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Dirtbag

A comedic short film about a man trying to get rid of a bag of dirt.

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Dirtbag

Dirtbag

Dirtbag

Dirtbag

Dirtbag

A comedic short film about a man trying to get rid of a bag of dirt.

A comedic short film about a man trying to get rid of a bag of dirt.

A comedic short film about a man trying to get rid of a bag of dirt.

A comedic short film about a man trying to get rid of a bag of dirt.

Karsten Runquist
Karsten Runquist
Karsten Runquist
Karsten Runquist
2 Campaigns |
Chicago, United States
$10,770 USD 285 backers
107% of $10,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 2 Projects Mountain Filled 2 Projects

Dirtbag is a hyper-stylized comedic short about a man, Harold, trying to get rid of a bag of dirt at a 24-hour garden center. In the process of re-telling the convoluted tale of how he came into possession of the dirt, he slowly finds himself growing attached to it. 

The short blends the absurd humor of Tim Robinson's I Think You Should Leave, the dry delivery of John Lurie's Painting with John, and the bleak yet colorful style of a Jacques Tati or Roy Andersson film. 

Right? I was thinking the same thing. 

Comedies, let alone comedies with a surreal edge, are rare these days. Nathan Zedd has a really good video about the decline of comedic films, you should check it out. But I love comedies and feel as though they serve a greater purpose in providing relief now more than ever. Dirtbag serves as a light-hearted escape from the heaviness that surrounds us in our current climate. For as absurd as the film will be, there's relatability to be found in a character who is unsure how to correctly interact with the world around him and who is slowly relearning what it means to form attachment. Even if it's with a literal bag of dirt. 

Karsten Runquist is a writer/director/editor based out of Chicago, Illinois, and a recent graduate out of DePaul University with a BFA in film editing. His work on Youtube has amassed an audience of over 420k subscribers, and his last short film ‘long toast’ was met with mostly critical praise. On the side, he hosts a charting TV/Film podcast called "Karstcast" where he and his co-host Jeffrey Borislow have interviewed notable guests like Elsie Fisher, Wyatt Oleff, Emma Seligman, and Demi Adejuyigbe. His channel, podcast, and coverage at major film festivals such as Cannes, TIFF, NYFF, and Sundance, has made him an influential figure in the online film community at only 23 years old. The AV Club has described his work as “a fine job."

David Foy is a working Producer and Director of Photography who was born and raised in Kaneohe, Hawai’i; a small town on the east side of O’ahu. David discovered his passion for filmmaking in his Sophomore year of high school at the age of 15, while in a film studies class. Now, eight years later he is a graduate from DePaul University’s Bachelor of Fine Arts film program. David aims to create and be a part of the most personal projects, which in turn allows him to express himself and make the art he is always striving to make. In the last five years, David has had multiple short films screen and be nominated for awards at festivals such as Chicago International Film Festival, Hawai’i International Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival, etc. He also just completed production on his first feature film, which is expected to have its world premiere in early 2022. Additionally, he has produced a bunch of music videos; most notably for Vic Mensa and other Chicago natives Ajani Jones, and Hatesonny.

Jewells Santos is a writer, director and producer from Texas and based in Chicago. Jewells graduated from DePaul with a degree in playwriting in 2017. She is currently working toward her MFA in directing. Recently, she directed a series of music videos for Shi La Rosa and was featured in Nylon Magazine for her music video “Lucky for You” by STONES. She has worked on the production team for Showtime’s Work in Progress and Hulu’s The Thing About Harry. This year, she wrote and produced her first feature film, which will premiere in 2022.

Nicholas Emmanuele is a cinematographer based out of Chicago, Illinois. He’s shot both long and short-form narrative films, documentaries, and everything in between. He has worked in the lighting department under many talented, award-winning cinematographers for clients including Nike, Dell, Hollister, and Microsoft, as well as on network TV shows like The Chi (Showtime), Fargo (FX), and Utopia (Amazon).

Meg Moore is graduating from DePaul University this June with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in production design. She moved to Chicago from New Jersey and has been working at DePaul’s Idea Realization Lab for two years instructing workshops in 3D printing, sewing, and vinyl cutting. She’s worked in various positions in the art department on short films, music videos, and graduate film projects; most notably projects titled ‘The Pool’ and ‘Rear View’. Just a couple of months ago, she wrapped her first feature film as a production designer.

