Our group is making a short film called "Bite the Hand." We hope you enjoyed the teaser above, and will take some time to read more about the movie, it's cast and crew, and our goals. below.

Now onto the synopsis and more about this film!

SYNOPSIS:

This jagged, hard-boiled thriller is about an aging hit man named Jack (Paul R. Sieber) who one day grows a conscience and decides to quit his blood-drenched career. But old connections just wont die. Jack rejects his final and most detestable assignment: Annihilate the wife and daughters of a monstrous, power-mad client (John C. Bailey). Now he's a contract killer turned target by his former organization, and it's boss: the mysterious Mr. Callahan.

Jack takes his quest for redemption a step further by knocking off the child-murdering, psychopathic replacement killer, Ken Bayowitz (Dan Mascarello, Lead Fight Choreographer) in a brutal, no-holds barred action sequence. Enraged by his old friend's disobedience, Mr. Callahan hires a young former soldier to end Jack's rebellion. Jack knows someone is coming, but he has no idea that the new recruit, Red (Jay Saunders) is a starving bloodhound sent straight from hell with nothing to lose.

Bite the Hand is a darkly intense, short drama centered on the theme of lost souls with nothing left to lose; killing for a living, and finally realizing there's always a choice--even under the influence of the most tyrannical authority.

The film is intended for festival circulation, international distribution, and as a "pitch project" for future productions.

Our Story

The Director and Executive Producers

Bite the Hand is the first HD short film to be created by director and rising D.C. area actor Dylan Hintz, three-time college-award winner (Salisbury University's Future Film Maker's Film Festival and Sammy Awards), of Strike a Pose!!! Films. The movie will be shot and executive produced by Habib Awan, up and coming D.C. area Director of Photography (Gaffer/Grip on Orange Juice in Bishops Garden the award-winning webseries by Otessa Ghadar, DP on the indie short Jack'd Up, and All in the Game, directed by Gary Ugarek of Deadlands fame).

Their Backgrounds

Dylan and Habib met on the set of a never-to-be-released horror film they had both been drafted into. They left that war with an unbreakable bond, finding themselves to be two young film makers who, instead of being disenchanted with the process, were even more inspired to create a damn good film and become a part of the very successful and exciting D.C./MD/VA film community they have come to love! Since their first project, Dylan and Habib have worked on numerous other films with some of the D.C. area's major producers, including Kevin Kangas's Garden of Hedon, Endlight Entertainment's Ninjas vs. Vampires and Zombies franchise, The Adventures of Lounna Lee by Lee Doll, and Gary Ugarek's coming release, All in the Game, among many, many others.

The Story

Once they were finally ready, Dylan hired out a friend from his college days at Salisbury University, gifted wordsmith and screen writer Tom Murphy, to pen an edgy modern noire, filled with whip-cracking dialog and fueled with heart-pounding tension. By draft 6, Dylan realized what he had on his hands would require more preparation, intention, and attention to detail than anything he had ever made yet. And that, once produced, the project could most definitely pay off as a riveting piece of emotional entertainment.

The Crew

A crack team of a crew was assembled: an incredibly gifted DP behind the camera (Awan); Assistant Director Shaheer Lanier, a recent college graduate/entrepreneur with his own exploding career; Jake Weeks, a virtuoso audio engineer; James McClung, professional screenwriter/Associate Producer/Assistant Camera Operator; and properties master Brian Dettling of Stage Armament Solutions.

As the teaser production wrapped, Joel Loukus, a professional video editor of Apsis Motion Pictures (and creator of the short epic Eidolon) signed on as a special visual effects supervisor, bringing over 5 years of professional editing experience to the team. Finally, Dylan even recruited his father, David Hintz, a favorite local songwriter and singer from Lehigh Acres, Florida, to pen an original song for the film. All are prepared to buckle down to bring this passionate story to life and put their names on the DC film community map.

The Cast

A super-generous foursome of DC's acting and producing talent has come in to assist Dylan, Habib, and the production team in their brimming vision that is now just waiting to burst into action:

Three veteran film and theatre actors of the DC area, Paul R. Sieber (Polaris, Ninjas Vs. Vampires, Garden of Hedon, Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II), John C. Bailey (TV's In the Heat of the Night, Fear of Clowns 2, Garden of Hedon) and Daniel Mascarello (Ninjas vs. Vampires, Ninjas vs. Zombies, and the upcoming Hell on Earth), joined the cast and have so far been incredibly supportive to the crew and fanbase, lending wisdom and insight that has helped guide this project from concept, to full conceptualization.

And the fourth and final actor, painstakingly chosen from an audition pool of over 25 local and unbelievably talented actors, is Jay Saunders, rising talent and star of cult favorite Ninjas Vs. Vampires. Jay shows a frightening range, and rage, that none of the crew had thought to expect! They now knew BITE THE HAND was hurtling towards high expectations.

The Teaser and Technical Aspects of the Final Film

From a simple sticky-note sketch to a meticulously shot teaser trailer that shows off the nail-biting edge the project promises to deliver, both Dylan and the rest of the crew have already come miles further than they ever imagined. The finished film promises to be shot old-school: no handicam shakiness, super quick cut editing, or unwatchable 3D. The film will be shot on Digital High Definition Cameras, on 1080 progessive resolution at 24 Frames Per Second. The audio will be captured by professional equipment at 192KBS, comparable to what would actually be used on a Hollywood set, and  to be outputted into 5.1 surround sound. The action scenes will be realistic, brutal, but safely organized and choreographed by trained professionals using safe, simulated weapons. Furthermore, anything done in post-production will also be handled by a professional visual FX wizard who has signed on to add insight in the final technical details of the project.

