Hunters
Hunters
Hunters
Hunters
Hunters
A short film about hunters...being hunted
A short film about hunters...being hunted
A short film about hunters...being hunted
A short film about hunters...being hunted
This campaign is closed
Hunters
A short film about hunters...being hunted
A short film about hunters...being hunted
A short film about hunters...being hunted
A short film about hunters...being hunted
A short film about hunters...being hunted
(pssst - click on the perks to see details!)
Hunters is a dark, comedic, short film set in the northwoods of Wisconsin. It’s about two deer hunters, Frank and Pete, and the history between them that won’t quite die. It's funny, it's violent. it's a little bit horror and a little bit action.
It’s hard to talk about without giving too much away - but let’s just say they’re not the only people in the woods…
Door County, Wisconsin. In the woods.
I grew up in Wisconsin (“I,” meaning Rebecca Weaver. I’m writing this. Hi!), and I spent most of my childhood and college summers in Door County (my first job was at the Ice Cream Factory in Sister Bay!), and my mom now lives in Baileys Harbor.
Chris Irwin also has spent a ton of time in the Door County since 1997 as both a professional actor with Northern Sky Theatre (American Folklore Theatre at the time) and as a folk/rock/bluegrass musician.
Rebecca Weaver and Chris Irwin.
We made a feature film together called June Falling Down several years ago that we released to iTunes (and Amazon soon!). We shot the film (also in Door County) on a crazy low budget of two Indiegogo campaigns and credit cards.
We filmed at my mom’s farmhouse and at open bars and on our favorite hiking trail. Everyone got paid with beer and snacks and my mom made chili and sloppy joes and so many people in Door County volunteered their time and support. We worked ourselves to the bone to get it out into the world. It was crazy and wonderful.
And it worked! We brought the film to 15 festivals and won some pretty cool awards (Best American Feature at Sonoma Film Festival, Best Feature at Lone Star Film Festival, and more!). Leonard Maltin told us how much he liked the movie and how amazed he was at how natural everyone was in the film. And yes, we milk that every chance we get! You betcha.
ps - Check out this essay I wrote for Film Courage called "This Movie Should Not Exist"...might explain a few things!
And here I am with Leonard Maltin at the Sonoma Film Festival (he was on the jury):
Making a movie is the most expensive artistic endeavor there is. Even though our production budget for June Falling Down was $11K (thanks to our successful Indiegogo campaigns – thank you!!), the eventual total cost of that movie was closer to $30K.
Movies cost a TON of money (and our budgets are ridiculously low - and even then, it's a lot of money). And this short film (which we’re estimating will be about 20 minutes long) not only requires camera and sound equipment, hard drives, crew, cast, food, coffee, transportation – but it also has action, guns, knives, and blood.
It’s a major step up for us and we need more resources in order to do this right. We would not be making this if we didn’t have full faith that we can deliver an exceptional film – but we also can’t get away with being super cheap again. Even if we wore that as a badge of honor for quite a while!
We also know firsthand how many costs are coming in post-production – festival fees, festival travel, marketing, and the cost of actually getting perks out to you!
Speaking of...
We would never have been able to make June Falling Down without the help of our Indiegogo contributors, and we still think of you (to those of you’re reading, hi!) with so much love and gratitude, it’s impossible to fully express it.
It’s truly MIND-BLOWING that with the help of friends, family, and kind strangers we’ve met through the internet that we were able to make a feature film.
That’s ridiculous – what an insane blessing it is to be alive in this time in history.
So outside of a very heartfelt and emotional email you’ll get from me (every donation touches our hearts, guys, every single one), we also have perks available for different levels of donation – because gifts of gratitude just feel good.
And we learned our lesson from our June campaigns – every perk is well thought-out so that it takes as little away from the budget as possible (we enjoyed doing mugs but, oy, do any of us need another mug?). And also every physical perk will be sent out this spring. As in: No. Straggling. Perks. (We joke, but we’re dead serious – we needed so many more assistants for June and we couldn’t keep up and it took MUCH longer than anticipated – so this is important to us to get everything out asap).
