Third
Seattle, Washington | Film Short
Drama, Teen
David meets up with his old friend James for some spike ball. When his friend Amy shows up, and she kisses James out of nowhere, he begins to wonder what's happened since he left. For the remainder of the day, David struggles to third wheel, aware he's growing apart from his friends.
Third
Seattle, Washington | Film Short
Drama, Teen
3 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $9,000 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
35 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
David meets up with his old friend James for some spike ball. When his friend Amy shows up, and she kisses James out of nowhere, he begins to wonder what's happened since he left. For the remainder of the day, David struggles to third wheel, aware he's growing apart from his friends.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"A college student struggles to reconnect with his high school friends after learning they've started dating each other."
THIRD is about growing up and apart from home.
David meets up with his old friend James for a game of spike ball. When his friend Amy makes a surprise appearance midday. Even more surprising is when she greets James with a kiss on the cheek. For the rest of the game, David must watch as his two friends are more affectionate towards each other than they are to him.
Later, they make a stop at a local corner store for some beers. While James goes inside and uses his fake ID, David pries Amy as to why he wasn't updated on their love life, to which she replies "I guess I didn't think we were that close." This frank honesty throws David off as they walk to Sunset Hill Park.
Despite enjoying a beverage, David can't help feeling alienated as he watches the two canoodling next to him. When they ask him to take their picture, he obliges. Reviewing the photos, he can't bear to look at them. He considers deleting them, but decides against it, handing Amy back her phone, and swiftly departing.
Through seeing his friends grow closer together and him feeling further apart, David comes to terms with the fact that he's growing in a different direction, and that it's natural for these friendships to subtly fade, as sad as it is.
Here's a Letterboxd Link for the List of Inspiration Films
I grew up in and around the neighborhood of Ballard my whole life. While I was at Ballard High School, I cut my teeth making short films, documentaries, and PSAs, winning Emmy Awards for Best PSA & Best Screenplay. I think it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. In recent years, the neighborhood and greater Seattle have started to change. More townhouses, less local restaurants. Since moving to New York for college, these changes have been all the more apparent to me.
This idea of my childhood world moving on is apparent in my friendships too. Simply by being away from home, my friendships which got me through my formative years are starting to wane. It hurts to meet up with an old friend and realize your lives are going in different directions, but it's also a reality of life.
Through this film and these characters, I want to show the bittersweet images and feelings my hometown neighborhood brings me.
This film is about my love for the community I grew up with, thus I want to make this community part of the creation of the film itself.
We're collaborating with Ballard High Schools's film department to bring graduating seniors on as production assistants.
We're working to cast local actors from drama departments at nearby universities.
We're also honored to be the first student production to participate in Northwest Film Forum's Fiscal Sponsorship Program.
This is a film made by Seattleites, for Seattleites.
Currently we are in PRE-PRODUCTION, with filming to take place JANUARY 2024.
We're looking to raise $7,500 during this campaign for production expenses. Since we're filming in Seattle, we have to fly some crew out from New York as well as house them for the duration of the shoot. Therefore, our biggest expenses for which we seek support are travel, food, and lodging.
Our stretch goal for this campaign is $10,000, which allows us to put more money towards camera + lighting gear, costumes, and production design.
So far, we've already raised $1,500 (15%) towards production from private donations.
After production, we plan to complete all of post-production SPRING 2024 so that, upon graduation, I will exit NYU with a fully-finished film ready for the festival circuit as well as our local early premiere SUMMER 2024.
This past Spring, this same team came together to make NEW YEAR, NEW ME, my junior year film. This film was inspired by a conversation between my sister and I the first winter I came back from college. As you can see from the stills above, our shoot was a massive success. Meagan's cinematography and Marcos' production design shine. I can't wait to tell another personal story with THIRD, bringing this film family I have built to my home turf of Seattle.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
1) PLEDGE
Donate what you can and help bring THIRD to life!
2) FOLLOW US
Follow our Seed&Spark page for progress updates as we move to production
Follow us on Instagram @thirdthefilm
3) SHARE OUR STORY
The only way we reach our crowdfunding goal is if we reach beyond our networks.
Share our campaign via social media, email, word-of-mouth, or any way you can!
Feel free to copy, paste, and share the template below!
