The MisEducation of Bindu
Indianapolis, Indiana | Film Feature
Comedy, Drama
It's time to re-invent the high school feature movie - breaking tropes and featuring characters that would only typically appear on the sidelines. We want to showcase a unique and lovable lead character that has a different trajectory to growth than the usual nerd to prom queen.
The MisEducation of Bindu
Indianapolis, Indiana | Film Feature
Comedy, Drama
1 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $62,690 for development. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
350 supporters | followers
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It's time to re-invent the high school feature movie - breaking tropes and featuring characters that would only typically appear on the sidelines. We want to showcase a unique and lovable lead character that has a different trajectory to growth than the usual nerd to prom queen.
In Partnership With
Participating In
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
We wrote it because we were sick of them. You know, “Coming of Age” stories featuring guys and their all too familiar problems in high school. In the end, they have a happy ending where the protagonist learns to deal with love, friendship, and conquering puberty!
...All that heartwarming stuff.
But, that’s not how we grew up. For both of us women, we didn’t see any protagonists who went through puberty like we did—all the girls in Film and TV seemed to wake up one day beautiful and perfect. Not us. Where was the agony?
The terribly awkward?
There were hardly any characters that spoke like us, looked like us, and had experiences that resonated with us. Characters who could let us know we weren’t alone. And that’s what united us to create The Miseducation of Bindu. While we could identify with those painfully hard years of high school, Prarthana provided conflicting realities of being a young girl growing up in a conservative family from India.
Experiences of a girl caught, not only between girlhood and womanhood but a girl with a foot in India’s traditional past and the promise of global future where she can blend in to be whomever she wants to be. From that self-conscious discomfort, we met and fell in love with our painfully bright, awkward heroine: Bindu, a 14-year-old Indian American girl.
We loved Bindu for the pureness of her emotions and feared for her as she approached the hallowed halls of public high school, completely unprepared for what came next. We united our voices and wrote the coming-of-age yearning inside of us.
The Miseducation of Bindu was inspired by A Girl’s Own Story and Welcome to the Dollhouse because they each have a voice to show unflinching, brutal awkwardness of young women coping with sexuality, and Napoleon Dynamite because of the film’s ability to scrutinize the numerous bizarre facets of life—and laugh at the truth of it.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Casting Director
Costs $7,000
Partnering with an incredible Casting Director will be the first step in seeing this movie get made.
Talent
Costs $22,000
Funds raised help us secure the right talent that will help get our film seen by more people.
Locations
Costs $6,000
High school movie with multiple location needs a healthy location budget.
Travel & Living Expenses
Costs $15,000
We're making this movie in Indianapolis which means lots of flights & hotels for our LA cast & crew.
Equipment
Costs $10,000
While this won't cover the entire cost of our equipment it will get us a lot closer our wish list.
Share this update!
About This Team
Born and raised in Chennai, India, Prarthana Mohan has always been interested in
the arts. Hailing from a film family, her grandfather's (renowned composer M.S.
Viswanathan) stories about the film industry ignited her imagination. In college,
Prarthana pursued Visual Communication and her documentary, Hush, won the state
award for best film.
Prarthana completed her MFA in Film Production with an emphasis in Directing at
Chapman University in California. Prarthana was the recipient of the Leo Freedman
Award for excellence in visual storytelling. Her thesis film, Turn Around, showcased
in the Cannes Short Film Corner and screened in multiple film festivals including
Seoul International Film Festival, Portland Women's Film Festival, and Davis Film
Festival.
The short film version of this feature screened at multiple festivals and the feature
script won 2nd Place at Cynosure Screenwriting Competition and a semifinalist at the
Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowships. She is currently working on several projects that
have strong and compelling female characters.
Kay is an Arizonan who's wandered west until she reached the ocean, peeling away
her Northern Arizona University Bachelors of Science degree in Biology for a pen
and paper. A graduate of Chapman University's Screenwriting MFA program and a prestigious Knott Scholar, Kay co-created a one-on-one writing coach program through Writersstore.com and assists writers, from novices to showrunners on their projects.
She has written shorts that have screened at festivals such as Cucalores Film Festival,
deadCenter Film Festival, and Portland Women’s Film Festival. She's earned numerous
contest placements and wins, including Scriptapaloozatv, Cynosure Screenwriting
Competition, and Austin Film Festival. The MisEducation of Bindu Semi-finalled in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowships.