We believe all of these elements will add to the art form of the shots, and in the telling of the story. The teaser can be found on the YouTube, FaceBook, and Twitter accounts for BITE THE HAND (Movie), or on its website http://www.bitethehandmovie.strikeaposefilms.com.

Inspirations for this film include, but are not limited to: No Country for Old Men (The Cohen Brothers), Road to Perdition (Sam Mendes), Leon: The Professional (Luc Besson), and the styles of directors Akira Kurosawa (Yojimbo, Seven Samurai), Park Chan Wook (Oldboy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance), and  Clint Eastwood (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino).

The Impact

What does one say about an independent film project? Yes, we need money for our budget, and support from our fans. Yes, we want to give something back to the community, both artistically and financially. Yes, we're mostly broke, inspired film makers who want to make a story that might affect lives (and you know, entertain audiences), or at least inspire other aspiring filmmakers in the area to work hard at making their dreams a reality as well. So what do we say to inspire people to help us make our vision come true?

To begin with, each of the people involved in this project, the cast, the crew, and those behind us, are all aiming to make an impact in the local D.C. film community, and want to announce our arrivals on the scene with a precisely crafted passion project that will show off the dynamic acting chops of a variety of some of the D.C. area's best actors. By supporting this project you will make the dreams of these young professionals come true, and inspire many more to come!  

By showing such support to us, you will also be showing support to the future of this growing local community by demonstrating that film-making in the D.C. area is not only possible, but also a potentially lucrative and fulfilling artistic endeavor that does not require you to fly out to LA or another market. D.C. Film Making is Where It's At! 

Furthermore, should we exceed our budget requirement of 3,000 dollars, we will take at least 10% of the extra funds and put them towards a charitable cause, such as Wounded Warriors or another Veteran's donation drive, as our film features military-themed characters that have witnessed the horrors of war, and are still searching for hope. This is a personal goal of the director, who realizes film can sometimes be seen as a self-fulfilling art, but still desires to give back to the community that has inspired him and allowed him to create said art.

A personal note from the director:

"My favorite film, since I've seen it in 2005, is Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver. Though it is brutal, vulgar, and a downright mean film that still hasn't lost its fangs even by today's standards, I have always seen it as a movie about hope. It painted a portrait of a man with nothing left to lose who in the end finds redemption in all the wrong places. As an outcast who hadn't yet found his place after 4 years of high school, being continuously bullied and isolated, the movie provided me with two alternatives: I could become a self-righteous, misanthropic nutjob, or get my head together and work to grow into the best person I could be. I'll always have sympathy for Travis Bickle, but it was a movie with an unrealistic, potentially dream-world ending and not a college councilor or a therapist, that showed me that I didn't have to become worse. I could be a better person if I truly wanted to be" --Dylan Hintz 

What We Need & What You Get

OUR GOAL: $3,000 US.
We've already raised $1,500 from other investors and gracious donors, but it is not yet enough!

Please help support our film by donating to the budget! We'll take anything from 5 dollars to 5 million dollars! Compensation includes everything from special thanks, to free T-shirts, signed DVDs, Associate Producer credits, investment plans, and much, much more!

Where is the money going?

The money will primarily be going to the ever rising costs of food, gas, lodging, and supplies primarily to keep our actors and then our crew comfortable during the 6 or so days of rehearsals and filming we will be undertaking to finish this project.

We feel its necessary to cover these types of expenses; otherwise no one can afford to make the film! We already have a majority of the equipment, but we might need more, and the bigger the budget, the more creative our shots can get! We can rent out for better dollies, jibs, and create better destructible props for the major fight scene, such as furniture, props, and weapons that otherwise couldn't be replaced.

We also anticipate need to rent a location or two for some of the major scenes in BITE THE HAND, including a mansion/estate house and an upscale office suite in the D.C. area (See "Other Ways You Can Help" below for more info!) These are tricky locations to come by, but are part of the theme of the movie and must be found, if not rented!

If we exceed, or at least reach, our proposed budget, we will also be using this money to help create marketing material, including DVDs, T-Shirts, and Posters to take with us when we enter film festivals across the world. And of course, to reward you, the funder, should we reach our goals!  

If we don't reach the entire $3,000, we will still use this money for those plans as best and efficiently as we can. We have already bought costumes, some props (many of which are being provided by Stage Armament Solutions) and make up. So why do we still need financing? Because film making is an unpredictable journey, and having money on the side is important for any hiccups that could possibly impede our process.

This movie is getting made no matter what, but with your help it can go from being either an average or decent independent thriller, to becoming an exciting, nerve rattling, and tension filled indie favorite! We have faith in our project, and we hope you do too! 

Other Ways You Can Help

If you know of any locations as mentioned above, or would like to provide us with one, please don't hesitate to contact us- you will be eligible for an associate or executive producer credit!

When we get around to festival time, we made need help promoting and marketing the film. If you have a background in marketing, distribution, or have experience with the festival circuit and would like to see this film shine, let us know. We encourage your assistance!

Are you a fan of the concept, the crew, the actors, or the teaser? Please share on social networks, tweet, message, email, and in general help promote this campaign! Use IndieGogo's share tools as well.

Got any other tips for us? Be sure to email us at bitethehandmovie@gmail.com with questions, concerns, requests, or any other tips you might have. Visit our website for updates on pictures, videos, the story, characters, actors, crew, and progress on the film!

Thank you for your time and consideration, we hope to see you at the premiere!

Dylan Hintz and Habib Awan- Executive Producers of BITE THE HAND