CANVASES: an Anthology Feature Film
Project History:
CANVASES has been in the works for a couple of years and its
origins date back even further.
For as long as I've been making movies and even in the days before,
when I only dreamt about it, I'd been drawn to humanist stories, about
relationships and love, and how hard these can be even for generally
good people. I've dabbled into horror, sci-fi, silent film, and more
broad sitcom styles, but the core values I keep reverting back to are
character and dialogue driven stories, with a strong sense of
naturalism, and centering around relationships and the messy parts of
navigating them.
As a filmmaker merely a few years into the business and still
finding my voice, I wasn't sure there was a place for me, or movies
like this, as I didn't see anyone else making stuff like this, which
changed in 2022, when the framework for 'Canvases' would be built by happenstance.
3 YEARS AGO:
Its the Fall of 2022 and in between shooting weekends on what would
become Nervous Records: The Series, I was lucky enough to join a great
group of friends on the set of another web series (Inner Worlds) where
I helped as a Production Assistant. I was only available for a couple
days across their 2 week shoot but on one fateful shoot day I was
introduced to Joshua LaBure, who would go on to direct and edit 2
sequences of Canvases, and remain involved as a producer, colorist,
DP, and music.
During downtime we began talking about our favorite types of movies
and cinematic influences and what started as a shorthand turned into
collaboration. I was to write and produce a short film for him to star
in and direct. During the writing of that short film, then titled
"Being Divorced in December", I was flooded with ideas to
expand this short into a series of FOUR shorts, each thematically
related to one of the four seasons (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring).
In the Spring and Summer of 2023, many scripts were written (3 of
which still exist in today's iteration of the project) and 2 were
shot. "The Crocodile" and "First Day of Vacation"
were completed by Fall of that Year, at which time I had already moved
to Austin TX.
2 YEARS AGO:
Working though a series of personal struggles, juggling other
projects, and attempting to collaborate from across the country,
production on Canvases, then untitled, was put on hold. During that
hiatus period more scripts were written to replace some of the
previous, the "seasons" concept was abandoned to service the
stories, and a bookend segment tying the full concept into a cohesive
70-80 minute film was written (by Josh, and then revised by myself).
The Crocodile went on to premiere at the Omaha Film Festival and
First Day of Vacation at Hang On to your Shorts in NJ, both to great
reception. After half a year off, production on the 3rd segment,
"Divorced in December" was underway.
1 YEAR AGO:
The Four Seasons Project was retitled "Love is a Neurochemical
Conjob" and another segment was shot, with plans to shoot the
remainder of the anthology through the Fall and Winter of 2024. A
fundraiser was made and we were blessed to raise 2,000 dollars, which
sadly was not enough to continue production- killing the anthology forever...
or so we thought!
A few months ago while working on a screenplay with similar themes
to the abandoned anthology, it dawned on me that I will be 30 in
August of 2026 and will have worked in film for 9 years at that point,
with zero feature length films to show for it. I spiraled, to be
honest, weighing the pros and cons of trying to get this project made
ONE FINAL TIME so I can achieve my lifelong goal of finishing a
feature film (and before the age of 30- arbitrary I know, but 30 is no
small thing). I asked my friends, family, therapist, and spoke to some
actors, collaborators, and importantly Joshua LaBure, who had
gracefully agreed to return with some of the shooting.
NOW:
Post Production on "Divorced in December" is underway
after a long delay, scripts have been rewritten and improved, and a
cast and crew for the final segments are locked in for shoots in late
December (in Nebraska) and early February (in NYC) pending a
successful SECOND attempt at fundraising. In addition to strengthening
the strories, Chris Orangeo, a gifted filmmaker in his own right and
star of one of the segments has joined as a producer and director of
the Bookend segment "An Artist in Search of...", and his
involvement really brings its potential over the top.
This brings everything up to speed on the newly (and forever) named
"Canvases" film, which is a feature length story about the
messiness of love and being human. Canvases is told in 5 segments with
a wraparound, and has an estimated completion date of July 1st-31st, 2026.
Plans and Timeline:
Our goal of 5,500 accounts for paying our great editor Lissa
Deonarian, who joined the project after recent successful
collaborations, and to cover travel expenses, pay crew, location
rentals, craft services, and Misc. production costs (props, actor
stipends, gear rentals).
Joining the amazing cast and crew of the previously completed
segments in Canvases (Shae'Kell Butler, Katie Otten, Christopher
Orangeo, Jenna Briggs, Tim Mantil, Mark Parker, Lala Guerrero, and
Stuart Cameron) are a great group of new and familiar collaborators:
Landon Beard (An Artist in Search of/Jane): Who has starred in
film (Running Through Darkness) and on stage (Romeo and Juliet, Anne
and Emmett, Taming of the Shrew) is pleased to return to acting
after a years long absence.
