The Bet
New York City, New York | Film Short
Comedy, Romantic Comedy
The Bet is a silly, sincere, and bittersweet romantic comedy about a man who makes a wager to get a free meal but instead finds the woman of his dreams. With a diverse cast of actors, The Bet is a fun farce to entertain and give a little hope to the audience.
The Bet
New York City, New York | Film Short
Comedy, Romantic Comedy
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $4,426 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
41 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
The Bet is a silly, sincere, and bittersweet romantic comedy about a man who makes a wager to get a free meal but instead finds the woman of his dreams. With a diverse cast of actors, The Bet is a fun farce to entertain and give a little hope to the audience.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Bet was originally conceived about eight years ago, after I read a post on Tumblr Dot Com about someone attempting to try to get a free meal by pretending to be stood up. I have no idea whether or not the story was true, but I choose to believe it was. I reckoned that could be a funny premise for a short film and lo and behold, it was.
The film transmuted through many drafts, casts, and crews, with the penultimate attempt occurring in March of 2020. Obviously I was unable to make the picture do to the global health crisis, but overall I think I got a better product by waiting.
I've been keen on directing for a while now and it feels great to have finally done it properly! I've directed and shot sketches, but nothing to this scale before. I'm excited to direct again when I'm not also starring in the ding dang thing.
The bet is a bittersweet comedy that reflects how difficult finding connection can be. In a post-pandemic world, I've seen people fumble connecting with others more than ever before. All of us long for connection with others, whether romantic or not. The Bet shows us what happens when we get in our own way when trying to achieve connection.
The purpose of this campaign to recoup the inital investment of making the picture as well as to issue bonuses for those who took a pay cuts and to pay people who volunteered their time. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who worked on the project so far and I want to do right by them!
If we pass our goal I'll use the aditional funds to pay for post production costs and festival fees!
I'll be submitting The Bet once post production is complete to several festivals and from there I'll make it available on the net!
I believe that The Bet will do well in festivals due to the hard work and dedication of the cast and crew. I'd be delighted if you'd join us on this next step!
I plan to use this page as well as my social media account to keep y'all in the loop about the films progress, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Thanks so much for reading!
Stay safe and have fun!
Tristan
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Bonuses + Payment
Costs $1,000
Members of the crew volunteered their time or took a cut in their rate & I want to do right by them!
Post Production/Festivals
Costs $1,000
I need to edit this thing and try and get people to see it! You can help!
Share this update!
About This Team
Meet the cast!
Tristan Miller (Writer, Director, Michael)
Tristan Miller is an award-winning actor, writer, and comedian. Tristan is currently touring their solo comedy show Manic Impressive across the USA and internationally next year. Tristan will be featured in the tv series Into The Wild Frontier, the rom-com Us And Ourselves, the feature film Dominoes, and in the short film The Last Supper later this year.
Isra Elsalihie (Holly) 
Isra is an Iraqi-Swedish actor and writer based out of New York.
She has performed in critically-acclaimed hits such as Heather Raffo’s Noura at the Old Globe directed by Johanna McKeon and the political thriller The Invaders (2018 BFI London Film Festival), for which she received a Best Lead Actress nomination at SSIFF.
Most recently she was selected for the prestigious Berlinale Talents 2022 and was awarded the Playwrights Realm International Theatremaker Award for her work as an actor and activist. Isra was also awarded an HB Studios Scholarship 2022 to study improv. Earlier this year she completed a 7-month run as the leading role in Hemma Hos at Angereds Teater in Sweden.
Her credits include: Feature film Arresting God (Sundance Institute Development Track) by Sati Kaur and starring opposite Agam Darshi, Another Girl (Amazon Prime); Red Balloon directed by Jessica Blank at Noor Theatre, 24 Hour Plays: Nationals 2017 produced by Mark Armstrong; Parisian Blue Fantasie produced by Tony winner Mercedes Ellington at the Friars Club and Anne Frank in the Gaza Strip, directed by Shaun Peknic for which she won PCTF Outstanding Supporting Actress award.
This is in addition to her voice-over work on the Emmy award-winning animation series, Super Wings. Isra is also a writer for Backstage.
Isra is also a graduate of Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and has studied with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. Upon her graduation, Isra began working at the Actors Studio.
Isra was also nominated for and subsequently attended LAByrinth theatre company’s 2019 Summer intensive ensemble, studying with Stephen Adly Guirgis, Raul Castillo, and Maggie Flannigan among others.
