Success:
Info:
Warning:
Error:
Wooly Bully
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Fantasy
Wooly Bully follows Becca, a young woman coping with her Alzheimer’s stricken mother, Jane. Becca is thrown for a loop as Jane’s delusions veer into the paranormal! Wooly Bully is about finding the magic in the most impossible and frustrating situations.
Wooly Bully
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Fantasy
Elizabeth Bays
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $12,379 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
87 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Wooly Bully follows Becca, a young woman coping with her Alzheimer’s stricken mother, Jane. Becca is thrown for a loop as Jane’s delusions veer into the paranormal! Wooly Bully is about finding the magic in the most impossible and frustrating situations.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
Wooly Bully is told through the lens of someone dealing with the hardships of caretaking. My main caretaking coping strategy was finding the humor and magic in the dire day to day. Through this film, I hope to take away the shame associated with Alzheimers from both the patient and caretaker.
The Story
Logo Design by Logan Laveau.
The Story ...
The film opens with Jane (our heroine) sneaking away from her sleeping husband John mid day. Jane is on a quest.
Cut to Officer Diaz bringing Jane home in the evening to a worried John and Becca (Jane's daughter.) Jane was found digging up a flower bed and wandering in a housing development 4 miles away from John and Jane's house. Officer Diaz reveals to Becca that Jane claims to be a witch.
Over the course of the film, strange events occur. Is it all coincidence and an Alzheimer's driven confabulation? Or is Jane indeed a witch?!?! Help us bring this film to life and find out!
The inspiration …
My mother died 2 years ago from Alzheimer’s. She used to confabulate that she was a witch. When Alzheimer’s patients have confabulations, they 100 percent believe their reality. Needless to say, as a caretaker this can be challenging. My mother’s witch confabulation was a recurring and lively one! It gave me an idea for a film. I commissioned my friend Austin Jennings Boykin to write it and he has written a script that is truly special … and dare I say magical!
Why this story?
It’s personal, relevant, and unique. Wooly Bully is told through the lens of someone dealing with the hardships of caretaking. I grieved twice for my mother. Once for her memory loss and changing personality, and secondly when she died. The only way I got through my caretaking days was by finding the joy, humor, and magic in an impossibly difficult situation. Austin has done an excellent job of capturing both the gravity of caretaking for an aging parent and the specific grief that accompanies Alzheimer’s disease, while STILL finding LEVITY in the story!
When my mother first starting showing signs of Alzheimer's disease, I was in denial. I kept making excuses for her memory lapses and quirky behavior. It was over TWO years before we received an official diagnosis. I hope that this film well help take away the shame associated with Alzheimer's from both sides, patient AND caretaker.
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimers and over 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s. My mother reached the mid/late stages of Alzheimer’s during the height of Covid. Since it was difficult to connect IRL to other caretakers. Reading/watching stories of those sharing a similar journey was one of my saving graces. I hope this film will prove to be similarly cathartic.
This short will serve as a 20 minute proof-of-concept for a larger piece, currently in development.
Director's Statement
"As a director, finding a story like 'Wooly Bully' is really exciting. It’s a powerful personal piece of Elizabeth’s brought to life by her longtime friend Austin. Most (if not all) of the works I direct are intimate stories of women finding their way back to themselves in impossible situations. And while the stories aren’t unusual per se, I like to offset those stories tonally with interesting and sometimes unexpected backdrops. 'Wooly Bully' is a story about two women finding their way through an impossibly difficult time with hope and magic. I’m so excited to highlight the resilience and beauty of this mother/daughter relationship through the lens of magical realism. I intend to incorporate all the magical whimsy of 'Safety Not Guarantee' with the heart of 'Divine Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood' and the visual landscapes like that of 'Nomadland.' " - Kristen Buckels
Director's Inspiration Image Board
What your support will do?
You will be supporting a team of Indie Filmmakers who have just been through a double strike!
This is a SAG Micro Aftra budget approved film. I have an incredible group of people behind me, who are passionate about bringing this project to life.