Lillian Bornstein (An Artist in Search of/Jane): With a B.A. in
Theater from Stanford and an M.A. in Acting from the Royal Central
School of Speech and Drama, and leading roles in films and series
such as: Running Through Darkness (award winning), Skin Deep,
Simulacrum, and Keep in Touch (which they co-created), Lillian
brings award winning experience and years of expertise to the role
of Melanie/Jane.
In addition to being very talented, Beard and Bornstein are
friends of nearly 15 years, dating back to High School, and being
able to work together on a film fulfills a long standing goal, which
will only lend itself to a strong product.
Christian J. Velez (Lydia) has worked alongside the brightest
filmmaking minds in Nebraska for years, having starred in many of my
previous projects as well as work across genres with Maverick Knox,
Caden Bye, Chance Guida, William Fischer, and had a guest role in
the Nebraska filmed blockbuster "Snack Shack".
Chloe Schwarting (Lydia) comes from the stage where she has
starred in plays and musicals for the Lincoln and Nebraska Community Playhouses.
Joining on crew to help push everything over the finish line:
Lissa Deonarain: (she/they) is a queer, disabled
Guyanese/American editor, documentary filmmaker, and marketing
specialist from Omaha, NE, who, after graduating from Emerson
College with a degree in documentary and producing, worked with
renowned documentary institutions and organizations like Brown Girls
Doc Mafia, FWD-Doc, BIPOC Eurodoc, Multitude Films, Film Workers for
Palestine and more to build intentional strategy that transforms the
nonfiction industry.
As a filmmaker, she has produced and edited dozens of shorts and
nonfiction series — nationally and internationally — for
award-winning directors, and edited for major brands, popular
content creators and national organizations. Their films are deeply
rooted in social justice and impactful stories, exploring themes
such as identity, belonging, sexuality, the "in-between",
memory, and community. Her notable works include DOUBLE DIASPORA
(2018), A RECKONING IN BOSTON (Big Sky 2021), THE UNFIXING (JI.HLAVA
2024) and BIRDLAND (Flatwater 2025).
I am super proud of the team we've been able to assemble and
proud to call "canvases" my first full length film. Please
consider contributing.
Project Purpose:
I touched on this a little bit above, but the relevance for a
project like this goes beyond genre and aesthetic considerations.
I do believe strongly that stories like this don't get told
enough and that Drama and Comedy often go under the radar in the
indie film scene in leu of more fantastical and thrilling stories,
but beyond the stories and in the real world we see a crumbling
film infrastructure and making a movie about the messiness of
being human is my way of fighting back, of saying that stories
about normal people matter too, and that artists with a voice and
talent exist everywhere. Not just in Hollywood, but in Nebraska,
Texas, New Jersey, etc. and many of us aren't signed to agents or
famous social media personalities dipping our toes into the
greatest art form on earth.
Gone are the days where unknown filmmakers can scrape together
a few grand and try and make something that matters to them and
then catapult them into stardom- People like Soderbergh,
Linklater, Rodriguez, Jarmusch, Baumbach, and the Safdies, who
both completed major award contender projects this year, who
started as broke New Yorkers with cheap cameras and a few buddies.
People who began their careers telling grounded stories about
people and the things that interest. People who started small and
found a way to get bigger and bigger, until their access matched
their vision.
I've directed dozens of short films and web series of varied
quality, but I learned something each time. I feel now that I've
reached a new threshold as a creator with almost a decade of
experience, and that this is my time to jump to features. This
project is only one of many, and it has to start somewhere.
I don't imagine this picture will take Sundance by storm or
earn me riches, but if I can make this, then whats to stop anyone
else I know from trying to complete a feature picture against the
odds? Low budget doesn't mean low quality and having something
that YOU made that you love is already a worthy reward for the
work. In an age of streaming and metrics and closed doors
everywhere you look, I want to make my way though the crack I have
and put a door stop there for those beside me.
If even one person goes and sees a feature film made by a group
of unknown talents with a total budget under 10k and thinks
"I can do this", then we'll have achieved that.
I appreciate you taking the time to read all of this and I
sincerely hope you'll consider donating what you can and sharing
this on our behalf.
Cinema is the single most important art from and I believe that.
ALL REWARDS CONTAIN THE PERK(S) FROM THE REWARDS BELOW.
Perks
Executive Producer Credit
$2,500
USD
Be credited as an executive producer.
Incudes perks from previous tiers, minus AP and Producer credits.
Highlights
See all activity11Activity
Executive Producer Credit
$2,500
USD
Be credited as an executive producer.
Incudes perks from previous tiers, minus AP and Producer credits.
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