Help filmmaker Sebastian Zufelt by supporting his new short film, THIRD, about a college student third-wheeling his high school friends. Support them at seedandspark.com/fund/third
Thank you for reading and for your support. We're excited to show the world the beauty of the Pacific Northwest with you.
Best,
Sebastian & the Third Team
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Food
Costs $4,500
Not only are we feeding our crew on set, we have to provide them meals for the duration of their stay in Seattle.
Flights
Costs $2,000
We need to fly our crew out from Seattle to New York for a week. If you can't donate monetarily, we accept flight miles donations!
Camera + GE Package
Costs $1,000
We need to locally acquire all the camera and lighting accessories to make the PNW looks as gorgeous on camera as it does in person.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
SEBASTIAN ZUFELT
(writer/director)
Sebastian is a filmmaker from Seattle, Washington, based in New York City. His films focus on stories of emotional conflict within interpersonal relationships. His film SOFT LAUNCH, profiled in Washington Square News, screened at NFFTY 2023 and won Best Screenplay at the Gallatin Film Awards. He is thrilled to be capping off his time at NYU by bringing his thesis production back to his old neighborhood of Ballard and showing the world all its beauty.
NIKKI PAGE
(producer)
Nikki is a filmmaker from Everett, Massachusetts. Also enrolled in NYU's Undergraduate film program, she mixes female-centered stories and punk rock influences in her work. This year, she interned at ReFrame, a project founded by Sundance and Women in Film which works to balance gender representation in film. She and Sebastian have been collaborating since their sophomore year!
MEAGAN WACHTEL
(cinematographer)
Meagan is a Cuban-American filmmaker from New Providence, New Jersey. Across her work as a cinematographer, writer, and director, her films balance a love of classic filmic techniques and her modern visual sensibility. Her films often navigate the hardships of womanhood, mental health, cultural differences, and queerness. She has shot several award winning NYU thesis productions, is a recipient of Panavision’s “New Filmmaker” grant, received an accreditation from Cannes International Film Festival, and placed at the world’s largest youth film festival, NFFTY. She’s eager to enter production for her capstone project, SANTO, at New York University. You can view her previous work at www.meagantheepisces.com.”
MARCOS GUERRA
(production designer)
Marcos is a filmmaker from Hatboro, Pennsylvania. He particularly loves to lean into horror with his work as a writer, director, and production designer. He was the production designer for Nikki & Sebastian's junior year films, turning the same apartment into a roach-infested mess and a suburban childhood bedroom, both for next to no resources. He's excited to bring his creative touch to the Pacific Northwest.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"A college student struggles to reconnect with his high school friends after learning they've started dating each other."
THIRD is about growing up and apart from home.
David meets up with his old friend James for a game of spike ball. When his friend Amy makes a surprise appearance midday. Even more surprising is when she greets James with a kiss on the cheek. For the rest of the game, David must watch as his two friends are more affectionate towards each other than they are to him.
Later, they make a stop at a local corner store for some beers. While James goes inside and uses his fake ID, David pries Amy as to why he wasn't updated on their love life, to which she replies "I guess I didn't think we were that close." This frank honesty throws David off as they walk to Sunset Hill Park.
Despite enjoying a beverage, David can't help feeling alienated as he watches the two canoodling next to him. When they ask him to take their picture, he obliges. Reviewing the photos, he can't bear to look at them. He considers deleting them, but decides against it, handing Amy back her phone, and swiftly departing.
Through seeing his friends grow closer together and him feeling further apart, David comes to terms with the fact that he's growing in a different direction, and that it's natural for these friendships to subtly fade, as sad as it is.
Here's a Letterboxd Link for the List of Inspiration Films
I grew up in and around the neighborhood of Ballard my whole life. While I was at Ballard High School, I cut my teeth making short films, documentaries, and PSAs, winning Emmy Awards for Best PSA & Best Screenplay. I think it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. In recent years, the neighborhood and greater Seattle have started to change. More townhouses, less local restaurants. Since moving to New York for college, these changes have been all the more apparent to me.
This idea of my childhood world moving on is apparent in my friendships too. Simply by being away from home, my friendships which got me through my formative years are starting to wane. It hurts to meet up with an old friend and realize your lives are going in different directions, but it's also a reality of life.
Through this film and these characters, I want to show the bittersweet images and feelings my hometown neighborhood brings me.
This film is about my love for the community I grew up with, thus I want to make this community part of the creation of the film itself.