Proponent of non sequiturs and witticisms, Cookie Estés is a Cuban-American filmmaker and editor from the city of big shoulders. They have edited everything from music videos to documentaries, been involved in the Chicago improv scene for the last decade as both a performer and coach, lived off the grid in the Appalachian mountains to write two screenplays, and once spent a summer as a celluloid film projectionist. Cookie offers these 24 parting words to answer the question on everyone’s mind: “when my mom was pregnant with me, my dad used to rub her belly and ask about the little Cookie baking in the oven."

Tom Le is a professional sound mixer working and studying in Chicago. He is currently finishing his undergraduate studies at DePaul University for film and television and is set to graduate in June of 2021. Tom has worked on dozens of sets ranging from short student films to independent features. Tom always brings his creativity, curiosity, and proactiveness to any and all projects he is a part of. By combining his talents in both music production and sound design he is able to add a refreshing point of view to any project, as well as bringing a vast assortment of different tools suited to tackle any demand regarding sound on-set and in the mixing room.

Joao Gonzalez, best known as Soft Glas, is a singer-songwriter and composer based out of Florida. His albums Orange Earth, Stunned, and most recently How Strange have all been met with critical and commercial success. He was recently nominated for a grammy for his engineer work on his father’s album Viento Y Tiempo - Live at Blue Note Tokyo.

So here's the thing:

Our budget is going to be $10,000. This includes paying for gear, cast and crew, post-production services, festival fees, catering, and obviously a COVID safety team on set. As well as all the small expenses in between that quickly add up. 

That said, we have lots of perks which include exclusive BTS content, signed posters, exclusive Letterboxd reviews from Karsten, your name in the credits, and more. You can find out more about these in the 'perks' tab of this campaign. 

 

Budget Breakdown

$1100 for Food and Craft Services

$1600 for Gear Rental

$800 for Production Design

$800 for Actors

$1000 for Crew Stipends

$1000 for Locations

$500 for Transportation

$400 for Personal Protective Equipment and Covid Compliance

$1000 for Production Insurance 

$1000 for Post Production

$800 for Film Festival Submissions 

 

Risks & Challenges

One of the main hurdles that everyone has faced in their respective fields is Covid. With a combination of abiding by CDC guidelines, keeping the cast/crew a small as possible, keeping a Covid safety team on set, and making sure as many people as possible are vaccinated on the set, we aim to have a safe and professional production. 

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Choose your Perk

DMing you a bag of dirt

$10 USD $11 USD (9% off)
I will DM you a picture of a bag of dirt. If you want to specify where to DM this (Instagram, Twitter), please list it somewhere in your order info.
Included Items
  • Dirtbag Image DM
100 out of 175 of claimed

Exclusive BTS Photos

$20 USD $21 USD (4% off)
You get access to exclusive BTS photos from the set.
Included Items
  • Dirtbag Image DM
  • Exclusive BTS Photo Pack
27 out of 35 of claimed

Hand-written Letter and Dirt

$50 USD $51 USD (1% off)
Want the real deal? With this perk you’re gonna get a physical letter in the mail from me, Karsten! And just for fun I’ll toss some dirt in the envelope so you really get the full experience. It’ll be the weirdest possible thing to get in the mail, but it’ll be made with love.
Included Items
  • Dirtbag Image DM
  • Exclusive BTS Photo Pack
  • BTS video
  • Letter and Dirt
8 out of 20 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Personal Letterboxd Review

$55 USD $56 USD (1% off)
Send me your Letterboxd account and I'll go through it and send you a personal video letter where I review everything about your account. Username, top 4, lists, ratings, you name it. *this will not be included in a youtube video or tik tok, this is just to you*
Included Items
  • Dirtbag Image DM
  • Exclusive BTS Photo Pack
  • BTS video
  • Signed Dirtbag Poster
  • Personal Letterboxd Review
Only 4 left
sold out

Exclusive BTS Video Recap

$30 USD $31 USD (3% off)
20 out of 20 of claimed
sold out

Signed Dirtbag Poster

$40 USD $41 USD (2% off)
35 out of 35 of claimed
Ships to United States of America
sold out

Signed Shooting Script

$100 USD $101 USD (0% off)
1 out of 1 of claimed
Ships worldwide.
sold out

Special Thanks Credit

$100 USD $101 USD (0% off)
10 out of 10 of claimed
sold out

Associate Producer Credit

$300 USD $301 USD (0% off)
4 out of 4 of claimed
sold out

Executive Producer Credit

$400 USD $401 USD (0% off)
2 out of 2 of claimed
sold out

Honey Roasting Your Letterboxd

$800 USD $801 USD (0% off)
1 out of 1 of claimed
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