Bastards of Young

Bastards of Young:

Four early-30s friends meet at what ends up being their last annual Halloween party; but instead of celebrating career success are forced to confront darker realities: adultery, divorce, pregnancy-- the basic issues that make adulthood more complicated than anyone expects it will be.

Plot:

It isn't Jesse's drinking that finally leads Jen to throw him out.  It isn't that he flirts with other women, or is insensitive enough to tell her about it.  The real reason is simple: At 31, it is clear to Jen that they married too young, and have grown too far apart.

We need $16,000 to be exact. 

(We will gladly accept a whole lot more than that, but combined with our own money and the money we've already raised, $16,000 is the minimum we'll need to make this film a reality.)

Don't think that this money will go to fancy dinners and limo rides to set.  We need to pay for a lot of basic things: fifteen-days worth of food for the cast and crew; props and set dressing; vehicles to move our equipment; hard drives to store the footage; and much more. 

What do you get out of this? 

We have some great perks over there to the right (---->) that you can snag for donating, but most importantly, you get to help us make this film a reality. 

It takes a lot of time, effort, and, unfortunately, money to make a film. We've put in the time and the effort (with a lot more to come) and now we're reaching out to our friends and family and the community to fill in the rest. 

Our dream is to make films, and with just a small donation, you can help us get there.

The Team (So Far)

Josiah Signor - Writer / Director

www.bastardsofyoung-movie.com

Alexandre Rockwell - Executive Producer

A skilled and celebrated film maker, Alexandre Rockwell is perhaps best known for his works In the Soup (1992) and 13 Moons (2002). Rockwell's characters are as intricate as they are flawed. He abstains from the shotgun pop of mainstream film and uses classical techniques and sheer creativity to tell his stories.

Rockwell managed to establish himself by the 1980s. He already had several short films under his belt and his work was shown at Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art and New York City's Association of Independent Video and Film. This led to him landing his first feature film, Lenz (1987) which was shown at the 1982 Berlin Film Festival and enjoyed success. Rockwell followed up with the release of Hero (1983), which won a Special Jury Prize at the 1984 U.S. Film Festival. In 1986, he married Yale graduate and Flashdance (1983) star Jennifer Beals. He didn't make any films until Sons (1989) in 1989. Praise seemed to rain on Rockwell at The Sundance Film Festival when he released In the Soup (1992). The movie featured Steve Buscemi, Seymour Cassel and Jennifer Beals. Rockwell next filmed Somebody to Love (1994) and then a segment of Four Rooms (1995), in which he directed 'The Wrong Man'. 

His latest film, Pete Smalls is Dead, is set to be released in theaters in November of 2011. 

Toy Closet Films (Rob Profusek, Ryan Silbert) - Producers

Toy Closet Films is an independent production company whose work has been recognized by the Oscars, Sundance, MoMA, Telluride, Comic-Con, Tribeca Film Institute, HBO and the Berlinale.  Sundance Official Selection and Gotham Awards Breakthrough Director Kevin Asch's HOLY ROLLERS was co-produced by TCF principals and stars Academy Award nominee Jesse Eisenberg. The film was released theatrically by First Independent Pictures and is currently available on-demand and on Showtime. GOD OF LOVE, produced by a TCF founder, received the 2011 Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short and was distributed by Magnolia Pictures.

The noir-thriller THE GIRL IS IN TROUBLE executive produced by Spike Lee was completed this year and is anticipated to premiere in 2012. TCF is currently in development on an adaptation of Stephen Kings novel,  THE GIRL WHO LOVED TOM GORDON written by King and George A. Romero.  Documentary work in post-production includes WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, THE BLACK OYSTERMAN PROJECT AND KUSAMA: PRINCESS OF POLKADOTS.  Additionally, Toy Closet is packaging four genre films by George A. Romero and PRESERVATION, an indie thriller that brings a dark subversive take to fatherhood, family and adolescence.

www.ToyClosetFilms.com

Gigi Dement  - Producer

Gigi Dement was born in Baguio City, Philippines, the daughter of a sailor in the American Navy and a Filipino actress. Growing up in Dubuque, Iowa, where she witnessed Sylvester Stallones F.I.S.T. being shot, it was her experience watching the stunningly stark yet simple visual style of Albert Lamorisses The Red Balloon that led to her lifelong pursuit of making movies.

 

After graduating with distinction from NYUs Undergraduate Film/TV Program, Gigi worked as an event producer and trade show manager, where she was instrumental in the development of the restaurant industrys first technology exhibition and secured innovative corporate sponsorships with companies such as Microsoft and IBM.

 

In 1998, Gigi returned to NYU to study in their preeminent, graduate film program.  In just a few short years, she produced fifteen films and directed four of her own.  But in the year 2000, she would engage in her most important production yet: the birth to her first child.

 

In the fall of 2004, after the birth of her second daughter, Gigi returned with renewed energy and perspective to NYU. Since then, she has produced several more films, including a thesis film that premiered at the 2007 TriBeCa Film Festival, two that were awarded the Albert P. Sloan Foundation production grant and God of Love, winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

 

Gigi is currently living in Brooklyn where she raises her two daughters and has just completed the feature film Babygirl which she produced in association with Samson Films and the Irish Film Board,  She is also developing several new and exciting projects, including a dramatic feature film about a brilliant but troubled teenager written by her husband, who is a fellow NYU film alum.

Mike Rossetti - Cinematographer / Story Writer

His photographic experience began with a green Teenage-Mutant-Ninja-Turtles-themed point-and-click still camera, but quickly progressed once he started taking photography classes in high school. As a teenager he learned about moving pictures and began shooting and directing short videos. Eventually he earned his bachelor's degree in Film and Electronic Arts at California State University Long Beach where his photography experience and willingness to work for free landed him a lot of experience as a DP. He is currently completing his MFA at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he is focusing on cinematography.  

His work has been featured on national television and in film festivals around the world.
He has photographed a variety of projects, ranging from features, short films and documentaries, to popular web videos. 
His projects have taken him to locations across the U.S. and other countries, including India, Thailand, Spain, Uganda, Austria and South Africa. 

Prior to working as a cinematographer full-time, he also worked as a ranch hand, special education teaching assistant, and soft-serve ice-cream vendor.

www.MichaelRossetti.com

Andy Martino - Story Writer

Other Ways You Can Help

There are lots of other ways you can help out! (Money is probably the most important right now, BUT.....) If you have time and/or talent that isn't being used otherwise, give it to us! 

Can you cook? We need to feed our cast and crew. 

Do you run a bagel shop that would like to donate a bunch of bagels to our set? We like poppy seed toasted with cream cheese.

Do you have an awesome (but not too awesome) apartment in NYC that you would let us film in?

Do you have a free day in late October? We need extras.

Are you good at massages? Because we will be very tired and stressed out at the end of this.

SO if you want to offer anything, please don't hesitate to get in touch: 

BastardsofYoungMovie@gmail.com