She produced The Awareness, which premiered on Shortoftheweek.com
and selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Growing up in Indiana, Ed’s passion for basketball enticed him to pursue a career
as a sports broadcaster. While studying Kinesiology at Indiana University, Ed was
bitten by the film bug. After completing his bachelor’s degree, Ed headed west and
received his MFA at Chapman University in Film Production with an emphasis in
Cinematography.
As well as shooting numerous short films that have screened at festivals around the
world, Ed has worked in television production for such shows as Cha$e and
The George Lopez Tonight Show and feature film production for Junkyard Dog
and Once Fallen.
Ed has taught cinematography and editing at SAE and New York Film Academy.
For two and a half years he was Director of High School Programs for New York
Film Academy and currently is the Associate Faculty Chair for Filmmaking at the
New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, the largest BFA program within
the Academy. Ed hopes to continue to tell dynamic stories with cultural relevance.
Kirill immigrated to United States from Odessa, Ukraine at the age of nine with
big dreams. He received his BFA at the University Of California State Northridge
with a concentration in Cinematography.
As member of the local 600 Union and working for nearly fifteen years as a freelance
cinematographer and producer, Kirill's vast body of work includes feature and short
films, music videos, commercials and events. Unscripted shows include Deadliest
Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Bad Girls Club, and Giada at Home. He has worked with
such networks as ESPN, Discovery, Speed Chanel, G4, Showtime, Oxygen and
Food Network.
Kirill's recent accomplishments include producing two feature films - Lights and
Quarries - both currently in post production. Most recently, Kirill has taken on his next
feature as the Executive Producer which will shoot later this year.
Dani has studied Film and Visual Arts in Spain, the UK, New York and California.
He received an MA in Film at Cornell University and an MFA in cinematography
at Chapman University. He is currently completing a PhD.
Dani specializes in narrative feature films at the edge of Bollywood such as Tamanchey,
Ishqeria and San Pacchattar (Year 75). His latest project, The Journey Within, about
the musical scene of Pakistan, funded by Coca-Cola, is running the festival circuit.
He has been awarded Best Cinematography at Hatchfest, Best Cinematography at
Goldeneye Festival, the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Best Cinematography, the Jesse
Epstein Kodak Award, and a nomination for an ASC Heritage Award.
Dani has taught at Film and Television Institute of India, Sanjan Institute in Lahore,
EUSA in Spain, and for several international film festivals. He headed the
cinematography department in the film school of the University of Mumbai, and now
works at Idyllwild Arts Academy in California.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
We wrote it because we were sick of them. You know, “Coming of Age” stories featuring guys and their all too familiar problems in high school. In the end, they have a happy ending where the protagonist learns to deal with love, friendship, and conquering puberty!
...All that heartwarming stuff.
But, that’s not how we grew up. For both of us women, we didn’t see any protagonists who went through puberty like we did—all the girls in Film and TV seemed to wake up one day beautiful and perfect. Not us. Where was the agony?
The terribly awkward?
There were hardly any characters that spoke like us, looked like us, and had experiences that resonated with us. Characters who could let us know we weren’t alone. And that’s what united us to create The Miseducation of Bindu. While we could identify with those painfully hard years of high school, Prarthana provided conflicting realities of being a young girl growing up in a conservative family from India.
Experiences of a girl caught, not only between girlhood and womanhood but a girl with a foot in India’s traditional past and the promise of global future where she can blend in to be whomever she wants to be. From that self-conscious discomfort, we met and fell in love with our painfully bright, awkward heroine: Bindu, a 14-year-old Indian American girl.
We loved Bindu for the pureness of her emotions and feared for her as she approached the hallowed halls of public high school, completely unprepared for what came next. We united our voices and wrote the coming-of-age yearning inside of us.
The Miseducation of Bindu was inspired by A Girl’s Own Story and Welcome to the Dollhouse because they each have a voice to show unflinching, brutal awkwardness of young women coping with sexuality, and Napoleon Dynamite because of the film’s ability to scrutinize the numerous bizarre facets of life—and laugh at the truth of it.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Casting Director
Costs $7,000
Partnering with an incredible Casting Director will be the first step in seeing this movie get made.
Talent
Costs $22,000
Funds raised help us secure the right talent that will help get our film seen by more people.
Locations
Costs $6,000
High school movie with multiple location needs a healthy location budget.