We need to secure $15,000 so we can make the best film possible! Your support will go towards:
Paying the crew
Paying the actors
Paying for location
Paying for transportation
Paying for insurance
Feeding the cast and crew
We must reach $12,000 (80 percent of our goal) to get "greenlit" by Seed and Spark. Meaning, we don't receive any pledged funds (the funds go back to the contributor) UNLESS we reach that sum. No contribution is too small, every dollar counts!
If you aren't in the position to contribute at this time, spreading the word and sharing this campaign is greatly appreciated!!!
*Special thanks to Eddie Lebron and Leticia Buchanan (Love Your Face Films) for shooting, directing, and editing the "Wooly Bully" pitch video!*
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Location
Costs $3,000
Location costs are expensive and we have two specific location needs. A house with a porch, and a diner, within a short drive of each other!
Filmmakers, Cast, and Crew
Costs $9,500
Our brilliant and talented cast and crew will be rightly compensated.
Catering
Costs $2,000
A cast of 7 + a crew of 8 + a 3 day shoot = A lot of mouths to feed!
Unforeseen
Costs $500
Anything can happen on set, and it's best to prepare for anything and everything!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Kristen Buckels: Director
Meet Kristen Buckels. Kristen is a director, writer, and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. Her debut short film “No Man’s Land” debuted at the Oscar Qualifying Palm Springs International ShortsFest in 2022 and was named “Staff Favorite Short” at the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco. The short film highlights her interest in female characters who are dynamic: driven, power-hungry, ugly and redeemable all at once.
Prior to directing, Buckels worked as a producer to comedians such as Nick Kroll & John Mulaney, Hasan Minhaj, and Mike Birbiglia. She then pivoted into scripted content working as the on-set creative producer on HBOMax’s SEARCH PARTY for seven years. Currently, Buckels is a fellow of the Sony Pictures Television Diverse Directors Program for the class of 2022, a finalist for the AFI DWW+ Program 2023 and has shadowed David Gordon Green on RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES for HBO.
Buckels is also an accomplished performer. Her comedy duo - “most” was recently featured in the Comedy Central special, ILANA GLAZER PRESENTS: COMEDY ON EARTH as well as Comedy Central presents TIGHT FIVE.
Having spent countless hours on set, Buckels intimately understands the language of set and how to most effectively get the creative that she needs all while fostering a collaborative and productive environment with cast and crew.
Elizabeth Bays: Executive Producer and playing "Becca"
Meet Elizabeth Bays, a New York based actor/burlesque artist/filmmaker. She has a BA in theatre from College of Charleston, and trained at the William Esper Studio under Bill and Suzanne Esper.
Theatrical credits include The Butterfly Girl (Off-Broadway), Angelina Ballerina the Musical (National Tour) the world premiere of The Tower at Obie Award winning HERE Arts Center, and Persephone at the New York Fringe Festival . She has performed with Labryinth Theatre Company, Actor’s Theatre NYC, Antimatter Theatre Company, and more.
Her film “Surprise!” ( a short she produced, wrote, and acted in) won the 2021 Best New Filmmaker Award at Scared for your LIIFE Film Festival (sister festival to the Long Island International Film Expo)
Elizabeth is part of Hotsy Totsy Burlesque (named the Best Burlesque Show in NYC by Broadway World) a “nerdlesque” troupe that performs monthly at the world famous Slipper Room. She has a residency at Penny Jo's in Harlem where she produces her burlesque show, "Bitsy's Bits" quarterly.
Austin Jennings Boykin: Writer, Producer, and playing "Kendall"
Meet Austin Jennings Boykin is a New York based actor + writer + comedian. He was raised in North Carolina where he spent the majority of his time swimming competitively. Between the two of them, Austin and Michael Phelps have a combined 23 Olympic Gold Medals.
He attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and later went on to study at the William Esper Studio.Television credits include Fleishman Is in Trouble (FX), The Gilded Age (HBO), Hunters (AMAZON). Theatrically, Austin has performed in New York and regionally with The 24 Hour Plays, The Signature Theatre, Fringe NYC, Provincetown Theater, Shakespeare & Co, Williamstown, Tennessee Williams Festival and more.
