"Jewsploitation lives on in FRINGES! I am truly excited to see this film!"--Jonathan Kesselman, Writer/Director of The Hebrew Hammer

"FRINGES doesn't compromise! This is how independent films should be made! Jews and Guns, Toxie and I can't wait to see this movie!"--Lloyd Kaufman, CEO of Troma Entertainment (The Toxic Avenger), Former President of the Independent Film & Television Alliance

"FRINGES is refreshingly original, and I really think it is the type of material that will connect with cinephiles and mainstream audiences alike"--Jonathan Lipnicki (Jerry Maguire, Stuart Little)

FRINGES is a neo-Western Jewsploitation film about three Hasidic Jewish gunslingers who travel to a small Texas town to save a Rabbi and his family from the town’s racist Mayor. Rabbi Schneur Berkowitz lives with his large family in Montgomery, Texas, leading an unfulfilled life under the auspices of the town's corrupt and racist Mayor, Cooper Towne. After the Rabbi starts a friendship with the Mayor's misguided son Dale, Cooper attempts to run the Rabbi out of Montgomery, Texas through threats and violence. The Rabbi has no choice but to call for help from Headquarters in Crown Heights, New York. Shortly thereafter, three cocky, Hassidic Jewish gunslingers arrive in town with a knack for killing anti-Semites.

With FRINGES, our goal is to create a moving story about a young man looking for meaning and family in a morally compromised world. At the story’s center is Dale Towne, a man missing a relationship with his own father, looking for a new way of life and a new form of values. 

The film examines how far we can step outside the boundaries of our own code of ethics in order to defend them, which is a dilemma I find fascinating, and one which has explored previously in films like Steven Spielberg’s Munich, Brian Depalma’s The Untouchables, and Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory.

The film is really a dream project, because it allows the creation of a completely new world, one in which an agency exists for the protection and perseverance of Hasidic Jews around the world, one unafraid of violence and scare tactics. While this organization is extreme and unfounded in reality, every moral society needs somebody to do the dirty work, whether Jews, the Amish, or the papacy, and what that burden does to a man is something fascinating to explore in a character in cinema. 

I’ve always thought of FRINGES as the darkest comedy possible; I want the audience to come out of the film weeping, moved by a beautiful tale of humanity and a tragic story of revenge;  ultimately, however, the film comes from such a high concept (gun-wielding Orthodox Jews) that we can’t all help but have the last laugh together. 

Happy Funding,

Joe Weil

Our Paying It Backwards Program

We have come to Indiegogo to raise the initial 20% of the budget, thereby clearing the way for the investors to fund the rest.

In creating this campaign, we felt an obligation to give back to the crowd funding community that supports us. 

As filmmakers, when someone invests in our film financially and otherwise, it’s an endorsement from our peers and also film aficionados. It is a reminder that we should be fearless and that we won’t be exploited or abandoned by our community. We have so much respect and gratitude for the independent filmmaking community and what we can achieve collectively by supporting each other’s endeavors.

Although we cannot pay back those who contribute, we have created a program we are calling "Paying it Backwards".

Fringes, LLC will donate 10% of the net profits of the film to a diverse group of crowd-funding Campaigns that are well formulated, innovative and thought-provoking features, documentaries, short films and web series. Our hope is to empower young artists, and to create a self-sustaining program and community where funded projects feel encouraged to pay a portion of their profits back into the arts community.

The "Paying It Backwards" program aims to fund Indiegogo projects at critical junctures in their development, pre-production, post-production and distribution/marketing stages. There will be an appointed staff team that collaborates to make these funding decisions considering impact, timing, urgency and quality of work as key project criteria.

CAST

Jonathan Lipnicki

Jonathan Lipnicki found success early when he played Reneé Zellweger’s son in the Oscar-winning Romantic Comedy Jerry Maguire, for which he won a Critic’s Choice Award for his young performance. This was followed by a series of successful family franchises in which Lipnicki held lead roles, playing George Little in the live action Stuart Little series as well as the main supporting role in Bow Wow’s Like Mike. Collectively, his films have grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. Recently, he has appeared on television shows such as Monk and Family Guy, but Lipnicki is excited for his breakout potential in Fringes.

