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BFF in a Nutshell:
John and Alex just moved to SF from Pittsburgh. He's in publishing and she's in tech. When the series starts, they're engaged to be married but very quickly those plans change. Alex realizes she is gay. And John needs to move out and move on.
Alex soon discovers that there is more to being gay than coming out of the closet. Her "girl meets girl" quest is compounded by the maze of identity politics that is the SF queer community. Meanwhile, John ends up in an apartment share in the Mission with Hunter (a transman) and Lindsay (his lesbian-identified girlfriend).
As (straight) John and (straight-laced) Alex find equilibrium in their progressive new home, the humor in the show will come from the situations the characters find themselves in, rather than at the expense of the characters differences.
Who We Are and What We Do
Hi. My name is Jen Ralston and I am the writer and director of BFF. I have worked in film and television for almost 20 years as a sound editor. I've worked on Oscar-winning films and I've even won an Emmy.
I created BFF because I'm tired of waiting for a show about characters I can relate to. Broadcast TV's idea of diversity is an ensemble cast of white, straight people and a token queer or person of color. Cable TV's idea of diversity is an ensemble cast of white, gay people... and a token person of color. My world is more diverse than either of those options. My hope is to create something representative of true diversity that a broad audience can appreciate. Success in accomplishing this might help Hollywood get hip to the fact that their audience is ready for something new.
My producer is Leslie Valentino. She's been in the business for awhile, too. She's worked as an editor and producer on commercials, independents, and served as a Visual FX producer for Pirates of the Carribbean 2 & 3, Sin City, and Night at the Museum. In other words: we know what we're doing and how to get it done.
What We Need and Why
The first season will be 8 episodes long and run close to 80 minutes. That's practically a feature film! While I have extensive experience in post-production and writing, I own a DSLR and I only kinda know how to use it. We do not own any lights. Or location sound equipment.
The amount we're asking for is the bare minimum we need to rent the equipment and keep the cast and crew fed while we're shooting. In reality, we'll need to fund this project at least 200% in order to properly compensate every one for their hard work. But if we make our stated goal, we'll be able to shoot the first season at broadcast quality.
It has been my way in the past to do things on the cheap but I believe the content and the onscreen talent is worthy of wide exposure. The production values need to match them if BFF is to truly succeed.
By the Way...
The reason why you're not seeing perks to the right that include DVDs or free downloads of the episodes is that we are going to make the series free to watch for every one. We want as many eyeballs on this project as possible! Why? Simply because the more people see it, the harder we can all hammer home the message that there is an audience out there for real diversity in programming.
Other Ways You Can Help
The more people see this campaign, the more successful it will be. Please share this page with your friends and family and help us spread the word!
