As of August 25th, we were 100% FUNDED, as of August 27th, we hit Stretch Goal #1 THANK YOU! YOUR follows, YOUR contributions, and YOUR shares have gotten us where we are today. We could not have done this without YOU and we can not thank YOU enough.

BUT WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP!  Here are our upcoming stretch goals:

STRETCH GOAL #1 - $17,000 DONE!
STRETCH GOAL #2 - $20,000 - DONE! Better lighting, better grip gear, and the drone of our dreams
STRETCH GOAL #3 - $25,000 - Compensate our composer, editors, sound mixers, and visual artists for their work
ULTRA-STRETCH GOAL #1 - $30,000 - Secure a shooting location in Joshua Tree, Professional color grading and extra VFX shots

Because of you, we can get THE WEEKEND through production.  Now let's try and clear our ultra-stretch goal!

I was born in a Balinese rice field to an Indonesian father and Polish mother. I had an international family with mixed cultures and found that a feeling of otherness or not belonging came with the territory. Growing up with Balinese fairytales fueled my imagination and has made me gravitate towards stories of the unknown, sci-fi, and fantasy. These stories may be set in far off worlds, but they tackle weighty issues that affect us here and now while immersing us in a sensory smorgasbord.

There is nothing more important to me than inclusion on our screens. Growing up, and even now as an adult, I have never seen an Indonesian lead character in mainstream, western media. THE WEEKEND changes this. I hope to do my part by bringing compelling, insightful, and most of all, entertaining stories to life on screen. I believe we can create the best of both worlds with THE WEEKEND; producing great entertainment with universal themes while also sparking a deeper conversation about identity and representation. We have a talented team, and with your help, I know we can pull off a completely original and enthralling film.

Josh, a young man still recovering from his sister’s death, reluctantly joins a weekend getaway at his friend Michelle’s house. The weekend unravels awkwardly as Josh navigates his secret feelings for Michelle and her possessive boyfriend, Mike. To make matters worse, at night, a strange Indonesian woman visits him in his dreams, forcing Josh to question his own grip on reality. It all comes to a head when Josh finds Michelle floating face down in the pool and can’t resuscitate her. Overwhelmed with the loss of his unrequited love, Josh unleashes a massive pulse of energy that takes him on a new and unexpected path.

THE WEEKEND draws inspiration from "Ragnarok", "Fast Color" and "Roswell: New Mexico". A grounded, romantic, other-wordly story. The discovery of the supernatural in everyday life.

The look of THE WEEKEND will be polished, cinematic, and rich in color, despite having a predominantly cool pallette. Wide sweeping masters to establish the environment, mixed with smooth, flowing camera moves and long lenses to give a feeling of intimacy.

There is also an element of fantasy to the visual style, evident when Josh is "visited" by the Old Woman in his dreams. These moments will be reminiscent of T'Challas visit to the Ancestral Plane in Black Panther.

We are aiming to have a diverse crew, including AAPI and genders. Passionate, hard working, talented, hailing from all across the globe, etc.

THE WEEKEND was written by award-winning, mixed Indonesian director - Soma Helmi - who has a passion for genre films, especially grounded sci-fi. She has always been drawn to telling stories of otherness while staying true to her multi-cultural roots. She was named one of the “8 Directors to Watch” by the Alliance of Women Directors and has had her work screened at Sundance, Outfest, and Tallgrass Film Festival, amongst many others.

Yoshi Sudarso is an Actor based out of Los Angeles. He moved to Southern California from Indonesia at the age of nine. He portrayed the Blue Power Ranger on the long running TV series, "Power Rangers" on several seasons. Yoshi has worked on multiple films and TV shows, including Project Power, The Maze Runner, and Agents of Shield. He debuted his film career in Indonesia as “Suwo” the lead of “Buffalo Boys,” a spaghetti western set in the East and Singapore’s 2018 entry to the Oscars.

Born in China, raised in Boston, Massachusetts. Steven Yee is the founder of Wood Island Media, a production company specializing in celebrity, branded, and social content. Clients include Chrissy Teigen’s Cravings, Kourtney Kardashian’s Poosh, Lebron James’s SpringHill Entertainment, and many more.  Although Wood Island Media has primarily focused in the commercial space, Steven’s heart has always been in narrative filmmaking. When he moved out to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film production, he realized the importance of representation in media and the responsibility we carry as content creators.

