OUR FILM
After a lifetime spent working in his father's famed restaurant, Christine Takahashi has been promoted to head chef. But after a slew of bad reviews, she's in trouble of losing it all. After a disastrous attempt to update the menu, Michael has received one negative review after another.
Our film takes place on one night. Michael is approached by her father and brother, who tell her that if she gets just one more bad write-up, her brother will be promoted to head chef and Christine will go back to making the rice.
Then, the toughest food critic in the entire city, Christoph Dominique, walks into the restaurant and orders a legendarily difficult-to-make omakase. Creating this tasting menu will be no small feat, and if Christine wants to impress this critic, she'll have to do more than just make amazing sushi. She'll have to put a little bit of herself on the plate.
WHO WE ARE
Director/Writer: J. Steven Madura
J. Steven Madura is a writer, director, and producer based in New York City. For the past decade, he has been making film, television, and new media content. After an Emmy-winning tenure with NBC focusing on travel and lifestyle content, Steven worked with channels like Viceland, Lifetime, and TruTV. He’s thrilled at the opportunity to bring this story to life and work with a diverse cast of talented actors, craftspeople, and creators.
Producer: Motoki Otsuka
Motoki Otsuka is a Brooklyn based film producer. Originally from Tokyo, he has extensive production experience both in the US and abroad. Motoki began his career working with Japanese TV stations such as NHK and Fuji TV, and now works mostly with corporate clients like Toyota and Lexus.
Producer: Claire Buffie
Claire Buffie, Director of Video for Reproductions, has been supporting performing artists as a headshot photographer, designer and personal brand consultant in NYC for 10 years. In 2016, she joined the Reproductions team to create our video services department, offering demo reel editing, scene production, Film/TV demo development class and musical theatre filming. Reproductions video department created over 300 scenes for actors in 2017 alone and has moved into creating short films and pilots as well in 2018.
Director of Photography: Michael Cerisano
Michael Cerisano is Cinematographer, Editor and Director. A Rutgers graduate, Michael has filmed and edited numerous short films, short documentaries, and music videos. During college his documentary Carbon Copy won Best Documentary at The Mason Gross School of the Arts. His work with PRG Broadway Audio and Lighting led him to work on a variety of Broadway shows. Currently Mike works full-time as the lead Cinematographer & Editor at Reproductions. In 2017 alone, Mike filmed and edited over 300 scenes for Reproductions and Actors Connection.
Production Designer: Cidney Hue
Cidney Hue designs and creates art, graphics, sets, and futuristic visions from her imagination. She has production designed for numerous award winning works including a bonafide punk bar for All the Men You Would... by Mac Eldridge and Tom Dean, a middle school for Matt Kazman's Killer and a spaceship bedroom for Natasha Kermani's The Turing Love Affair. Cidney can often be found traveling the world with her camera in tow, capturing Earth’s most spectacular natural phenomenons including the Total Solar Eclipse and Northern Lights. Her lifelong goal is to visit space by 2050 so you should email her if you have an extra seat on your rocketship.
OUR GOAL
Comedy doesn’t always have to be funny. The best comedians know that the most valuable tool to elicit laughter is not a punchline, but tension. That’s why I write stories that thread the line between comedy and thriller. I believe the most genuine laughs comes from character and stakes, and there are few places where the stakes are higher than a kitchen. After years spent in restaurants while working in food television and a lifelong love affair with Japanese cuisine, I knew a film combining all of these things to would deliver audiences a thrilling and hilarious experience.
MAKING THE MOVIE
REPRODUCTIONS is the leading printing, imaging and video services company serving actors and performing artists nationwide. This summer, Reproductions launched its first Screenplay Contest. 60 creative teams entered their short films for voting by the public. After thousands of votes from the online community, the top 15 finalists’ shorts were sent to a blind panel of industry judges. Together with the Reproductions’ team, Raw Pieces was unanimously selected as the winner of the contest!
“I love how dark this gets.”
- Michelle Cutolo (Award Winning Director/Casting Director)
“RAW PIECES is the clear winner! It was delicious (thumb and all) and I would love for us to produce it.”
- Tony Nation (President of Reproductions)
“The stakes are high, characters are interesting, conflict is well-defined, and kept me on the edge of my seat to the very end.”
- Ari Taub (Director)
This got our project off to a great start. Taking top prize of Reproductions’ contest means access to core crew, a gear closet, production insurance, and institutional support.
However, in order to make the film the best it can be, we still need support. Our budget breaks down as follows…
Supplemental Crew (Culinary Producer, etc.) - $6600
Location Fees - $2250
Supplemental Gear - $1500
Production Design - $1250
Contingency - $1500
Craft Services - $600
Festival Submission Fees - $1000
Transportation - $300
With these areas of our production fully funded, we’ll be in great shape to execute our vision. If we don’t reach our goal, our budget will be prioritized towards location, production design, and food for our crew.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
When it comes to making movies, money talks. Every dollar will help this film come alive. But if you’re unable to contribute in one way, word of mouth can be just as powerful! Please repost our campaign onto your social media feeds to get the word out. You can also spread around the project’s website, which can be found below