Of course we can't expect everyone to be able to donate money (though we're forever grateful!), but you'd be surprised at how helpful it really is to share our campaign and like our posts on Facebook (my page and the June page) and Instagram. Just one friend or acquaintance of yours could be inspired to donate - thus ensuring we can get lunch for our cast and crew or that we can buy better quality fake blood. ;-) It takes a village - and we do our best to acknowledge every share. Thank you thank you!
And stay in touch through our email newsletter (two email updates a month)!
It's definitely not easy to put ourselves out there again to make a film (the overwhelm is hitting us, trust me!), but we had such a wonderful, truly life-changing experience with June Falling Down - and we can't wait to make something new and very different with Hunters. Onward and upward!
First - there are multiple options for some of the perks – so when I send a thank you email I’ll ask which perk you’re choosing (ex: DVD, CD, or earrings, etc.).
And here are some further details:
June Falling Down DVD – if you haven’t seen our movie, check out the trailer here and see if you’d like a DVD of the film!
Chris Irwin CD – Chris is an exceptional musician (and obviously isn’t writing this, ha!), and you can check out his work here to see if you’d like a CD.
Maggie Livengood’s jewelry – my sister is an outstanding clay jewelry artist and art teacher, and she’s generously donating earrings to folks at this perk level. They’re so chic and lightweight, I’m wayyy into them. Check out her wares at her Etsy shop!
Behind the Scenes - $100 is a lot of money and it’s a real commitment to us, and for that we’re welcoming you into the secret Hunters club. You will receive private updates on exactly how pre-production is going, what camera, lenses, mics, etc. we’re using as well as how it’s going with the fake blood, where we’re getting our guns, what our influences are, what our shot lists look like, etc. It’s going to be seriously fun and informative.
Also for Behind the Scenes - I’ve been wanting to create a sort of class or webinar for a while about how we made June Falling Down, as many details as I can remember (and in case you don’t know, I wrote/directed/edited/produced/fixed sound and color/distributed…sheesh, I have a lot of details in my brain to share). The second I get this "class" done (June most likely), it’s yours. Just as a bonus thank you. And then I’ll maybe sell it on my website? Unclear for now, but you’ll get it for free.
Script Coverage - this is a comprehensive analysis of a completed, feature length screenplay (80-120 pages) by me. I’m a professional screenwriter in LA. I work with a manager out here, and just last year I optioned a script and signed a shopping agreement for another - and the latter was recently shopped to Netflix. I can give you killer, supportive feedback and advice (4-5 pages of notes) for your next draft based on structure, characters, dialogue, tone, and so on. Any questions, just email me: rebecca.silverleaf@gmail.com
Insider - $1,000 blows our minds and for making such a major, major dent in our budget, we want you to be the first to know our news. You’ll get early and exclusive updates. I’ll be sending you a copy of the script before we shoot, you'll see an early cut of the film, hear our music before it's been added, and we’ll tell you when we get into festivals weeks before we tell anyone else. This is a really intimate part of our world of making this film and we honestly don’t let anyone other than the cast and crew in at this level (okay, maybe my mom…). Filmmaking is hard and this amount of money is so generous and means you’re in it with us. Thank you.
Co-Pilot - $1,500 is a crazy amount of money and our gratitude is just through the roof. Seriously. And for that, we’d love to grant you a co-producer credit AND we’d love to take you on a plane ride. Chris has been a professional pilot for twenty years and he teaches people how to fly every day in LA. At this level he can take you and two friends on a ride in a Cessna airplane over Door County or Los Angeles (Catalina Island?). Anywhere else, we might be able to make work (ya never know!), but check in first.
Video credits:
June Falling Down behind the scenes stills by Suzi Hass
Music:
June Falling Down music by Chris Irwin
"Fresno Alley" - Josh Lippo & the Overtimers
"Mountain" - Text Me Records / Bobby Renz