The Running Kind
Stockton, California | Film Short
Drama, Comedy
Cary admits to his only friend Rick, who is dying of cancer, that he is going to fake his own death and restart his life. In a panic, Cary, decides to drive away from an overwhelming party. A series of vignettes show us what he's running from... morphing into his life which flashes before his eyes.
The Running Kind
Stockton, California | Film Short
Drama, Comedy
Green Light
This campaign raised $18,760 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
91 supporters | followers
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Cary admits to his only friend Rick, who is dying of cancer, that he is going to fake his own death and restart his life. In a panic, Cary, decides to drive away from an overwhelming party. A series of vignettes show us what he's running from... morphing into his life which flashes before his eyes.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Running Kind is a fast paced, kaleidoscopic dark comedy that tells a universal story in a unique way. We'll be shooting it in our hometown of Stockton, CA so that we can create the film with the same people we're making it for.
Cary is an intensely unhappy, self described “screw-up” who believes his problems are caused by everything in his life - his uninspiring and uninteresting job, a string of time wasting relationships with younger women whom he does not respect or truly venture to understand, and his general lack of purpose.
The movie begins with a conversation between Cary and his childhood friend Rick, who is dying of cancer. Cary feels that Rick is the only remaining person in his life who truly knows him. Rick’s impending death triggers an existential crisis in Cary, who, in typical fashion, has decided to avoid the difficult feelings and fake his own death, move to a new city, and start over completely.
Rick is able to have an honest conversation with Cary, but Cary does not have the emotional vocabulary to have the conversation without deflecting with jokes. Rick realizes he can't change his friend, and they essentially say their goodbyes. Next they go outside to Rick’s son, Jimmy's, 7th Birthday party. Overwhelmed by his decision, the barrage of thoughts running through his mind, his friends impending death, and the annoying neighbors at the party, Cary decides he can’t take it anymore... and takes off.
We follow Cary as he drives out of his small town and down a series of country highways and agricultural roads. We see his thoughts through a long series of vignettes, each shedding light on the haunting images of his past and his imagined futures - both good and bad. We learn all that scares, shames, excites and saddens him as we watch his life flash before his eyes while he decides whether to fake his death or turn around and return to the life he knows. The film reaches its peak with an exciting and unexpected ending as Cary makes his final decision.
The Running Kind examines the depth of depression that runs in communities and in people who have been conditioned to never talk about their pain. Many of these people learn to avoid it and run away from it at all costs. By exploring this character, we hope to shed light on the growing mental health crisis in the United States, particularly in underserved rural communities. Far from a PSA, the film will not seek to create a blueprint, or offer any easy solutions for a complicated problem, but rather present the real story of a real type of person that we've all met at one point or another.
When Can I See It?
We will be shooting the film at the end of July in an around Stockton, hustling as fast as we can through post production for the rest of the summer and then submitting to festivals in the fall. We will be able to send out the movie sometime around November 2024 and we are even hoping to put together a little screening for all those who donated and helped make the movie a reality.
Who's Workin on It?
We will be pulling together a great team of people of all different backgrounds, experiences, and expertise. The crew will be made up of our friends and frequent collaborators from school (LA) and anyone we can convince to help us out from Stockton. This well rounded yet nimble group of extremely creative and talented people is the only way we can pull this off!
What's the Money Going Towards?
Every dollar will be spent on getting the vision up on the screen! You can see a little breakdown in the "wishlist" tab of this page, but a few things to highlight are - costumes, locations, camera gear, lighting gear, transportation for the actors and crew, meals for everyone, makeup, and sound equipment. And those are all just to get the movie shot! After that we will be spending the budget on editing, sound editing and mixing, recording the soundtrack, coloring the footage, and creating the final, polished export to send to all of you!
- Donating is the fastest and easiest way to help us make the film.
- Following and Sharing our Seed & Spark is the next best thing! You can follow our page through Seed & Spark, which helps us get more views and donations. Also sharing the page with anyone you think may be interested would be extremely helpful!
- Following and Sharing our Instagram Page is another great way to help spread the word. Our page is @_therunningkind_ You can also find our page on the social media tab of this website.
- Locations and Props! If you or anyone you know in the Stockton area has access to or can recommend any of the following locations, that would be tremendously helpful!
- Jazz club
- Used car lot
- A house built before 1990
- An empty lot or piece of agricultural land
- A Doctor's office
- A motorcycle
- An older model Car
THANK YOU SO MUCH! We look forward to working with you and sharing our film with you soon! Please stay tuned for updates and don't hesitate to reach out!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Travel
Costs $5,000
It's extremely important to us that we tell this story in our hometown, which means paying for travel and accommodations for our cast/crew.