Anna Levine spent the last 4 years serving as the creative architect of DUST, a brand that is the definitive taste-making source for emerging voices in the science fiction space. In partnership with Gunpowder & Sky, Levine worked to develop multiple feature and TV adaptations of DUST properties.  Prior, Anna started Geek World Radio, where she served as a producer and correspondent, often lending her services to Cinefix, Anime Vice, ComicsOnline, Cox Media’s The Point, and others.  In addition to her new role as Head of Creative for The Open Door Film Project, Anna is currently an independent producer, speaker, and digital consultant.

Abby Latip is a Chinese-Indonesian actor from Jakarta, Indonesia. Graduating with a degree in Sociology and never imagining she’d end up in film, Abby made a serendipitous move to LA and quickly landed leading roles in indie projects such as “The Followers” and “Heir.” She also worked on various projects with the likes of Buzzfeed, Refinery29, Warner Music, and WeTV. Recently, Abby co-produced and acted in a short that was filmed in isolation and is now under consideration at a number of festivals around the world.

The funds we aim to raise will go directly to our production costs.  They will be divided and allocated to all the various, necessary, and oftentimes expensive duties and obligations that come with production, including but not limited to payment to the cast, payment to the crew, camera and lighting gear purchases and rentals, securing locations, securing transportation, ensuring quality catering and craft services are provided, locking in insurance, providing set safety, and procuring wardrobe. 

And while we are grateful for your support in handling these areas of the production, this amount still means that we will be asking a lot of favors from our friends and film community. It also doesn't take into account our post production costs.  Which brings us to...

STRETCH GOAL #1 - $17,000

• Cover campaign, pre-production and production costs
• Secure a Steadicam for a day of shooting

STRETCH GOAL #2 - $20,000

• Better lighting, better grip gear, and the drone of our dreams

STRETCH GOAL #3 - $25,000

• Compensate our composer, editors, sound mixers, and visual artists for their work

ULTRA-STRETCH GOAL #1 - $30,000

• Secure a shooting location in Joshua Tree
• Professional color grading and extra VFX shots

ULTRA-STRETCH GOAL #2 - $35,000

• Compensate our cast and crew with a competitive rate for their incredible work
• We’d be able to fully realize the complete vision of The Weekend with no restraints!

WHAT LIES BEYOND

• Everything beyond our second Ultra-Stretch Goal goes to funding The Weekend’s next phase – marketing, festival costs, and developing its feature-length concept!

Now more than ever, we understand if you find yourself unable to make a monetary pledge.  However, there are still many ways you could offer our project your highly appreciated support.  Reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any services or items that you would like to donate or loan to our production.  We would be happy to reward you with credit in the film, and in some special cases, advertising.  

Here is a small sample of some of the puzzles, obstacles, and goals that we would love some assistance in figuring out. 

Primary Filming Location (Secluded Holiday Home)

Lodging Near Our Joshua Tree, CA Location

A Drone

A Steadicam and an Operator

An Underwater Camera

Craft Services (Snacks, Bottled Water, and Coffee.  Lots of Coffee)

Ground Transportation

Production Assistants

A Medic

Last but not least, and perhaps most importantly, we would be thrilled if you would follow us on Seed & Spark and share our project on your own social media.  Help us spread the word about our work.  In each and every way, no matter how big or small, you are all part of THE WEEKEND team, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your time, attention, and assistance. 

Want to stay updated on all things THE WEEKEND and get to know our talented creatives a bit more?  You can follow them and these projects at:

Instagram: @the_weekendshort
Yoshi's socials: IG @yoshi_sudarso  Twitter @yoshi_sudarso 
Soma's socials: IG @somahelmi  Twitter @somahelmi

Here are some blurbs you can share to help spread the word:

Excited to support my talented friends @somahelmi and @yoshi_sudarso for their upcoming sci-fi short. An Indonesian director and Indonesian American leads! Hope you’ll be able to support their crowdfunding campaign! www.theweekendshort.com

Just supported @somahelmi and @yoshi_sudarso for their upcoming sci-fi short. An all AAPI cast with Indonesian American leads! Please check out their crowdfunding campaign! www.theweekendshort.com