Isra has since collaborated professionally with LAByrinth theatre company’s Barn series and Installation America at Cherry Lane theatre.
Tyler Riley (Jim)
Tyler Riley is a New Jersey native. He graduated in 2013 from Stockton University with a B.A. in Theatre Studies. After graduating, Tyler had an 8-year career in house management, most notably at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ, and at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, BA.
Tyler has been working and performing in the NYC area for the past 7 years. He is the current co-host of the Amateur Detective Club podcast, vice-chair of the board for Borne Dance Company, and now the associate artistic director for Company of Fools.
Mel Geuvara (Server, Host)
Melissa Guevara-Sandoval is a Nicaraguan-American Actress, Writer and New York City Comic. Born and raised in Miami, Florida. Melissa began Stand-up at the age of 18 at a college bar near UCF. She began her comedy career after in Detroit, Michigan and later moved to New York. Studied Improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and has performed in clubs all over the city. Seen on Bravo's Cash- Cab and Amazon Prime.
Meet the crew!
Jake Gorr (Director of Photograhy, producer)
Jake Gorr was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona where he learned photography through nature photography and some occasional “urban exploration”. After getting his degree in Film and Media production from Arizona State he moved to New York City. Soon after he started working for Zero Point Zero Productions learning documentary cinematography from Emmy award winning DP’s. He has been credited on Netflix, CNN, HBO, and the most prestigious platform in the industry: Quibi.
At the same time working with independent filmmakers on short narrative projects. He has shot over two dozen short films, music videos, and completed photography on his first feature as DP in September of 2021.
Jake enjoys sad music, coffee, Dungeons and Dragons, and out of print film stocks.
Syndey Task (Production Assistant)
Sydney Task is a senior at The New School working toward a BA in Screen Studies and a BFA in Illustration. Her personal work combines live-action and animation, primarily in the genres of documentary and autofiction. Her thesis film “The Lonely Generation” has been screened at multiple small festivals in New York City and can be found on her website sydneytask.com
Susan Dorf (Photographer)
Susan Dorf is a co-producer and the Head of Production for Women Stand Up NYC. She does photography for each show and for other projects as well, including this one! She’s been doing standup and photography for about 3 years now but hopes to keep going until she drops! Her comedy usually centers around her family, queerness, and past traumas that need and deserve a laugh. Her photography is about catching people in the moment with their raw, sensitive energy. When she’s not performing stand up or behind the camera, Susan bartends and serves at the oldest bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Bet was originally conceived about eight years ago, after I read a post on Tumblr Dot Com about someone attempting to try to get a free meal by pretending to be stood up. I have no idea whether or not the story was true, but I choose to believe it was. I reckoned that could be a funny premise for a short film and lo and behold, it was.
The film transmuted through many drafts, casts, and crews, with the penultimate attempt occurring in March of 2020. Obviously I was unable to make the picture do to the global health crisis, but overall I think I got a better product by waiting.
I've been keen on directing for a while now and it feels great to have finally done it properly! I've directed and shot sketches, but nothing to this scale before. I'm excited to direct again when I'm not also starring in the ding dang thing.
The bet is a bittersweet comedy that reflects how difficult finding connection can be. In a post-pandemic world, I've seen people fumble connecting with others more than ever before. All of us long for connection with others, whether romantic or not. The Bet shows us what happens when we get in our own way when trying to achieve connection.
The purpose of this campaign to recoup the inital investment of making the picture as well as to issue bonuses for those who took a pay cuts and to pay people who volunteered their time. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who worked on the project so far and I want to do right by them!
If we pass our goal I'll use the aditional funds to pay for post production costs and festival fees!
I'll be submitting The Bet once post production is complete to several festivals and from there I'll make it available on the net!
I believe that The Bet will do well in festivals due to the hard work and dedication of the cast and crew. I'd be delighted if you'd join us on this next step!
I plan to use this page as well as my social media account to keep y'all in the loop about the films progress, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
Thanks so much for reading!
Stay safe and have fun!
Tristan
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Bonuses + Payment
Costs $1,000
Members of the crew volunteered their time or took a cut in their rate & I want to do right by them!
Post Production/Festivals
Costs $1,000
I need to edit this thing and try and get people to see it! You can help!
Share this update!
About This Team
Meet the cast!