His debut screenplay, “Why Storms Are Named After People”, placed at the Austin Film Festival Script Competition—out of 14K+ entries. Additionally, it placed at the Big Apple Film Festival and New York International Screenplay Awards. As a comedian, he was advanced to the finals at the New York Queer Comedy Festival and has performed on stages at Greenwich Village Comedy Club, City Winery, Broadway Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, West Side Comedy Club, Rockwood Music Hall, and various venues across the Northeast.
Geoffrey Taylor : Director of Photography
Meet Geoff Taylor. He is an NY based cinematographer born out of Portland Oregon. Following his studies in college, Geoff found work as a gaffer on numerous projects across the country ranging from music videos to national commercials and feature films. He eventually began gaffing for heavy hitting DP’s such as Katlin Arizemendi, Stuart Winecoff, Todd Martin, Matt Mitchell, Adam Newport-Berra amount many others. Geoffrey later in 2016 advanced his craft to becoming a DP himself, creating and fleshing out narrative arching projects in commercial and music videos for artists as Meek Mill, Future and Nipsey Hussle.
https://www.gtmtfilms.com/
Meet Shawna Brazell: Casting Director
Meet Shawna Brazell. She has been working in television, film and theatre casting for almost 10 years. She is currently working with Laura Rosenthal Casting. Recent credits include: A Different Man (dir: Aaron Schimberg), May December (dir: Todd Haynes), Bottoms (dir: Emma Seligman), Murder Mystery 2 (dir: Jeremy Garelick), The Fabelmans (dir: Steven Spielberg), City on a Hill (Showtime) and Homeland (Showtime).
Diego Aguirre : Animal Wrangler and playing "Officer Diaz"
Meet Diego Aguirre! He was born in New Orleans, but grew up in Ecuador - where his family is from - from the age of 5, until graduating high school at 17. Immediately after, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He fought in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11, followed by a deployment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After the Marines, he moved to NYC to pursue a career in acting. Film credits include: The Upside, Sometime Other Than Now, Ballad of a Hustler. Television credits include: FBI, The Punisher, Monsterland, It's Bruno!, Gotham, Madame Secretary, The Good Fight.
Screamy Bays : Playing "Phebe" (Jane's familiar.)
Meet Screamy Bays! No stranger to showbiz, Screamy has appeared in two short films. She frequents the Easter Parade as well as the Tompkins Square Park Dog Parade (yes ... she is a feline but they welcome her with open arms!) Screamy has been featured in the Gothamist, the New York Daily News, Time out New York, as well as on Getty Images! Check out her latest work in the music video "My Familiar!"
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
Wooly Bully is told through the lens of someone dealing with the hardships of caretaking. My main caretaking coping strategy was finding the humor and magic in the dire day to day. Through this film, I hope to take away the shame associated with Alzheimers from both the patient and caretaker.
The Story
Logo Design by Logan Laveau.
The Story ...
The film opens with Jane (our heroine) sneaking away from her sleeping husband John mid day. Jane is on a quest.
Cut to Officer Diaz bringing Jane home in the evening to a worried John and Becca (Jane's daughter.) Jane was found digging up a flower bed and wandering in a housing development 4 miles away from John and Jane's house. Officer Diaz reveals to Becca that Jane claims to be a witch.
Over the course of the film, strange events occur. Is it all coincidence and an Alzheimer's driven confabulation? Or is Jane indeed a witch?!?! Help us bring this film to life and find out!
The inspiration …
My mother died 2 years ago from Alzheimer’s. She used to confabulate that she was a witch. When Alzheimer’s patients have confabulations, they 100 percent believe their reality. Needless to say, as a caretaker this can be challenging. My mother’s witch confabulation was a recurring and lively one! It gave me an idea for a film. I commissioned my friend Austin Jennings Boykin to write it and he has written a script that is truly special … and dare I say magical!
Why this story?
It’s personal, relevant, and unique. Wooly Bully is told through the lens of someone dealing with the hardships of caretaking. I grieved twice for my mother. Once for her memory loss and changing personality, and secondly when she died. The only way I got through my caretaking days was by finding the joy, humor, and magic in an impossibly difficult situation. Austin has done an excellent job of capturing both the gravity of caretaking for an aging parent and the specific grief that accompanies Alzheimer’s disease, while STILL finding LEVITY in the story!
