Ultra
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Sci-Fi
After a shared loss, a grieving man's obsessive meditation practice to summon a UFO threatens to further isolate him from his fiancée.
Ultra
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Sci-Fi
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
116 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$9,243
Goal: $10,000 for production
After a shared loss, a grieving man's obsessive meditation practice to summon a UFO threatens to further isolate him from his fiancée.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Grief doesn't go up in smoke — it goes looking.
As we enter the “age of disclosure”, our aim is to ground one of the biggest stories of our time with a personal experience of loss, and the search for meaning in the otherworldly.
Bern and Cindy, a couple living in serene Upstate New York, mourn the untimely and traumatic death of their closest friend, Dave. While Cindy heals through her painting and caring for their dog Mama, Bern obsesses over an esoteric meditation practice meant to summon a UFO, further driving him into isolation.
With Dave's Memorial one day away, Cindy begs Bern to join her in mourning with their friends and family, but the persistent memory of Dave’s final moments won’t release its grip on Bern. Desperate to bridge the growing gap between them, Cindy joins Bern in his meditation ritual. That night, Bern is suddenly awakened by something strange that changes both of their lives forever.
Ultra is a short film about grief, guilt, and the impossible distance between two people who love each other.
We find ourselves at a specific cultural moment. Governments have held hearings. The Age of Disclosure became the highest-grossing documentary in Amazon Prime history. The conversation around consciousness, contact, and what lies beyond has moved from the fringes to the center of American life.
Ultra is the counter-frequency to all of that noise. It stays in the backyard.
Avivit sat opposite an ex-military acquaintance in a bar in New Mexico. He looked her dead in the eye, and said, “they’re real.” These words concluded an unbelievable story, one that he felt compelled to hide his phone to tell. She heard this 2 years into her exploration of UFOs, initiated by watching the 2020 documentary “The Phenomenon" a few months after her father passed away. His death was unrelated to the Covid pandemic, but perfectly timed to the start of lockdowns, ensuring her grief was engulfed in loneliness.
When she sat down to write a new script with Jake, their shared love of esoteric topics and their experience with loss both fueled the creation of Ultra.
Your support makes this film.
We are shooting this summer. Every contribution goes directly to production, to paying our crew and bringing Ultra from an idea to the screen.
Ultra was a quarterfinalist for the Stowe Story Labs Film Production grant, one of the most prestigious script development programs in independent film. The next step belongs to the people who believe in it.
How You Can Help:
Pledge. Follow. Share.
Contributing at any level moves this film forward. If you can't give right now, following the campaign and spreading the word costs nothing and means everything.
Follow us on Instagram: @ultrashortfilm
Copy and paste to share:
" A short film about grief, extra-terrestrial contact, and what two people will do to find each other. Ultra is crowdfunding now on Seed&Spark — check it out: ultrashortfilm.com "
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast
Costs $1,000
Our cast in the Screen Actors Guilds and will be paid according to a SAG short film agreement.
Crew
Costs $5,000
Without a team to collaborate with, movies don't get made. Our crew is essential to the filmmaking process and we value their expertise.
Equipment
Costs $2,000
Our DP owns an Alexa, but we need funds to rent the lenses and other lighting equipment to make Ultra as beautiful as it deserves to be.
Location and Travel
Costs $1,000
This is a single location film, taking place at house with backyard. Most of our team resides in NYC, requiring us to travel upstate.
Production Design & Props
Costs $300
A painting of the backyard is central to the story and we will commission this from a local artist.
Meals and Craft Service
Costs $700
We are earthlings that require edible sustenance to fuel our filmmaking.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Avivit Bar-Yosef has been making films in New York for over a decade. She coordinated Beach Rats (Sundance), co-produced Giants Being Lonely (Venice), and spent four years inside Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures. Ultra will be her fifth narrative short as writer-director.
Jacob Alden Roa plays Bern and co-wrote the screenplay alongside Avivit. His theater work spans Park Ave Armory, Soho Playhouse, and Joe's Pub at the Public Theater.
Mia Vallet plays Cindy. Her film Visitors premiered at SXSW 2026, and she’ll appear in the upcoming feature Recluse at Tribeca 2026. She has appeared in Blindspot, Hightown, and FBI, and performed at Rattlestick Playwright's Theatre and The Signature Theatre.
Matt Garland is our Director of Photography, bringing a body of narrative and commercial work that matches the quiet visual ambition this film requires. He is currently a DP on the hit Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil.