Travel & Living Expenses
Costs $15,000
We're making this movie in Indianapolis which means lots of flights & hotels for our LA cast & crew.
Equipment
Costs $10,000
While this won't cover the entire cost of our equipment it will get us a lot closer our wish list.
Share this update!
About This Team
Born and raised in Chennai, India, Prarthana Mohan has always been interested in
the arts. Hailing from a film family, her grandfather's (renowned composer M.S.
Viswanathan) stories about the film industry ignited her imagination. In college,
Prarthana pursued Visual Communication and her documentary, Hush, won the state
award for best film.
Prarthana completed her MFA in Film Production with an emphasis in Directing at
Chapman University in California. Prarthana was the recipient of the Leo Freedman
Award for excellence in visual storytelling. Her thesis film, Turn Around, showcased
in the Cannes Short Film Corner and screened in multiple film festivals including
Seoul International Film Festival, Portland Women's Film Festival, and Davis Film
Festival.
The short film version of this feature screened at multiple festivals and the feature
script won 2nd Place at Cynosure Screenwriting Competition and a semifinalist at the
Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowships. She is currently working on several projects that
have strong and compelling female characters.
Kay is an Arizonan who's wandered west until she reached the ocean, peeling away
her Northern Arizona University Bachelors of Science degree in Biology for a pen
and paper. A graduate of Chapman University's Screenwriting MFA program and a prestigious Knott Scholar, Kay co-created a one-on-one writing coach program through Writersstore.com and assists writers, from novices to showrunners on their projects.
She has written shorts that have screened at festivals such as Cucalores Film Festival,
deadCenter Film Festival, and Portland Women’s Film Festival. She's earned numerous
contest placements and wins, including Scriptapaloozatv, Cynosure Screenwriting
Competition, and Austin Film Festival. The MisEducation of Bindu Semi-finalled in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowships.
She produced The Awareness, which premiered on Shortoftheweek.com
and selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Growing up in Indiana, Ed’s passion for basketball enticed him to pursue a career
as a sports broadcaster. While studying Kinesiology at Indiana University, Ed was
bitten by the film bug. After completing his bachelor’s degree, Ed headed west and
received his MFA at Chapman University in Film Production with an emphasis in
Cinematography.
As well as shooting numerous short films that have screened at festivals around the
world, Ed has worked in television production for such shows as Cha$e and
The George Lopez Tonight Show and feature film production for Junkyard Dog
and Once Fallen.
Ed has taught cinematography and editing at SAE and New York Film Academy.
For two and a half years he was Director of High School Programs for New York
Film Academy and currently is the Associate Faculty Chair for Filmmaking at the
New York Film Academy in Los Angeles, the largest BFA program within
the Academy. Ed hopes to continue to tell dynamic stories with cultural relevance.
Kirill immigrated to United States from Odessa, Ukraine at the age of nine with
big dreams. He received his BFA at the University Of California State Northridge
with a concentration in Cinematography.
As member of the local 600 Union and working for nearly fifteen years as a freelance
cinematographer and producer, Kirill's vast body of work includes feature and short
films, music videos, commercials and events. Unscripted shows include Deadliest
Catch, Ice Road Truckers, Bad Girls Club, and Giada at Home. He has worked with
such networks as ESPN, Discovery, Speed Chanel, G4, Showtime, Oxygen and
Food Network.
Kirill's recent accomplishments include producing two feature films - Lights and
Quarries - both currently in post production. Most recently, Kirill has taken on his next
feature as the Executive Producer which will shoot later this year.
Dani has studied Film and Visual Arts in Spain, the UK, New York and California.
He received an MA in Film at Cornell University and an MFA in cinematography
at Chapman University. He is currently completing a PhD.
Dani specializes in narrative feature films at the edge of Bollywood such as Tamanchey,
Ishqeria and San Pacchattar (Year 75). His latest project, The Journey Within, about
the musical scene of Pakistan, funded by Coca-Cola, is running the festival circuit.
He has been awarded Best Cinematography at Hatchfest, Best Cinematography at
Goldeneye Festival, the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Best Cinematography, the Jesse
Epstein Kodak Award, and a nomination for an ASC Heritage Award.
Dani has taught at Film and Television Institute of India, Sanjan Institute in Lahore,
EUSA in Spain, and for several international film festivals. He headed the
cinematography department in the film school of the University of Mumbai, and now
works at Idyllwild Arts Academy in California.