Meet Cassie! (Seed&Spark update)

Cassie is played by Sarah Haruko. Since we've only shot the first scene of the film (and can't shoot the rest without raising our full goal), I haven't yet worked with Sarah. But I'm so impressed with her as a person and as an actor. We knew we wanted to cast her from her reel and video submission alone; an in-person callback was merely to confirm chemistry with Ben (playing Burgh). She's an excellent, versatile actor; and based on even just our table read of the script we can see she brings so much heart and depth to the often overzealous Cassie. I can't wait to work with Sarah and see her bring Cassie to life on screen. Watch what she has to say about her character and the film.

More about Cassie:

Cassie is a winner through-and-through. She's currently running for City Council, and getting pretty tired of keeping her relationship with Burgh a secret from his sometimes overbearing family.

Suggested Tweet: Meet Cassie, one of the characters in #aboutadonkey, an inclusive comedy currently crowdfunding on @seedandspark! https://vimeo.com/204698394

Suggested Facebook Post: Meet Cassie, one of the characters in About a Donkey, an inclusive comedy film currently raising funds to make their full feature! https://vimeo.com/204698394.

We're 56% funded, thanks to you all. So close to 60%! Let's get there today! :)

-Christina, Kelsey & the team

Halfway There! (Seed&Spark update)

Good evening wonderful supporters, 

We're officially halfway through our campaign and just over halfway to our goal! This couldn't be possible without every single one of you believing in us and this project. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Let's make these next 15 days count so we can not only raise what's needed to make this film but also get enough to donate 5% of cash raised to The Trevor Project. We can only afford to do that if we reach or exceed our full goal. Let's make it happen together!

Help us reach more people who want to be part of this project by copying & pasting:

The #aboutadonkey team is halfway to their goal! Help them make a timely, inclusive comedy about family & acceptance https://www.seedandspark.com/fund/about-a-donkey

Everyone who has given $75 or more is getting a personalized thank you jingle from us (really from Kelsey, she's got the talent - I just appear for smiles and moral support)! We've started releasing them on our Facebook page. Watch an example of one below. And find yours over the next few days. 

Thank you!

Christina, Kelsey & the team 

Meet Paul! (Seed&Spark update)

Paul is played by Ricardo Manigat. Ricardo is one of my favorite actors to collaborate with and one of my favorite people to be around. He's part of the main ensemble in my first feature film, Summit. He's also been in our short films "Juice It" and "Hello." He was actually the first actor we cast because we simply offered him the role knowing we love him and would love to work with him again! Watch what he has to say about his character and the film.

More about Paul:

Paul is a software engineer. He has always loved children and is over the moon to be having his first child with his wife, Annie. He has become the voice of reason in the family, though has always had a soft spot for Anne's father and his whims.

Suggested Tweet: Meet Paul, one of the characters in #aboutadonkey, an inclusive comedy currently crowdfunding on @seedandspark! https://vimeo.com/204193277.

Suggested Facebook Post: Meet Paul, one of the characters in About a Donkey, an inclusive comedy film currently raising funds to make their full feature! https://vimeo.com/204193277. 

We've made it past 50% thanks to all of you! Let's keep this momentum going so we can make this film! Aiming for 60% by Friday!

-Christina, Kelsey & the team

Happy Valentine's Day from CongestedCat!

Watch Short Films About Love

We're breaking our monthly newsletter formula for this month only because we think sharing and celebrating love is so important right now. Below find four of our favorite shorts about love by local filmmakers that we've screened at our monthly screening series, IndieWorks.

"La Loteria," Written & Directed by Shahir Daud/ Produced by Shivali Gulab

"July," Written & Directed by Jason Latorre/ Produced by Tara Latorre

"The Bureau of Short-Term Affairs," Directed by Bryan Artiles/ Written & Produced by Sissy Denkova

"Hungry For Love," Written & Directed by Justin Ambrosino/ Produced by Soojin Chun

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And watch "Kelsey," a piece of our own content, our critically acclaimed 10 episode web series about friendship and finding love. Free on our site! 

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And lastly, be sure to check out and support our latest creative endeavor, our second feature film, About a Donkey, currently crowdfunding for production funds. We believe this film will combat hate and spread hope. We believe it will invite people to empathize with others who may not necessarily look or live like them because, after all, love is love.  

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We hope you feel love today, whether it be romantic, familial, platonic... Just love. 

Meet Burgh! (Seed&Spark update)

Burgh is played by Ben Kaufman. You know how growing up you maybe have a picture in your head of who your perfect significant other would be, and then you meet the person you'll end up with and they're nothing like that picture but so much better? Casting Ben as Burgh was kind of like that, where we had a very specific idea of who Burgh should be. We wanted someone with a bit of different look and a bit more of a bubbly vibrance; but then Ben came in and brought his own feel to the character and it just felt right -- he felt like Burgh. He also had amazing chemistry in his callback with Christina Shea-Wright (who had already been cast as Cecilia). He brings a lot of depth and heart to his snarky one-liners. We're excited to see more of what he brings to Burgh. Watch what he has to say about the character and the film. 

More about Burgh:

Burgh is a charming prankster who works in Broadcast and is currently seeing Cassie, a local politician who also happens to be his sister Annie's nemesis.

Suggested Tweet: Meet Burgh, one of the characters in #aboutadonkey, an inclusive comedy currently crowdfunding on @seedandspark! https://vimeo.com/203862959.

Suggested Facebook Post: Meet Burgh, one of the characters in About a Donkey, an inclusive comedy film currently raising funds to make their full feature! https://vimeo.com/203862959.

We've got a big push to hit 50% by tomorrow. Thank you everyone who's making it happen!  

-Christina, Kelsey & the team