After their ride bails on them, two queer Florida City teens attempt to go to Pride in Miami, a world away from their farm life Down South.
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springfruit is a compelling and funny coming-of-age comedy/drama film set in an area of Miami where farmland reigns. It follows the journey of two queer friends striving to reach Pride in Miami Beach, a world away from theirs, while dealing with the realities of grief, identity, and community.
We're crafting a queer coming-of-age film that defies erasure: set in a side of Miami that most people don't know exists, celebrates the mundanity of queer characters that shouldn't exist according to so many of our state's leaders, and showcases the resilience of these kids reclaiming their right to fun.
The Story:
springfruit is a heartfelt coming-of-age film dramedy set Down South, in the Redlands farm area of Florida City. This is where we meet 16-year-old Nikki, working at her family's farm. She and her best friend Kareem rebel against her older brother and guardian Playboy as they attempt to escape Down South and attend Pride in Miami Beach, encountering some obstacles and humorous encounters along the way.
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This film is inspired by the emotional and visual themes explored in the work of Spike Lee's Crooklyn, Sean Baker's The Florida Project, Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade, Joe Talbot's The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Barry Jenkins' Moonlight, among others. Coming of age stories, stories of friendship, that explore the beauty in the ordinary, through vibrant cinematography.
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It's also inspired by my own life Down South as a teenager, always dreaming about what life was life in the "exciting" part of Miami - the Miami that was actually shown on TV. But here Down South, I was also very curious about who owned the acres and acres of land and farms that I'd see every day on the way to school.
With the disappearance of Black farmers overall (and based on what I saw growing up, I know Miami is no different), and with the rise of state violence against queer communities and attempts to erase queerness from kids and teens in Florida, this story is a tiny imagining of what could be: this young queer Black girl holding her family's farm together and prioritizing her own freedom and fun with her best friend as they search for community.
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Here, we explore the yearning for escape and connection, an unexpected journey of self-discovery, friendship, and the pursuit of freedom in the midst of loss.
We're giving something that is few and far between: a queer coming of age story that features Black youth, in a pursuit of fun.
Making an independent film like this one is a labor of love. To bring this story to life and capture the vibrant cinematography that sets it apart, we need your help. We're asking for a donation towards our goal of $20,000 (with a stretch goal of $23,000 to cover platform fees, reward fulfillment and contingencies!) to ensure that every aspect of this project, from casting and location to post-production, is done right and is able to pay our team for their time and creativity they'll bring to this project.
How Your Contribution Will Help:
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Cast and Crew (~50% of our goal): Your support will help us hire talented actors and experienced crew members who are as passionate about this story as we are.
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Location (~20%): We want to create an authentic experience for our audience by choosing the perfect location that captures the essence of Down South, Miami.
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Production Design and Wardrobe (~6%): Every detail matters, and your contribution will go toward creating the visual world of this project.
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Post-Production (~20%): To deliver the best possible film, we need funding for editing, sound design, and music.
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Festival Submissions (~4%): We want to share our film with the world, and your support will help cover submission fees to film festivals.
When this campaign succeeds, we'll be headed towards production, which is set to begin Summer 2024. (Updated in 12/7/23 - we'll be giving ourselves more time to properly fund this project!)
Follow this campaign page to receive updates as we're on this journey!
Thank you,
Court Coleman, writer/director of springfruit
Meet the team:
Meet our writer/director/producer: springfruit is the brainchild of Court Coleman, a miami-based social media strategist with 6 years in social media marketing, content production and community management. But she's been writing stories and building worlds for way longer than that. She especially loves to focus on young Black queer female characters as they come of age, because those stories deserve to be told, and they say so much about self discovery and the need for community. As a Black queer woman from Down South, she’s able to bring her lived in perspective to the vision of this project.
Meet our co-producer: faith vazquez is a Black, Latina, and Queer writer and filmmaker. She focuses her work on the stories and communities that live in the intersections of race and gender. She is also passionate about positive representations of those communities in the media and film/TV. Catch her name in the credits for shows like Issa Rae’s Rap Sh!t and Netflix’s Do Revenge.
Meet our director of photography: Carlos Arroyo is a Mexican-American filmmaker born and partially raised in Chula Vista. After bouncing around California, Mexico, South America, and Florida, Carlos developed this multi-cultural perspective that bled into his philosophy when it comes to his work. Carlos strives to explore what many would deem as mundane and exploit them symbolically. After film school, Carlos worked at a creative agency in the Bay Area, making online commercials or videos for brands.
COPY BELOW YOU CAN USE TO SHARE THIS CAMPAIGN WITH YOUR NETWORK:
This Black queer coming of age short film needs your support!
springfruit is a funny and intimate coming-of-age film dramedy set in the Redlands farm area of Down South Miami. It follows two queer best friends as they attempt to escape their life Down South for a day and attend Pride in Miami Beach, encountering some obstacles and humorous encounters along the way.
The writer/director Courtney Coleman is a Black queer filmmaker who was very inspired by films like Crooklyn and Moonlight and wanted to show her Miami while exploring this story of queer friendship and the pursuit of joy. But she needs help bringing this story to life!
Donate to the campaign today and get rewarded: https://igg.me/at/springfruit
