The Story

Dr. Alex Galloway is on the brink of making history. Otherwise, he'd be delighted to join his daughter, Samantha, when she invites him outside to take a break from his basement lab.

Disappointed by her father's reluctance to abandon his work, Sam departs, unknowingly inspiring Alex with the final piece to the puzzle he's been trying to solve.

It works! Alex performs a quick trial with his streamlined equipment, and opens a gateway to another universe!

Alex is beside himself (*wink), stunned by his own achievement. He powers down the portal he's created, beaming with pride and satisfaction, when --

A low humming sound swells in volume, until --

BOOM! An explosive force hurls Alex violently backward. He recovers to find --

Another portal, ten times the size of the one he just created, materializing in front of him. A helmeted figure walks menacingly through it --

Annnd...scene. Are you intrigued? Do you want to see what happens next?

If you said yes, or even kinda just nodded to yourself, then please keep reading:

THE ARBORIST started as a seed of an idea (pun intended!) during a brainstorming session at the pub with my friend and producer, Bob Rajic. A couple years later I wrote the feature-length version which I pitched to several producers in LA. One particular exec loved it and proceeded to move it up the chain to financiers and VPs, and just when I thought I'd finally struck gold...my manager called to tell me that the producers had eventually passed on the project.

And just like that, my favourite script, my proudest accomplishment, was dead in the water.

Then the pandemic hit, and despite receiving my first paycheck for screenwriting for a script I co-wrote years before, I felt even more despondent about realizing my film-making dreams. Undeterred – after a brief sojourn in self-pity and defeat, of course – I decided to take my film-making fate into my own hands and actually create something, rather than simply continue to play the screenwriting lottery of submitting scripts and waiting endlessly for a greenlight.

I played around with different ideas, but finally settled on making a condensed version of The Arborist feature, and got to writing the short script that my amazing team of collaborators and I will be bringing to life.

And that's where you come in! Bob and I have worked out a budget, and we feel that $10,000 is the minimum we will require in order to make The Arborist the best film it can be. With your generous donations and word-of-mouth sharing of this campaign to friends and family, we are confident that together, we can make something truly special. 

Please click on the perks provided to see what we have to offer*, and if you can't donate, no problem, we'll be equally grateful if you share the campaign on your social media via Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter or directly with anyone you think might be interested.

Thanks so much for your generosity and support!

Sincerely,

Michael Wright

Writer, Director, Annoying guy in the video.

* A couple things to note: when donating, there is a default to tip Indiegogo on top of your donation. Please change to zero before contributing unless you actually want to tip them (they make 5% of the campaign donations, already, FYI)

Secondly, after you contribute, you will get two emails, one, your receipt, and a second to set up your account. You do NOT need to do this for your payment to go through, so please just ignore.

The Team

Michael Wright is a Toronto-based writer and director. His feature screenplay, STILL LIFE,  was a finalist in the Academy Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, which led to collaborations with various LA-based producers and filmmakers, including PRETTY BOY with director Cameron Thrower. PRETTY BOY is being produced by Mailroom, with 828 Productions (THE FALLOUT) financing.

Bob Rajic is a high energy, creative producer who enjoys taking on new challenges, producing both live action and animated work.  Bob has produced two feature length films (HOTROD THE MOVIE & AUTO DESTRUCT), three seasons of the television series CRASH ADDICTS for OLN, an 8-part CBC Gem series called MEET YOUR MAKER, as well as dozens of music videos and award-winning advertising productions.

Othello Ubalde is an award-winning cinematographer based in Toronto. His feature film debut, THE INTERIOR, won Best Cinematography at The Toronto After Dark Film Festival due, in part, to the “striking forest imagery” and “unusually sharp nocturnal photography” (Variety Magazine). Othello is also an Associate Member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers.

Robert Clarkson is an accomplished musician, producer and composer, earning a Toronto Music Award Nomination for Best Indie Album with The Atomic Ravens in 2005. A long-time veteran of the local live music scene, Rob is currently playing and recording with Hamilton-based band Season of The Senses and Android 66.6 in Toronto. Rob has also contributed music for the radio show The Game, and will be composing the score for The Arborist.

The Cast

Patrick McFadden as Dr. Alex Galloway

Patrick is an award-winning actor based in Toronto. His tour de force performance in THE INTERIOR at the 2015 Toronto After Dark Film Festival won him the Audience Award for Best Leading Actor. He followed this up with a menacing turn in the one-take thriller BROKEN MILE, as well as his portrayal of the infamous John Dillinger in the TV series AMERICAN LAWMEN.

Josephine Smith as Samantha Galloway

Josephine will be making her film debut in The Arborist. No stranger to the spotlight, Josephine is an award-winning figure-skater and pianist. Also, she's very dramatic;)