Ben Samson produces. He is a New York-based producer currently working on multiple projects spanning narrative fiction and documentary, with a background in fundraising, line producing, and development. His current producing credits include the feature boxing documentary The Big Deal and the narrative short JEWFACE.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Grief doesn't go up in smoke — it goes looking.
As we enter the “age of disclosure”, our aim is to ground one of the biggest stories of our time with a personal experience of loss, and the search for meaning in the otherworldly.
Bern and Cindy, a couple living in serene Upstate New York, mourn the untimely and traumatic death of their closest friend, Dave. While Cindy heals through her painting and caring for their dog Mama, Bern obsesses over an esoteric meditation practice meant to summon a UFO, further driving him into isolation.
With Dave's Memorial one day away, Cindy begs Bern to join her in mourning with their friends and family, but the persistent memory of Dave’s final moments won’t release its grip on Bern. Desperate to bridge the growing gap between them, Cindy joins Bern in his meditation ritual. That night, Bern is suddenly awakened by something strange that changes both of their lives forever.
Ultra is a short film about grief, guilt, and the impossible distance between two people who love each other.
We find ourselves at a specific cultural moment. Governments have held hearings. The Age of Disclosure became the highest-grossing documentary in Amazon Prime history. The conversation around consciousness, contact, and what lies beyond has moved from the fringes to the center of American life.
Ultra is the counter-frequency to all of that noise. It stays in the backyard.
Avivit sat opposite an ex-military acquaintance in a bar in New Mexico. He looked her dead in the eye, and said, “they’re real.” These words concluded an unbelievable story, one that he felt compelled to hide his phone to tell. She heard this 2 years into her exploration of UFOs, initiated by watching the 2020 documentary “The Phenomenon" a few months after her father passed away. His death was unrelated to the Covid pandemic, but perfectly timed to the start of lockdowns, ensuring her grief was engulfed in loneliness.
When she sat down to write a new script with Jake, their shared love of esoteric topics and their experience with loss both fueled the creation of Ultra.
Your support makes this film.
We are shooting this summer. Every contribution goes directly to production, to paying our crew and bringing Ultra from an idea to the screen.
Ultra was a quarterfinalist for the Stowe Story Labs Film Production grant, one of the most prestigious script development programs in independent film. The next step belongs to the people who believe in it.
How You Can Help:
Pledge. Follow. Share.
Contributing at any level moves this film forward. If you can't give right now, following the campaign and spreading the word costs nothing and means everything.
Follow us on Instagram: @ultrashortfilm
Copy and paste to share:
" A short film about grief, extra-terrestrial contact, and what two people will do to find each other. Ultra is crowdfunding now on Seed&Spark — check it out: ultrashortfilm.com "
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast
Costs $1,000
Our cast in the Screen Actors Guilds and will be paid according to a SAG short film agreement.
Crew
Costs $5,000
Without a team to collaborate with, movies don't get made. Our crew is essential to the filmmaking process and we value their expertise.
Equipment
Costs $2,000
Our DP owns an Alexa, but we need funds to rent the lenses and other lighting equipment to make Ultra as beautiful as it deserves to be.
Location and Travel
Costs $1,000
This is a single location film, taking place at house with backyard. Most of our team resides in NYC, requiring us to travel upstate.
Production Design & Props
Costs $300
A painting of the backyard is central to the story and we will commission this from a local artist.
Meals and Craft Service
Costs $700
We are earthlings that require edible sustenance to fuel our filmmaking.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Avivit Bar-Yosef has been making films in New York for over a decade. She coordinated Beach Rats (Sundance), co-produced Giants Being Lonely (Venice), and spent four years inside Darren Aronofsky's Protozoa Pictures. Ultra will be her fifth narrative short as writer-director.
Jacob Alden Roa plays Bern and co-wrote the screenplay alongside Avivit. His theater work spans Park Ave Armory, Soho Playhouse, and Joe's Pub at the Public Theater.
Mia Vallet plays Cindy. Her film Visitors premiered at SXSW 2026, and she’ll appear in the upcoming feature Recluse at Tribeca 2026. She has appeared in Blindspot, Hightown, and FBI, and performed at Rattlestick Playwright's Theatre and The Signature Theatre.
Matt Garland is our Director of Photography, bringing a body of narrative and commercial work that matches the quiet visual ambition this film requires. He is currently a DP on the hit Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil.
Ben Samson produces. He is a New York-based producer currently working on multiple projects spanning narrative fiction and documentary, with a background in fundraising, line producing, and development. His current producing credits include the feature boxing documentary The Big Deal and the narrative short JEWFACE.