Our Story

A little less than a month ago, I got the biggest phone call of my life.  As a filmmaker, it's the kind of call you dream about, and hope for, although it usually never quite materializes - but this time, it did.  I had gotten a phone call from Claudette Godfrey, shorts programmer at the SXSW Film Festival, and as soon that information registered, I knew our movie MOUTHFUL had been invited to screen.  The tiring effort we, the filmmakers behind the short, put forth over the course of the last year or so, had been validated, and on a very big stage.

For those not in the know, SXSW is one of the biggest, most competitive film festivals in the world.  They were recently ranked 4th on Indiewire's "10 Best Fests" list - behind only Cannes, Sundance, and Toronto.

Suffice to say, this feels wonderfully surreal, and at the very least, incredibly humbling to our tight-knit group.

Unfortunately, being as young as we are, we put most of our money, if not our hearts, into the film itself... never planning, or even expecting this to be where it would take us.

The Impact

We had a lot riding on this film from the get-go.  Not only did we intend to make something really funny, honest, and emotional, but we also were driven to create a piece of high quality work - something that we would be able to proudly represent as being a Cleveland-based production.   With the exception of our two leads - Conor Casey and Eilis Cahill - every member of the production team was local to the Cleveland area.  Adding to that, we shot in Lakewood.

And that's also why we're asking for your help: We would like to continue to represent Cleveland on the large stage that has been endowed to us - in person, at SXSW.  We hope to show them that we can run with the best of them, artistically as well as hospitably.  We want to get the buzz going on our little movie, and more importantly, we want to fill the theater for our gracious SXSW hosts - reaffirming that they made a good decision by inviting us to screen, and hopefully fostering a long-lasting relationship.

We see this as an incredible opportunity to jump-start our careers, and usher long standing dreams into reality.

What We Need & What You Get

In order to get the word out on MOUTHFUL, we plan on not only attending, but also marketing the film appropriately using interesting, and high-quality materials and methods. 

The $2000 we raise will be appropriated to the following:

-Marketing Materials:  T Shirts, Post Cards, Posters, Wrist Bands, Screeners(for the press and industry), Press Kits.

-Travel Costs:  Thanks to the generosity of our Executive Producer, our hotel costs are covered, but we still have to get down there.  We plan on cramming into a car and driving straight on through to Austin.  Round trip, that's well over 2000 miles worth of gas.  Also, food is expensive, especially when you don't anticipate having much time to cook or prepare food between numerous screenings, panels, and meetings - part of this money will go towards feeding us while in Austin.

-Continuing on the fest circuit:  With the run of recent success we have had - confirmed post-SXSW screenings include the Academy-Award qualifying Florida Film Festival, as well as the Vail Film Festival - we feel confident in sending this film out as far and wide as possible.  The exposure attained will hopefully aid in getting future projects off the ground, as well as raising our profile to the film-world at large.  Submission costs run between $35-$50 per festival, plus, it is imperative you take into account the associated shipping fees.

For those who decide to donate to our campaign, we have assembled a few very cool rewards packages, pulled right from the very process you'll be helping to facilitate.

Other Ways You Can Help

While we would be eternally thankful if you decide to donate, we understand that money might very well be as tight for you as it is for us.  If that is the case, we kindly ask that you help us get the word out - share with your email contact list, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Blogger, Tumblr, etc. 

Any and all exposure received will undoubtedly funnel more and more people to this page, eventually helping us attain our goal.

Thank you for whatever contribution you ultimately decide upon.  It means a lot.  Truly.