A young woman discovers a mysterious lesion on her chest the morning after a disappointing tryst with a new lover. Throughout the rest of her day, she finds that she may not be the only one who is experiencing these unsightly symptoms. While questioning her reality and the reality of others, she looks down the barrel of a problem that may take more than a glass of wine, a quick-fix ointment or even a heart-to-heart with a friend to solve.

Director Kyle Kuchta and writer Jeanette Wall met each other on the campus of Syracuse University in 2009. During their time in college, they co-managed the college radio station WERW and managed to work on many an artistic endeavour...except a film. Obscure Cinema Club and visits to the mall cinema was a staple of their extracurriculars, and that helped develop a common language among them. Now, over a decade later, that nuanced language and love of cinema has finally culminated into the deeply personal "Ouchie." 

As independent artists, we are no strangers to riding the waves of uncertainity. A pandemic only strengthened that. We've packaged this short to be able to be accomplished on a consolidated yet flexible production schedule/budget thanks to an enthusiastic team. 

Your support will not only directly support the production of this project, but also the development of other film projects in Wall/Kuchta's repertoire. 

I wanted my first foray into screenwriting to be something close to my heart, pun intended. In the past few years, specifically since the pandemic began, I’ve been doing work in a couple different recovery programs. Through this work, I found that looking at something and examining it, especially within yourself, kind of makes you see it everywhere around you. 

A common program phrase goes, “you have to clean your side of the street,” or “keep to your side of the street.” Essentially, it means that you should be focusing more on your own recovery than what you feel may be right or healthy for other people. I really struggle to this day with not projecting my own addictions and standards onto other people. We all maintain a certain proximity to addiction or maladaptive behaviors, especially in America. But who am I to say what is healthy or safe for another person? 

Of course, horror has been to the well of addiction for storytelling throughout the genre's history in film. But as our societal understanding of addiction and recovery evolve, so should our stories reflecting on it. I believe that sober living looks like many different things for different people, and we are all at varying levels of uncovering new ways of living that are more peaceful and loving to ourselves. Something I don't recall seeing explicitly explored in horror are emotional addictions, those that are often intertwined with substance abuse, and how growth and maintaince of recovery can look different that it's been protrayed in popular media. 

I think there are elements of this recovery that are especially horrific that are not discussed -- I think how isolating addiction recovery can be is so terrifying. Especially as it is a time that requires a lot of emotional support. But in growing and challenging yourself to be better, you may lose people around you, even people you love and care about. They're not the villains, you're not the villain, the villain is this pattern. This film positions itself and its characters this way, and I think that's something that makes this story special.  

This film is my attempt to reconcile healing myself with my perception of other people, primarily close friends, but also how I project my own personal issues onto larger groups of people I identify with. I am just now uncovering wounds that have been deep-set within me, not necessarily others, and so I must do my best to keep to my side of the street. -JW

Jeanette’s energetic creativity has always been an inspiration to me, and we’ve been in each other’s corners for so long. So when they approached me with this script, a personal exercise that was a new adventure for them, I knew I wanted to honor it and bring it to life.

Independent film is no joke, and it takes a special type of person to be part of these projects. To honor that, I've always prioritized creating a beneficial, fun and safe space for all I work with. I'm excited to continue to put that into the universe, into this industry, and make dope art. -KK

The production team for "Ouchie" has budgeted $15k to cover production, post-production and distribution costs (all listed in the WishList). We are currently scheduled to film early Summer in New London, CT. 

Kuchta's sets are intended to be empathetic and collaborative spaces where enthusiasm thrives and creativity plays. Safety, in all aspects, is incredibly important. The team has learned from other productions the importance of health precaution and caution before and during filming. We plan to test before production and practice safe set standards (social distancing, masks). A COVID compliance officer is allocated in our crew budget. The small but mighty production team is ready to go, but only with your help.

Upon project completion, the short will be submitted to film festivals from the remainder of 2023 into 2024. Kuchta's previous work, "The Woodsman" had a successful run on the festival circuit, particularly in genre festivals. We hope to reconnect with those outlets with this short film. After the film’s festival run, the short will be available to stream on a TBD platform. Even further beyond are a few projects in development, and your investment/support of "Ouchie" will help propel us closer to those other films as well. 

Check out our Team page to find out where you can follow our production members for updates.

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