When my mother first starting showing signs of Alzheimer's disease, I was in denial. I kept making excuses for her memory lapses and quirky behavior. It was over TWO years before we received an official diagnosis. I hope that this film well help take away the shame associated with Alzheimer's from both sides, patient AND caretaker.
More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimers and over 11 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s. My mother reached the mid/late stages of Alzheimer’s during the height of Covid. Since it was difficult to connect IRL to other caretakers. Reading/watching stories of those sharing a similar journey was one of my saving graces. I hope this film will prove to be similarly cathartic.
This short will serve as a 20 minute proof-of-concept for a larger piece, currently in development.
Director's Statement
"As a director, finding a story like 'Wooly Bully' is really exciting. It’s a powerful personal piece of Elizabeth’s brought to life by her longtime friend Austin. Most (if not all) of the works I direct are intimate stories of women finding their way back to themselves in impossible situations. And while the stories aren’t unusual per se, I like to offset those stories tonally with interesting and sometimes unexpected backdrops. 'Wooly Bully' is a story about two women finding their way through an impossibly difficult time with hope and magic. I’m so excited to highlight the resilience and beauty of this mother/daughter relationship through the lens of magical realism. I intend to incorporate all the magical whimsy of 'Safety Not Guarantee' with the heart of 'Divine Secrets of the Yaya Sisterhood' and the visual landscapes like that of 'Nomadland.' " - Kristen Buckels
Director's Inspiration Image Board
What your support will do?
You will be supporting a team of Indie Filmmakers who have just been through a double strike!
This is a SAG Micro Aftra budget approved film. I have an incredible group of people behind me, who are passionate about bringing this project to life.
We need to secure $15,000 so we can make the best film possible! Your support will go towards:
Paying the crew
Paying the actors
Paying for location
Paying for transportation
Paying for insurance
Feeding the cast and crew
We must reach $12,000 (80 percent of our goal) to get "greenlit" by Seed and Spark. Meaning, we don't receive any pledged funds (the funds go back to the contributor) UNLESS we reach that sum. No contribution is too small, every dollar counts!
If you aren't in the position to contribute at this time, spreading the word and sharing this campaign is greatly appreciated!!!
*Special thanks to Eddie Lebron and Leticia Buchanan (Love Your Face Films) for shooting, directing, and editing the "Wooly Bully" pitch video!*
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Location
Costs $3,000
Location costs are expensive and we have two specific location needs. A house with a porch, and a diner, within a short drive of each other!
Filmmakers, Cast, and Crew
Costs $9,500
Our brilliant and talented cast and crew will be rightly compensated.
Catering
Costs $2,000
A cast of 7 + a crew of 8 + a 3 day shoot = A lot of mouths to feed!
Unforeseen
Costs $500
Anything can happen on set, and it's best to prepare for anything and everything!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Kristen Buckels: Director
Meet Kristen Buckels. Kristen is a director, writer, and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. Her debut short film “No Man’s Land” debuted at the Oscar Qualifying Palm Springs International ShortsFest in 2022 and was named “Staff Favorite Short” at the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival in San Francisco. The short film highlights her interest in female characters who are dynamic: driven, power-hungry, ugly and redeemable all at once.
Prior to directing, Buckels worked as a producer to comedians such as Nick Kroll & John Mulaney, Hasan Minhaj, and Mike Birbiglia. She then pivoted into scripted content working as the on-set creative producer on HBOMax’s SEARCH PARTY for seven years. Currently, Buckels is a fellow of the Sony Pictures Television Diverse Directors Program for the class of 2022, a finalist for the AFI DWW+ Program 2023 and has shadowed David Gordon Green on RIGHTEOUS GEMSTONES for HBO.
Buckels is also an accomplished performer. Her comedy duo - “most” was recently featured in the Comedy Central special, ILANA GLAZER PRESENTS: COMEDY ON EARTH as well as Comedy Central presents TIGHT FIVE.
