Logline:
After his only daughter goes to college, single-father Scott deals with the loneliness of being an empty nester and attempts to find peace by collecting peculiar garden-gnomes.
The Project:
Hi, my name’s Olivia Pearce and I’m the director of TULIPS and a rising senior at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. My fellow filmmaking friends and I are coming together this summer to create this special heartfelt, comedic, and magical-realistic short film.
It’s been a while since most of us left home to go to college, but we still remember that transition for both us and our parents. TULIPS is a film that I wrote after reflecting on how my own parents felt when I left home, with a gardening-gnome-twist. I originally wrote this script to be my junior thesis, but COVID unfortunately stopped us. However, now, we’re ready to come back together in order to create this project.
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Story:
TULIPS is the story of a new empty nester father, Scott, and his peculiar garden gnomes as he is suddenly forced to deal with loneliness after his only daughter leaves for her first year of college.
After raising Ava by himself, he’s left completely alone. As an avid gardener, Scott begins to take solace in garden gnomes much to the displeasure of the neighborhood perfectionist, Nancy. Scott begins to use the gnomes as a replacement to help him cope with his daughter’s absence, but eventually is able to discover that even despite the distance between him and his daughter, their love will always be strong.
This film explores the heartfelt connection between parents and children, and how even despite the physical distance that comes from growing up, the love remains strong. It’s a story rooted in realness but with a magical twist (a few talking gnomes). This film will feel important as it’s being made in a time where many of us couldn’t go home to our families because of COVID. While Scott and Ava aren’t navigating this exact world, they are faced with the difficulties of distance.
Where we need your help
Our team’s goal is to raise $3,000 - every donation is crucial to making this film happen!
These funds will go towards:
- Designing a quaint suburban home for our main character, Scott.
- Renting camera, lighting, and grip equipment to create a vintage aesthetic and allow our team to work with flexibility.
- Actor and meal fees, because we want to treat our crew right!
- Composer, editor, sound mixer, insurance fees - to give this film that amazing final polish!
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We are committed to making the best possible film, and your contributions would be crucial to maintaining its quality. In exchange, we have some exciting reward perks -- including the possibility to get an IMDB executive producer credit, or your very own garden gnome from the set!
If you’re unable to make a donation, there are other ways to support the project! Giving this Indiegogo campaign a share on your socials or following our instagram @tulipsthefilm. Your support means the world to us and we are committed to making this project amazing.
Meet the Team:
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Olivia Pearce - Writer and Director
Olivia Pearce is currently a senior majoring in Film and Television Production at USC's School of Cinematic Arts with a minor in Game Design. She has an interest in stories both within games and film that involve heartfelt characters and magical realism. She’s a recent Semi-Finalist for the USC Undergraduate Writer’s Conference for her screenplay TULIPS. She also is a three-time shortlisted screenwriter for the SCA undergraduate senior projects. Olivia remains enthusiastic about storytelling and writing while also remaining professional, friendly, and adaptable and can’t wait to direct this short film.
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Diya and Israel - The Producers
Diya Correa is a rising senior at the USC School of Cinematic Arts studying Film & TV Production with a minor in 3D animation and Comparative Lit. Diya was born and raised in Mumbai India, and is passionate about bringing genuine stories to the screen. She loves stories that have strong characters, family dynamics, and reconcile some part of life. Tulips is all of this and more! And she's so excited to work on this with the incredible team.
Israel Ayala Gomez's work has always focused on authenticity, represenation, and experimentation. From Chicago to Los Angeles, he’s learned to overcome challenges and create bold work in the face of small-budgets, limited resources, and even a pandemic. During his time studying Film and TV Production at USC, his interests and experience have spanned from comedy to horror, and from writing/directing to producing. He's currently the rising President for Delta Kappa Alpha, a professional cinematic arts fraternity.
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Graham Byers - The Cinematographer
Graham Byers is a Film & Television Production Senior with a minor in Entrepreneurship. He is an aspiring cinematographer who strives to tell stories that ignite social change. While working as a cinematographer, Graham often relies on natural light and encourages directors to consider using natural settings when appropriate. Alongside these tendencies toward nature, Graham describes his approach to cinematography as character-driven. He loves to use cinematography as a tool to immerse the audience in the world of a character and the journey that they go on. He is very excited to collaborate with the incredible team on this project!
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Hannah and Beth - The Production Designers
Hannah Ackles is a production designer for Tulips! She is a writer/director and production designer based in Los Angeles and San Diego, and she’s entering her fourth year studying Film & Television Production at USC. Hannah has been awarded at several film festivals including the California Student Media Festival, All-American High School Film Festival, and La Jolla Film Festival. She is driven to have a role in inclusive, personal, and heart-warming projects, and she hopes that by doing this, she can make a difference in society.
Beth Mosch is a production designer working on Tulips. She is a rising senior majoring in Cinema and Media Studies and minoring in 3D Animation at USC. Beth is a producer/director and production designer in Los Angeles and is originally from Bloomington, Minnesota. She is also a photographer for the Daily Trojan and the Cinematic Affairs Chair for Delta Kappa Alpha. Her previous experience includes work on narrative films, documentaries, and music videos. Beth is passionate about telling diverse and uplifting stories that help bring people together.
Risks and Challenges:
The timeline for making this film is tight - but our crew has worked in tighter conditions. This is a passion project that we have been wanting to make for months and finally have the opportunity to do it well. We are committed to making it amazing! :)
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