Cast & Crew
Costs $7,000
The bulk of our budget and for good reason! We'll be relying on many talented people and by funding this project you're also funding them!
Props, Costumes, and Hair & Makeup
Costs $2,500
Everything you see on screen that isn't an actor! Every lamp, shoe, and wig in the movie will be made possible by you.
Post Production
Costs $3,000
Filming is just half the battle. Contributions here go toward music, visual effects, sound editing and mixing, and color correction.
Camera, Lighting, & Grip Equipment
Costs $4,500
The grip, electrical, and camera equipment is everything that goes into the scene that you don't see.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
KEPHREN PALMER & NORRIS PALMER
Writing & Directing
Kephren Palmer is a writer and director from Stockton, California. A USC film school graduate, Kephren has written and directed several short narrative projects as well as commercials. As a producer, he has produced short narrative projects which have gone on to appear in major festivals.
Norris Palmer is a Los Angeles based filmmaker born in Stockton, California. Since graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2020, he has produced many short narrative films which have received admission into numerous prestigious film festivals, including SXSW, and gone on to online distribution where they've received hundreds of thousands of views. Among these are KODAMA, ZZZ, EVERYTHING STAYS, SWEET DELIVERANCE, EDGE OF TOWN, and THE SHOW.
MARIA PAULA QUESADA QUIRÓS & GABBY FISZMAN
Producers
Maria Paula Quesada Quirós is a Costa Rican writer, director, and producer. Growing up in a tiny yet diverse country, with a big, close-knit family, she has drawn constant inspiration from her upbringing. Her approach to storytelling from an early age has been informed by vulnerability, humor, and empathy; aspects which continue to inform her work through a genre-bending approach. A USC Film School Graduate, Maria Paula has produced award-winning short films, as well as music videos, and branded content in the US and Costa Rica. In 2024, Maria Paula has directed and edited content for the largest music festival in Central America, ‘Picnic Festival’, as well as directing, writing and acting in the comedy short film ‘Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday’.
Gabby Fiszman is a writer, director, and producer whose upbringing was just as eclectic as her storytelling. As a first-generation American raised by Brazilian immigrants across four different states, Gabby encountered a wide range of cultures, which instilled in her a deep sense of compassion and was crucial in her path to become a storyteller. A graduate from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Gabby independently produces and directs narrative shorts, music videos, and more. Her project, Holy Smokes, was the recipient of the Kevin Smith Comedy Screenplay Award on American Zoetrope’s new platform, Decentralized Pictures, and she is currently in post-production for the proof-of-concept short, starring Mena Suvari, and Executive Produced by Kevin Smith.
THE REST OF THE CREW
We are still in the process of building our incredible team but everyone we have coming on board will be our long time collaborators and friends.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Running Kind is a fast paced, kaleidoscopic dark comedy that tells a universal story in a unique way. We'll be shooting it in our hometown of Stockton, CA so that we can create the film with the same people we're making it for.
Cary is an intensely unhappy, self described “screw-up” who believes his problems are caused by everything in his life - his uninspiring and uninteresting job, a string of time wasting relationships with younger women whom he does not respect or truly venture to understand, and his general lack of purpose.
The movie begins with a conversation between Cary and his childhood friend Rick, who is dying of cancer. Cary feels that Rick is the only remaining person in his life who truly knows him. Rick’s impending death triggers an existential crisis in Cary, who, in typical fashion, has decided to avoid the difficult feelings and fake his own death, move to a new city, and start over completely.
Rick is able to have an honest conversation with Cary, but Cary does not have the emotional vocabulary to have the conversation without deflecting with jokes. Rick realizes he can't change his friend, and they essentially say their goodbyes. Next they go outside to Rick’s son, Jimmy's, 7th Birthday party. Overwhelmed by his decision, the barrage of thoughts running through his mind, his friends impending death, and the annoying neighbors at the party, Cary decides he can’t take it anymore... and takes off.
We follow Cary as he drives out of his small town and down a series of country highways and agricultural roads. We see his thoughts through a long series of vignettes, each shedding light on the haunting images of his past and his imagined futures - both good and bad. We learn all that scares, shames, excites and saddens him as we watch his life flash before his eyes while he decides whether to fake his death or turn around and return to the life he knows. The film reaches its peak with an exciting and unexpected ending as Cary makes his final decision.
The Running Kind examines the depth of depression that runs in communities and in people who have been conditioned to never talk about their pain. Many of these people learn to avoid it and run away from it at all costs. By exploring this character, we hope to shed light on the growing mental health crisis in the United States, particularly in underserved rural communities. Far from a PSA, the film will not seek to create a blueprint, or offer any easy solutions for a complicated problem, but rather present the real story of a real type of person that we've all met at one point or another.
