Always on
This project successfully funded on 1st July 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
This project successfully funded on 1st July 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Aim: A student dark- romance short film about two estranged step-siblings on a chaotic treasure hunt left by their recently deceased father.
A Post modem treasure hunt:
When their eccentric father dies under mysteriously inconvenient circumstances, two semi-estranged step-siblings—neurotic Oliver and sharp-tongued Tenny—are forced to reunite for his wildly cryptic, posthumous treasure hunt. As they follow a trail of bizarre clues they’re dragged deeper into a tangled web of petty revenge, buried family trauma, and reluctant romance.
Themes:
Coming of Age (in the messiest way possible)
In the wake of grief and confusion, a reluctant partnership slowly becomes a mirror for both of them — exposing old wounds, clashing worldviews, and long-held defenses. The film suggests that sometimes, it takes another person’s strange compass to help us find our true north.
The film examines how grief, guilt, and buried family trauma can quietly shape a person’s life — until a moment of chaos forces it all to the surface. Through the surreal journey, the characters are nudged (and sometimes shoved) into confronting the emotional clutter they've carried for too long. The treasure hunt becomes a metaphor for digging through the wreckage of the past — not to dwell in it, but to finally let it go. It’s about realizing that healing doesn’t mean forgetting, but choosing not to let the past define what comes next.
My take on a British summer roadtrip
As an American who's been living in England for a while now, I’ve found myself fascinated by the subtle contrasts between these two cultures — especially in how stories are told, landscapes are used, and characters carry themselves. With this film, I want to bring the stylistic flair and nostalgia of a classic Americana road trip movie — the open-ended journey, the mismatched companions, the absurd detours — but reframed through the lens of English working-class life, and how there isnt an endless road, and it ends in 10 hours, unlike an american roadtrip, I want it to feel inescapable, as thats how Tenny feels like no matter how far you drive you still see green never ending hills. Until the end of the film when she realizes you can leave the island (a metaphor for depression) and the world is just a ferry away.
Characters:
Tenny Price is a born and raised Nihilist. She walks through life like it owes her money — bruised, bitter, and barely holding it together. Raised on loss and lies, she carries her grief like a grudge and her pain like an armour. On the outside, she’s Camden-hard: jet-black eyeliner, a cigarette always near, and the type of attitude that makes small men nervous. But beneath the blunt-force sarcasm is a girl who’s still reeling — from abandonment, from a childhood that never softened, and life unforgiving she'snever truly figured out who she is. Tenny doesn’t trust easily, love lightly, or cry where anyone can see. She’s always one frayed nerve away from a meltdown, but somehow still gets up and out the door in yesterday’s dress and a fuck-you glare. Her toughness is real, but so is her exhaustion. Her walls are high, but her curiosity — and deep, aching hunger for truth, meaning, and connection — might just be higher.
Oliver is endlessly optimistic, almost to a fault. Raised by a kind, loving mother who never let him forget how special he was, he grew up secure, glowing with a warmth most people can’t fake. He laughs easily, makes silly jokes without shame, and always assumes the best in everyone. But that glow—the softness, the constant cheer—can be disarming, even off-putting. In a world that rewards sharp edges, Oliver’s open heart makes him seem naive, maybe even weak. Still, there’s something about him that lingers, like light in a place that doesn’t usually get any. He is sheltered from the harshness of the working class world. His naiveness has lead him to believe he can genuinely change the world for good in some ways, which isn't a bad way to think, something Tenny seems to have never understood.
Cinematography:
Visually, the film will mirror the chaotic, emotional energy of the story through bright, saturated colors and a fast-paced, kinetic camera style. I want to use long, fast takes to immerse the audience in Tenny’s disordered world—always slightly off-balance, always in motion. The framing will jump between extremes: tight, intimate close-ups that capture every flicker of emotion, and wide, isolating shots that emphasize Tenny’s disconnection from the world around her.
The palette and lighting will evolve with the narrative. We’ll start with a cooler, shadow-heavy look—gritty and tense, echoing Tenny’s guarded interior. As she changes, the film will warm up gradually, becoming sunlit, glowing, almost too bright by the end—matching Oliver’s world, and showing how that light finally starts to reach her.
Think: Little Miss Sunshine meets Hunt for the Wilderpeople with the visual energy of Uncut Gems. The story is chaotic, fast-paced, and bursting with color and movement—reflecting the emotional turbulence of its characters.
We start in a colder, darker world—echoing Tenny’s cynicism—and slowly warm up as the step- siblings reconnect. The visuals mirror this change: the film opens with muted tones and rigid shots, evolving into vibrant warmth, long takes, close-ups, and extreme wides that create a sense of freedom and shift
Motifs:
The film is packed with vivid, unforgettable motifs that form a chaotic, fast-paced collage of life and grief. From the start, the scratcher sets the tone—small, impulsive, and strange, yet full of hope. The Swan lake, where you see a black swan and white swan: which symbolizes two things, the duality of life and death- The funeral in the beginning and the wedding later on, and the differences in Tenny and Oliver.
These places come and go quickly, like flashes of memory, reflecting how life rarely slows down for emotional clarity. Together, they form a disjointed yet emotionally rich tapestry that sticks with you—not just visually, but narratively.
Director:
As a director and writer, I bring a bold visual style and a sharp sensitivity to story—especially when it comes to period pieces and emotionally charged, character-driven narratives. My work is known for its striking aesthetic and rich attention to detail, with a signature flair that’s both eye-popping and immersive. I’ve written and directed multiple short films that have been selected and recognized by various film festivals including: Lift-Off Global and Bunting Short film Festival.
I am interested in tellingstories that balance chaos and tenderness as thats how my upbringing has been. I am a 22-year old female director from San Diego California, currently based in the UK I bring a very specific and creative vision to any project I am apart of. I currently attend the Central Film school which gives me the opportunity to use the help of professors and classmates.
Where the Money will go: