**Above, watch THE END AGAIN, our short film prequel to OPENENDED.** You Mind If We Play Something For You?
If you're like us, you remember iconic lines from films like Love Jones and Love & Basketball.
You yearn to see more dope love stories that mirror your own experiences, embody what love actually feels like, and honestly represent how relationships go down.
Enter OPENENDED, a feature film that begs the question, when it comes to love, is it ever really over? We've all been there. Your relationship has hit a crossroads and you have to make that tough decision of whether to stay or to move on.
We Want to Make This Film
We want to make this film so bad that we shot a prequel of sorts to show the people (that's you) that we're serious.
THE END AGAIN, our short film that you can watch above, was developed in six weeks and shot over two hectic days in January 2014.
We funded it out of our own pockets and the end result is directed by the hella talented Crystle C. Roberson, stars husband and wife Columbus Short and Tanee McCall-Short (did we mention we shot it in January, before, uh, everything?), and is set to a soundtrack featuring the amazing The Foreign Exchange. We then took the film on the road, screening it at sold-out events in Atlanta and Washington, DC and at respected festivals like Urbanworld and Black Star. Lots of publications such as Shadow & Act, Madame Noire, Very Smart Brothas, and Rolling Out had nice things to say about our short.
We Need Your Help To Continue The Story
Now we want to continue the story. OPENENDED picks up four years later. Joe and Jane are reunited after the death of a mutual friend for a weekend...and well you can only imagine all the ish that goes down.
Making an independent feature film is hard, but thankfully not impossible. The script's finished, we have a production budget, and now we're in position to begin the process of raising the funds needed - about $1.5 million - to make the film a reality.
Here's where your support is invaluable. It will help us with:
- Completing our investor package
- Securing legal counsel + paying retainer fees
- Working with a casting director (leave a comment and tell us who you think could play Joe and Jane)
- Covering other related development costs
This Isn't Just About Us
Filmmaking is a collaborative process. We want you to be a part of it. In return for your support, we've got some great perks, including credits in the film! And honestly, your support makes you part of the OPENENDED fam, which we hope to grow, connect with, and keep in the loop over the course of this project.
We Also Value The Support That Doesn't Fold
Even if you can't contribute financially at this time, we value any support you can lend:
- Share this campaign like crazy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and beyond using the buttons at the top.
- Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and follow the conversation using #loveopenended.
- Sign up for our mailing list.
- Email your friends and colleagues and tell them they must see THE END AGAIN.
- Embed THE END AGAIN onto your blog or social networks and link to our campaign.
- Pray for us and send us your good vibes.
Filmmaking Ain't Easy...But We're Built For It
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It's time for another love story that we can feel. We, the producers of THE END AGAIN and OPENENDED, are a small, but mighty bunch of kick-butt women who get ish done. Combined, we have close to thirty years experience working in media and entertainment, which also means we know what we're up against. But we're resolute in making this movie and many more (failure is not an option), and at every turn, we are willing to do what it takes, including stepping out of the traditional box to make it happen.
We're lead by two women who met back in the day at their stuffy corporate gig, only to reconnect a few years back at ABFF. Crazy how the world works.
Latisha Fortune (pictured right above) is an award-winning independent producer who started her film career at
Tyler Perry Studios in 2005. She held many
pinnacle roles at the studio and in just a few years, went from intern to
Office Manager. This gave her the
opportunity to work on many productions such as Madea's Family Reunion, Why Did I Get Married?, Meet the Browns, and House of Payne. With
a hunger for hands on production, Latisha segued back into physical production
to work on the Oscar Nominated film, The Blind Side. Latisha has
also worked as a Production Coordinator on several films and TV shows like: The Red Road, Solace, and Survivor's Remorse. As an emerging filmmaker, Latisha has produced over a dozen short films,
three of which have won awards and was also a two-time finalist in the
2010 BET Lens on Talent Film Contest for Before I Wake and The Black Cage. Her production company, Great Fortune Films Inc., currently has several
projects in development including, OPENENDED. Latisha studied producing at New
York University and filmmaking at the New York Film Academy.
Felicia Pride (pictured left above) is a writer, producer, and strategist with nearly
fifteen years experience working in media. She’s the head of interactive studio
pride collaborative, where she develops and collaborates on innovative projects
specializing in audience development, transmedia campaigns, and beyond broadcast
extensions. She’s worked on engagement extensions for films like
Sundance selections Slavery by Another Name and Middle of Nowhere and has had
the pleasure
to work with PBS, NPR, Participant Media and more. She’s the author of several books, including the essay
collection The Message: Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs, which was republished by media giant NBC Universal, and To Create, a collection of interviews with black storytellers and
media makers.
Pride is also the founder of The Create Daily, a startup that matches media makers with career-advancing
opportunities. Currently,
a media fellow at the Center for Media & Social Impact at American
University, she
holds an M.A. in writing from
Emerson
College.
Thank you in advance for your support. You are much appreciated.
Your fam,
Latisha, Felicia, and the OPENENDED Team
Want to reach out to us? Hit us at info@openendedfilm.com.