When Can I See It?
We will be shooting the film at the end of July in an around Stockton, hustling as fast as we can through post production for the rest of the summer and then submitting to festivals in the fall. We will be able to send out the movie sometime around November 2024 and we are even hoping to put together a little screening for all those who donated and helped make the movie a reality.
Who's Workin on It?
We will be pulling together a great team of people of all different backgrounds, experiences, and expertise. The crew will be made up of our friends and frequent collaborators from school (LA) and anyone we can convince to help us out from Stockton. This well rounded yet nimble group of extremely creative and talented people is the only way we can pull this off!
What's the Money Going Towards?
Every dollar will be spent on getting the vision up on the screen! You can see a little breakdown in the "wishlist" tab of this page, but a few things to highlight are - costumes, locations, camera gear, lighting gear, transportation for the actors and crew, meals for everyone, makeup, and sound equipment. And those are all just to get the movie shot! After that we will be spending the budget on editing, sound editing and mixing, recording the soundtrack, coloring the footage, and creating the final, polished export to send to all of you!
- Donating is the fastest and easiest way to help us make the film.
- Following and Sharing our Seed & Spark is the next best thing! You can follow our page through Seed & Spark, which helps us get more views and donations. Also sharing the page with anyone you think may be interested would be extremely helpful!
- Following and Sharing our Instagram Page is another great way to help spread the word. Our page is @_therunningkind_ You can also find our page on the social media tab of this website.
- Locations and Props! If you or anyone you know in the Stockton area has access to or can recommend any of the following locations, that would be tremendously helpful!
- Jazz club
- Used car lot
- A house built before 1990
- An empty lot or piece of agricultural land
- A Doctor's office
- A motorcycle
- An older model Car
THANK YOU SO MUCH! We look forward to working with you and sharing our film with you soon! Please stay tuned for updates and don't hesitate to reach out!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Travel
Costs $5,000
It's extremely important to us that we tell this story in our hometown, which means paying for travel and accommodations for our cast/crew.
Cast & Crew
Costs $7,000
The bulk of our budget and for good reason! We'll be relying on many talented people and by funding this project you're also funding them!
Props, Costumes, and Hair & Makeup
Costs $2,500
Everything you see on screen that isn't an actor! Every lamp, shoe, and wig in the movie will be made possible by you.
Post Production
Costs $3,000
Filming is just half the battle. Contributions here go toward music, visual effects, sound editing and mixing, and color correction.
Camera, Lighting, & Grip Equipment
Costs $4,500
The grip, electrical, and camera equipment is everything that goes into the scene that you don't see.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
KEPHREN PALMER & NORRIS PALMER
Writing & Directing
Kephren Palmer is a writer and director from Stockton, California. A USC film school graduate, Kephren has written and directed several short narrative projects as well as commercials. As a producer, he has produced short narrative projects which have gone on to appear in major festivals.
Norris Palmer is a Los Angeles based filmmaker born in Stockton, California. Since graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2020, he has produced many short narrative films which have received admission into numerous prestigious film festivals, including SXSW, and gone on to online distribution where they've received hundreds of thousands of views. Among these are KODAMA, ZZZ, EVERYTHING STAYS, SWEET DELIVERANCE, EDGE OF TOWN, and THE SHOW.
MARIA PAULA QUESADA QUIRÓS & GABBY FISZMAN
Producers
Maria Paula Quesada Quirós is a Costa Rican writer, director, and producer. Growing up in a tiny yet diverse country, with a big, close-knit family, she has drawn constant inspiration from her upbringing. Her approach to storytelling from an early age has been informed by vulnerability, humor, and empathy; aspects which continue to inform her work through a genre-bending approach. A USC Film School Graduate, Maria Paula has produced award-winning short films, as well as music videos, and branded content in the US and Costa Rica. In 2024, Maria Paula has directed and edited content for the largest music festival in Central America, ‘Picnic Festival’, as well as directing, writing and acting in the comedy short film ‘Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday’.
Gabby Fiszman is a writer, director, and producer whose upbringing was just as eclectic as her storytelling. As a first-generation American raised by Brazilian immigrants across four different states, Gabby encountered a wide range of cultures, which instilled in her a deep sense of compassion and was crucial in her path to become a storyteller. A graduate from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Gabby independently produces and directs narrative shorts, music videos, and more. Her project, Holy Smokes, was the recipient of the Kevin Smith Comedy Screenplay Award on American Zoetrope’s new platform, Decentralized Pictures, and she is currently in post-production for the proof-of-concept short, starring Mena Suvari, and Executive Produced by Kevin Smith.
THE REST OF THE CREW
We are still in the process of building our incredible team but everyone we have coming on board will be our long time collaborators and friends.