Read about the film below, or watch the attached vimeo.com Red Top Filmmaking Interviews Video to hear us tell you in our own words!

The Film:

8 year old Lisa - a vibrantly colorful, imaginative and accepting little girl - struggles to make sense of the world as she is slowly suffocated by her dysfunctional family.  The story presents one pivotal day in her life.  As it progresses, her life transforms from one of joy, openness, and possibility to one influenced by prejudice and ignorance.  Ultimately, Lisa must choose between a colorful life, and the will of her mother, when she is forced to make one life changing decision.

The Red Top will explore the sowing of pervasive-yet-unspoken seeds of racism within families and how racist views are transferred from parent to child.  The imagery of the film will contrast the freedom and beauty of the natural world with the claustrophobic and complicated world families often unknowingly create for themselves. 

The Team

Deborah Lemen - Writer and Lead Actress

Holly O'Brien - Director

Dylan O'Brien - Cinematographer

Dan Czerwonka - Producer

Our Story

We are a team of entertainment industry professionals who have joined together to produce a beautiful dramatic short film that is a true passion project for each of us.  Our goal is to get back to our filmmaking roots and rediscover our initial creative desires:  to make visually stunning, creative films that evoke emotional responses to lifes important issues. 

Last year, we produced a film-style music video for Moby that was both fun AND promoted a message we support.  (Want to watch it?  Click here:  http://www.vimeo.com/10704345 )  With The Red Top, we are inspired to achieve this impact once again by combining visual storytelling and perceptions of color, texture, and pattern with an amazing script and incredible actors to address an important issue through film.

The Red Top is a film we genuinely believe has film festival potential, and our plan includes submission to a variety of festivals like the LA Film Festival, Sundance, and Cannes.  Your financial support will help us realize our artistic vision and make this dream a reality.

The Impact

By exposing the roots of racism and the subtle ways it is passed down from generation to generation, we hope to shed light on the simple reality that if racism is no longer taught TO children, one day it will no longer be taught BY adults. 

What We Need & What You Get

We need YOU to lend your financial support to our voice and to help us make an amazing film!  We know the economy's in the toilet, so anything you can afford, however small, to help us achieve our very modest budget, is sincerely appreciated.

We need $3,000 for 5 days of shooting.  Were putting up everything else from our own blood, sweat and gear.  Everyone working on the film is donating their time and expertise to this project.  We just need some actual cash to get us over the finish line so we can rent a few things we can't afford or get for free, so we can feed our crew while theyre busting their butts 12hrs a day, and so we can spread this message far and wide through film festivals near and far.

WHEN DONATING VIA PAYPAL:  Please make sure you put "Red Top Donation" in the comments when you donate.  Thanks!

Not only will you help add power and volume to our message, youll get a tax-deduction too.  Filmmakers Alliance, a charitable organization, is sponsoring us so we can get funded and you can get a tax write-off.  WIN-WIN!

Other Ways You Can Help

Tell everyone you know about what we are doing!  Help us get the word out and make some noise about this campaign!  Scream it from the Hills of Facebook to the Shores of Twitter and everywhere in between!  Let's make it happen!