Tristan Miller (Writer, Director, Michael)
Tristan Miller is an award-winning actor, writer, and comedian. Tristan is currently touring their solo comedy show Manic Impressive across the USA and internationally next year. Tristan will be featured in the tv series Into The Wild Frontier, the rom-com Us And Ourselves, the feature film Dominoes, and in the short film The Last Supper later this year.
Isra Elsalihie (Holly)
Isra is an Iraqi-Swedish actor and writer based out of New York.
She has performed in critically-acclaimed hits such as Heather Raffo’s Noura at the Old Globe directed by Johanna McKeon and the political thriller The Invaders (2018 BFI London Film Festival), for which she received a Best Lead Actress nomination at SSIFF.
Most recently she was selected for the prestigious Berlinale Talents 2022 and was awarded the Playwrights Realm International Theatremaker Award for her work as an actor and activist. Isra was also awarded an HB Studios Scholarship 2022 to study improv. Earlier this year she completed a 7-month run as the leading role in Hemma Hos at Angereds Teater in Sweden.
Her credits include: Feature film Arresting God (Sundance Institute Development Track) by Sati Kaur and starring opposite Agam Darshi, Another Girl (Amazon Prime); Red Balloon directed by Jessica Blank at Noor Theatre, 24 Hour Plays: Nationals 2017 produced by Mark Armstrong; Parisian Blue Fantasie produced by Tony winner Mercedes Ellington at the Friars Club and Anne Frank in the Gaza Strip, directed by Shaun Peknic for which she won PCTF Outstanding Supporting Actress award.
This is in addition to her voice-over work on the Emmy award-winning animation series, Super Wings. Isra is also a writer for Backstage.
Isra is also a graduate of Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and has studied with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. Upon her graduation, Isra began working at the Actors Studio.
Isra was also nominated for and subsequently attended LAByrinth theatre company’s 2019 Summer intensive ensemble, studying with Stephen Adly Guirgis, Raul Castillo, and Maggie Flannigan among others.
Isra has since collaborated professionally with LAByrinth theatre company’s Barn series and Installation America at Cherry Lane theatre.
Tyler Riley (Jim)
Tyler Riley is a New Jersey native. He graduated in 2013 from Stockton University with a B.A. in Theatre Studies. After graduating, Tyler had an 8-year career in house management, most notably at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ, and at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, BA.
Tyler has been working and performing in the NYC area for the past 7 years. He is the current co-host of the Amateur Detective Club podcast, vice-chair of the board for Borne Dance Company, and now the associate artistic director for Company of Fools.
Mel Geuvara (Server, Host)
Melissa Guevara-Sandoval is a Nicaraguan-American Actress, Writer and New York City Comic. Born and raised in Miami, Florida. Melissa began Stand-up at the age of 18 at a college bar near UCF. She began her comedy career after in Detroit, Michigan and later moved to New York. Studied Improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and has performed in clubs all over the city. Seen on Bravo's Cash- Cab and Amazon Prime.
Meet the crew!
Jake Gorr (Director of Photograhy, producer)
Jake Gorr was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona where he learned photography through nature photography and some occasional “urban exploration”. After getting his degree in Film and Media production from Arizona State he moved to New York City. Soon after he started working for Zero Point Zero Productions learning documentary cinematography from Emmy award winning DP’s. He has been credited on Netflix, CNN, HBO, and the most prestigious platform in the industry: Quibi.
At the same time working with independent filmmakers on short narrative projects. He has shot over two dozen short films, music videos, and completed photography on his first feature as DP in September of 2021.
Jake enjoys sad music, coffee, Dungeons and Dragons, and out of print film stocks.
Syndey Task (Production Assistant)
Sydney Task is a senior at The New School working toward a BA in Screen Studies and a BFA in Illustration. Her personal work combines live-action and animation, primarily in the genres of documentary and autofiction. Her thesis film “The Lonely Generation” has been screened at multiple small festivals in New York City and can be found on her website sydneytask.com
Susan Dorf (Photographer)
Susan Dorf is a co-producer and the Head of Production for Women Stand Up NYC. She does photography for each show and for other projects as well, including this one! She’s been doing standup and photography for about 3 years now but hopes to keep going until she drops! Her comedy usually centers around her family, queerness, and past traumas that need and deserve a laugh. Her photography is about catching people in the moment with their raw, sensitive energy. When she’s not performing stand up or behind the camera, Susan bartends and serves at the oldest bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.