What was the last Jewish teen epic you saw?
Howeds addresses prejudice and privilege through the story of Wes Jackness, a New Jersey teenager who attempts to escape the troublemakers of his local Jewish community — the “Howeds”. Proudly repurposing their name from a school-wide antisemitic slur, the Howeds face a conflict familiar to many young Jewish-Americans and countless marginalized groups in the United States: the struggle to reconcile twin senses of otherness and entitlement.
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Wes struggles to break free from the group as they spend their senior year lacing blunts with painkillers, cheating on their girlfriends and breaking into each other's homes to throw parties — unknowingly revisiting the same abuse they suffer onto their loved ones and each other. At some point, he must face the question: is he a Howed, after all?
Our mission
Howeds — the first movie set in Wayne, New Jersey — aims to create a Jewish Sopranos for kids.
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Adapting a script selected into the final round of contention for Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab, we’ve put together a cast and crew of over 50 NYU Film graduates along with the support of the NJ Film Commission, Wayne Fire, Police and Parks Departments, Wayne Hills High School, and dozens of small businesses and residents.
Our plan
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To serve Howeds’ year-long, seasonal story, we filmed the first half of the movie in January and July respectively, with the final two quarters set for October and January.
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With post-production completed, Howeds will premiere in New York in late 2016, for a festival run and Video-on-Demand arrival in early 2017.
Our budget
Even with in-kind donations of meals, locations, and some equipment — in addition to the fact that our cast and crew works on this film for free —each remaining quarter will require $10,000 to cover insurance, transportation, production design, food and equipment rental expenses, in addition to $5,000 for post-production.
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We saved up for two years to finance the first quarter and used the results to bring on a team of private contributors to fund the second. For the final two and post-production, we need your help.
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Our perks
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We’re extremely grateful for any support and want to show it. Check out the tab on the right to earn some some of our perks, including:
personalized one-minute videos from the set of Howeds (and a character of your choice)
becoming an extra or PA in the film
signed copies of the poster and screenplay
props from the movie
dinner with the Howeds
naming one of the film’s locations
2 exclusive tickets to the premiere
And stay tuned for updates and community perks!
Our work
Howeds is the first film for the production company Perestroika, whose members’ previous work includes the Tisch 48 Audience award-winning “Key Party”, the CollegeHumor-featured interview series “What’s Good?”, and the web series “Civil Servant”, which screened at Cantor Film Center.
As a film, Howeds calls for connection among marginalized groups - young and old, Jewish or not. As a production, it builds connection through of the work and passion of talented and motivated individuals - young and old, Jewish or not. And we always have room for more to come on board.
How to Participate
There are lots of ways to get involved with Howeds. Which one is right for you?
Share our Indiegogo campaign through Facebook or Twitter
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Donate to our campaign
Message us directly if you’d like to be a bigger part of our production!
Thank you so much for your time and support. We can't wait to make the rest of the film and have you as a part of the team!