We're collaborating with Ballard High Schools's film department to bring graduating seniors on as production assistants.
We're working to cast local actors from drama departments at nearby universities.
We're also honored to be the first student production to participate in Northwest Film Forum's Fiscal Sponsorship Program.
This is a film made by Seattleites, for Seattleites.
Currently we are in PRE-PRODUCTION, with filming to take place JANUARY 2024.
We're looking to raise $7,500 during this campaign for production expenses. Since we're filming in Seattle, we have to fly some crew out from New York as well as house them for the duration of the shoot. Therefore, our biggest expenses for which we seek support are travel, food, and lodging.
Our stretch goal for this campaign is $10,000, which allows us to put more money towards camera + lighting gear, costumes, and production design.
So far, we've already raised $1,500 (15%) towards production from private donations.
After production, we plan to complete all of post-production SPRING 2024 so that, upon graduation, I will exit NYU with a fully-finished film ready for the festival circuit as well as our local early premiere SUMMER 2024.
This past Spring, this same team came together to make NEW YEAR, NEW ME, my junior year film. This film was inspired by a conversation between my sister and I the first winter I came back from college. As you can see from the stills above, our shoot was a massive success. Meagan's cinematography and Marcos' production design shine. I can't wait to tell another personal story with THIRD, bringing this film family I have built to my home turf of Seattle.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
1) PLEDGE
Donate what you can and help bring THIRD to life!
2) FOLLOW US
Follow our Seed&Spark page for progress updates as we move to production
Follow us on Instagram @thirdthefilm
3) SHARE OUR STORY
The only way we reach our crowdfunding goal is if we reach beyond our networks.
Share our campaign via social media, email, word-of-mouth, or any way you can!
Feel free to copy, paste, and share the template below!
Help filmmaker Sebastian Zufelt by supporting his new short film, THIRD, about a college student third-wheeling his high school friends. Support them at seedandspark.com/fund/third
Thank you for reading and for your support. We're excited to show the world the beauty of the Pacific Northwest with you.
Best,
Sebastian & the Third Team
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Food
Costs $4,500
Not only are we feeding our crew on set, we have to provide them meals for the duration of their stay in Seattle.
Flights
Costs $2,000
We need to fly our crew out from Seattle to New York for a week. If you can't donate monetarily, we accept flight miles donations!
Camera + GE Package
Costs $1,000
We need to locally acquire all the camera and lighting accessories to make the PNW looks as gorgeous on camera as it does in person.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
SEBASTIAN ZUFELT
(writer/director)
Sebastian is a filmmaker from Seattle, Washington, based in New York City. His films focus on stories of emotional conflict within interpersonal relationships. His film SOFT LAUNCH, profiled in Washington Square News, screened at NFFTY 2023 and won Best Screenplay at the Gallatin Film Awards. He is thrilled to be capping off his time at NYU by bringing his thesis production back to his old neighborhood of Ballard and showing the world all its beauty.
NIKKI PAGE
(producer)
Nikki is a filmmaker from Everett, Massachusetts. Also enrolled in NYU's Undergraduate film program, she mixes female-centered stories and punk rock influences in her work. This year, she interned at ReFrame, a project founded by Sundance and Women in Film which works to balance gender representation in film. She and Sebastian have been collaborating since their sophomore year!
MEAGAN WACHTEL
(cinematographer)
Meagan is a Cuban-American filmmaker from New Providence, New Jersey. Across her work as a cinematographer, writer, and director, her films balance a love of classic filmic techniques and her modern visual sensibility. Her films often navigate the hardships of womanhood, mental health, cultural differences, and queerness. She has shot several award winning NYU thesis productions, is a recipient of Panavision’s “New Filmmaker” grant, received an accreditation from Cannes International Film Festival, and placed at the world’s largest youth film festival, NFFTY. She’s eager to enter production for her capstone project, SANTO, at New York University. You can view her previous work at www.meagantheepisces.com.”
MARCOS GUERRA
(production designer)
Marcos is a filmmaker from Hatboro, Pennsylvania. He particularly loves to lean into horror with his work as a writer, director, and production designer. He was the production designer for Nikki & Sebastian's junior year films, turning the same apartment into a roach-infested mess and a suburban childhood bedroom, both for next to no resources. He's excited to bring his creative touch to the Pacific Northwest.