Alex Solowitz

Alex Solowitz has held scene-stealing roles in movies ranging from Never Been Kissed to Alpha Dog, and has appeared on countless TV shows including Everybody Loves Raymond, Just Shoot Me, ER, and Justified. He is most well known to Generation-X through his portrayal of Mickey Parke, the “bad boy” in MTV’s fictional Boy Band 2gether, portrayed in both a television movie and a regular series. Solowitz’s intense demeanor but gentle spirit give him a star quality just waiting to break out, and his potential to be successful as the next rough-trade film star is palpable.  

Mo Mandel

Mo Mandel is a comedian and actor who appears regularly on Chelsea Lately and in his own stand-up comedy specials. He co-starred opposite Hank Azaria on the TV series Free Agents, and has made appearances on Castle and Happy Endings, among others. His debut comedy CD “The M-Word” was just released by Comedy Central, and his style of tell-it-like-it-is comedy makes him a great addition to the cast of Fringes. 

CREW

Joe Weil - Director

A St. Louis native transplanted to Hollywood, Joe Weil has been praised as a “fearless, funny” filmmaker (STL Post Dispatch) and has been creating feature films since he was sixteen years old. With a deep passion for truly independent cinema, Weil has been praised for his deep sense of loyalty, imaginative style, and ability to “think big” at a young age in creating films with festival potential. A true product of the Midwest, he feels a deep sense of gratitude toward those trying to help him make his break into the movie business.

Dani Goffstein - Writer

Dani Goffstein is a native New Yorker who has been involved in entertainment from a young age. He began his formal training as an actor at ten years old. Goffstein spent a summer studying screenwriting and playwriting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts before being admitted to the highly selective Screenwriting BFA program at USC School of Cinematic Arts. In addition to several shorts, Goffstein has written nearly ten feature-length screenplays including Fringes, and co-created the upcoming television comedy "White Boy Fly". Dani is currently Head of Development for Psycho Films, ensuring that he and Mr. Weil will continue to collaborate for future projects.

Joy Hurwitz - Producer

Joy Sirott Hurwitz is a true Hollywood Renaissance woman and has over thirty years of experience of the Entertainment Industry. A dynamic duo with her late Husband writer-director Harry Hurwitz, Joy has spent her life working in a variety of capacities in the motion picture industry. She has spent the last twenty-five years as a story analyst for IATSE, as well as utilizing her expertise for free lance production development around both Los Angeles and New York. She has produced Electronic Press Kits and Documentary Features for HBO (Home Box Office), and worked in development at Disney Television as well as with Ridley Scott at his production company, Scott Free. Joy’s work beyond film includes a passion for Still Photography and a desire to heal the world through work with various Non-Profit organizations. A true mover-and-shaker, Joy boasts a lifetime of understanding of the movie business, connections to many of its leading players, and a deep sense of loyalty for “passing it down” to future generations of filmmakers.

Sam Canter - Producer

Born in Los Angeles but raised in Denver, Sam Canter has always been passionate about making films. Canter studied Business and Cinematic Arts at USC, combining his knowledge of the industry with a creative eye for filmmaking, rendering him an ideal creative producer. He is currently producing a documentary short about the renovation of Wolfgang Puck's flagship Beverly Hills restaurant, Spago. Sam is the Chief Executive Officer of Psycho Films, through which he also is producing the television pilots "Debbie's Delights" and "White Boy Fly".

Deb Spidell - DGA Unit Production Manager/PGA Line Producer

Deb Spidell is an Executive Producer’s dream and a director’s best friend. Deb’s budgetary skills and management prowess led her to be sought out by television executives who brought her on to produce single camera episodics.  These include Sweet Valley High (Saban Entertainment); and for Nickelodeon, Brothers Garcia, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Just Jordan, Zoey 101, and Big Time Rush.

Marla Garlin - Casting Director

After representing actors like Steve Carrell and other up and coming comedians in the Windy City, Marla became the casting director for shows like The Office and Curb Your Enthusiasm. We are very excited to have such a reputable professional helping secure actors. Marla was also lead casting director for the hit comedy The 40-Year-Old-Virgin.

We want to give you, the community a significant role in funding our film, and in launching the first “paying it back” program of its kind – one where the spirit of crowdfunding is untainted and creativity reigns through a self-funded, self-sustaining creative filmmaking community. 

Ready to take a chance and make a change? Support FRINGES and "Paying it Backwards" today -- any contribution helps!