Having spent countless hours on set, Buckels intimately understands the language of set and how to most effectively get the creative that she needs all while fostering a collaborative and productive environment with cast and crew.
Elizabeth Bays: Executive Producer and playing "Becca"
Meet Elizabeth Bays, a New York based actor/burlesque artist/filmmaker. She has a BA in theatre from College of Charleston, and trained at the William Esper Studio under Bill and Suzanne Esper.
Theatrical credits include The Butterfly Girl (Off-Broadway), Angelina Ballerina the Musical (National Tour) the world premiere of The Tower at Obie Award winning HERE Arts Center, and Persephone at the New York Fringe Festival . She has performed with Labryinth Theatre Company, Actor’s Theatre NYC, Antimatter Theatre Company, and more.
Her film “Surprise!” ( a short she produced, wrote, and acted in) won the 2021 Best New Filmmaker Award at Scared for your LIIFE Film Festival (sister festival to the Long Island International Film Expo)
Elizabeth is part of Hotsy Totsy Burlesque (named the Best Burlesque Show in NYC by Broadway World) a “nerdlesque” troupe that performs monthly at the world famous Slipper Room. She has a residency at Penny Jo's in Harlem where she produces her burlesque show, "Bitsy's Bits" quarterly.
Austin Jennings Boykin: Writer, Producer, and playing "Kendall"
Meet Austin Jennings Boykin is a New York based actor + writer + comedian. He was raised in North Carolina where he spent the majority of his time swimming competitively. Between the two of them, Austin and Michael Phelps have a combined 23 Olympic Gold Medals.
He attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and later went on to study at the William Esper Studio.Television credits include Fleishman Is in Trouble (FX), The Gilded Age (HBO), Hunters (AMAZON). Theatrically, Austin has performed in New York and regionally with The 24 Hour Plays, The Signature Theatre, Fringe NYC, Provincetown Theater, Shakespeare & Co, Williamstown, Tennessee Williams Festival and more.
His debut screenplay, “Why Storms Are Named After People”, placed at the Austin Film Festival Script Competition—out of 14K+ entries. Additionally, it placed at the Big Apple Film Festival and New York International Screenplay Awards. As a comedian, he was advanced to the finals at the New York Queer Comedy Festival and has performed on stages at Greenwich Village Comedy Club, City Winery, Broadway Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, West Side Comedy Club, Rockwood Music Hall, and various venues across the Northeast.
Geoffrey Taylor : Director of Photography
Meet Geoff Taylor. He is an NY based cinematographer born out of Portland Oregon. Following his studies in college, Geoff found work as a gaffer on numerous projects across the country ranging from music videos to national commercials and feature films. He eventually began gaffing for heavy hitting DP’s such as Katlin Arizemendi, Stuart Winecoff, Todd Martin, Matt Mitchell, Adam Newport-Berra amount many others. Geoffrey later in 2016 advanced his craft to becoming a DP himself, creating and fleshing out narrative arching projects in commercial and music videos for artists as Meek Mill, Future and Nipsey Hussle.
https://www.gtmtfilms.com/
Meet Shawna Brazell: Casting Director
Meet Shawna Brazell. She has been working in television, film and theatre casting for almost 10 years. She is currently working with Laura Rosenthal Casting. Recent credits include: A Different Man (dir: Aaron Schimberg), May December (dir: Todd Haynes), Bottoms (dir: Emma Seligman), Murder Mystery 2 (dir: Jeremy Garelick), The Fabelmans (dir: Steven Spielberg), City on a Hill (Showtime) and Homeland (Showtime).
Diego Aguirre : Animal Wrangler and playing "Officer Diaz"
Meet Diego Aguirre! He was born in New Orleans, but grew up in Ecuador - where his family is from - from the age of 5, until graduating high school at 17. Immediately after, he joined the United States Marine Corps. He fought in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11, followed by a deployment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After the Marines, he moved to NYC to pursue a career in acting. Film credits include: The Upside, Sometime Other Than Now, Ballad of a Hustler. Television credits include: FBI, The Punisher, Monsterland, It's Bruno!, Gotham, Madame Secretary, The Good Fight.
Screamy Bays : Playing "Phebe" (Jane's familiar.)