Short Summary

Hello! My name is Marissa Jennings. I'm a 17 year old aspiring film director that attends the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School.  Since middle school, I've had a knack for photography and film. I love creating things and showing them to family and friends. Being my final year in High School, this is my last chance to build a portfolio before heading off to college, hoping to major in film production. For all theater majors hoping to graduate from PCCA,  you have to complete a Senior Project: a 20 minute cut of a play or musical. My passion for film made me wonder whether I could complete a film senior project instead. Having the approval to do so, I've written my own script and hope to portray it on to the screen as I've imagined it for months. Here's a quick synopsis:

"Milkweed" centers around a maturing young man (Daniel) and his mother, Michelle, who suffers from brain cancer. Daniel takes on a fatherly role as he aims to keep his mother as well as as possible for as long as he can. On top of these responsibilities, he juggles keeping his younger sister, Katie, out of trouble as she copes with her mother's illness. Here's a journey through life, love, loss, and accepting the inevitable. 

Typically, these senior projects that students put on should not be as elaborate as I hope to make this one. Not elaborate in the flashy sense, but the work I put in to it. I'm taking this project more seriously because unlike theater, in some senses, film lasts. This is a film I can stack in my portfolio and keep tucked away for as long as its resonant to me. It's not something I can forget in the next few years, or what I'd want to forget. Hoping to major in film, this film is important to me. the story is one I've put my heart in to and one that can touch someone in one way or another.

What We Need & What You Get

What's incredibly different between film and theater, is the realism of it. In theater, a house can obviously be seen as a  set piece, and a block can be interpreted as a table. In film, everything has to look real on screen, and on a tight budget, it will  be real. This includes the sets, costumes, props, food, etc. There's really no way working around that. The goal is to portray real situations in real surroundings. More than anything, it has to look technically (visually) stunning. With that being said, there are particular things I will need to get to make it happen. here's a budget list that I'm continuing to add to:

* Food for the cast and crew is more important than you'd think. These cast and crew members are NOT being paid, which means working as long as they will, food will be necessary with up to 6-hour shooting days.

The Impact

Raising funds for this project is undoubtedly important to me. Like I've mentioned, it's not just a senior project to me; it's a challenge that I haven't yet taken on at this level, and one that would highlight my other accomplishments in this field of the arts. I want it to last. I want to make it great. I want to set the bar high. The impact of having this film exactly (well close to) the way I'd pictured it would make this process a whole lot easier. It would ease the stress that has been built up with senior finances and college applications. 

If I could reach my goal, or even get close to it, it would mean the world. This is not money I can get on my own; it's an amount that I can't take on myself. Having people contribute towards the cause wouldn't just let this film happen for me, but it would further my progression in the arts. It only takes a little to make a huge impact, and I would be forever grateful for it.

Risks & Challenges

A 20-minute short film sounds easier than it is. a lot of planning goes in to the process along with actually shooting the film itself and editing it in to the final picture. For a director with two crew members, this is a lot to take on. I've made 3-4-minute short films before and have been editing films together since middle school. As much as it is to take on, I'm a perfectionist who won't accept half-finished work. With film, there's a lot of complications; ones I'm willing to take on and work through. Individual scenes will have to be filmed sometimes 20 times or more, actors won't be able to make it to every rehearsal/shooting day which means rescheduling, and the locations we're shooting in will alone create conflict, and a blurred sense of what I'd "imagined" it to look like. Even so, these petty problems will work their way out eventually and whether it takes more time than I thought it would, I'm absolutely ready for the challenge!

Other Ways You Can Help