life-altering experience for the boys.

Quarter of the film is shot on a camcorder to show the boys sting operation, whilst the rest is shot in a very raw, dynamic style. The camcorder sections creates distance, irony, and a documentary-style format, whilst the main cinematography shifts emotional tone.

Where Are We In The Process?

Follow "Summer of '25" on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/summer.of.25.film/

Principal photography is slated for January 23–25, 2025. Your support at this stage is crucial for securing locations, finalizing permits, renting camera and sound equipment, covering production design needs, and ensuring our crew can operate safely and efficiently. Early funding allows us to prepare fully and keep the production on schedule. If we surpass our funding goal, additional resources will go toward expanded festival submissions and enhanced production value. We are asking supporters to pledge, follow, and share the campaign.

Budget Breakdown:

Incentives & Challenges:

Refer to the sidebar for the incentives available at each contribution level. In addition to these perks, Director Seth Nestorowicz will complete a series of challenges tied to specific fundraising milestones. The graphic below outlines each challenge and the amount required to unlock it.

Thank you!