We have a few new perks for you! For the $75 level, you can get two things I’ve hoarded for the last four years and one of them is the above fortune telling ‘Miracle Fish’! Also, Jess Furman, the talented singer/songwriter and composer for this film is offering her lastest EP for the $10 dollar level! Finally, for the $35 level, you can get a film and IMDB credit! 

Ling, an immigrant mother, faces an out of control hoarding compulsion and crumbling marriage. She stumbles upon waltz lessons and reclaims her life through dance.

While visiting my family in Ann Arbor, Michigan for Thanksgiving last year, it wasn't long before my brother and I got into a fight with our parents. Brian and I took the car and went for a drive. We were silent in the car for a while before my brother turned to me and said, “Is it weird that I want a good relationship with Mom and Dad?” I told him, “Not at all! I want that too! But at this point, it might not be possible”. This exchange got me thinking about our relationship with our parents, with each other, and how we might reconcile the vast chasm of differences with our parents. After returning to New York, this quandary continued to bounce around in my head and I started writing. Three weeks later I had my first draft of a feature film entitled Yu and Mi (named after Brian's and my Chinese names 周游 and 周密). The film came out of this fantasy of how my brother and I might reconnect with our parents after so many years of pushing them away.

Having researched the cost of a feature film, I realized that I couldn't afford to make one! So I looked at other options. One was to make a short film based off of the feature to demonstrate ones abilities and help potential producers/talent/investors better see the finished feature film in their heads. This is why we're making The Waltz. It will introduce three of the four main characters from Yu and Mi and also show my visual style and tone in addition to revealing a bit of the story. I hope the short will gain support in both funding and attracting producers to the endeavor of making Yu and Mi.

My aspiration for The Waltz is for it to connect with my audience first and foremost on the difficulty and intricacies of familial relationships, a dilemma most people can relate to. I also want to explore the immigration experience, not on the onset, but much further down the line. As an immigrant myself, I feel that after some time had passed, my family and I became more or less fully enculturated. The audience for my film will be those of immigrant families and the people that know and care about them. In short, everybody. 

The Waltz depicts the struggles immigrant families encounter, not only in terms of a new country but also within family dynamics. I use humor and character to emphasize the differences between generations based on themes of communication, tradition, and family.

My film will also address the issue of hoarding. The Waltz confronts the economic and emotional burden hoarding holds over the family and friends of the hoarder as well as over the hoarder herself.

I would like my film to have a cathartic effect on immigrant family viewers. I have yet to see a Chinese-American film that I truly identify with. Upon sharing the script with other first generation immigrants, I found that many idiosyncrasies of the film rang true to their experiences and that this brought them joy.

Claire Grandpierre - Producer               Todd Somodevilla - Cinematographer

Aubree Marchione - Choreographer     Nathalie De Lange - Casting Director

Michael McMenomy - Sound                    Mark Ferguson - Assistant Camera

CAST

          Ruth Zhang - Ling                                                  Lu Yu - Jian

        Edward Furs - Vadim                                   Jade Elysan - Samantha

   Jennifer Castro - Mercedes

Take a look at some of our great perks like my mom's traditional Chinese recipes, popping lessons and even a limited edition 'The Waltz' handmade spray painted art piece on canvas! Or if you want dinner and a movie, I can cook some Chinese food for you and five of your friends!

Our shoot will take place in locations around New York City.

Your funds will go toward:

• Casting
• Location fees
• Production design
• Equipment rentals
• Cast and crew costs
• Transportation
• Food
• A ton of other things that we need to make this film

We promise to stretch your dollars as far as humanly possible! 

Please tweet, share, post on FB, email this link to any and everyone.  Thanks for your support!