"This campaign uses a series model. Click Sub-Campaign 01 to go to the active Phase 1 page to contribute."
( https://fnd.us/42mWS7?ref=sh_9EwQZa)

At Outlaw Poet Digital Films, we don't make movies about heroes who blow up the system. We make movies about the people who keep it running -- until they can't.

The Price of Staying follows Adrian Vale, a corporate analyst who believes his Ascendent status is a reward for his efficiency. After a company mixer where the champagne is laced to facilitate a "compliance screen," Adrian learns his BioValue has dropped. His maintenance costs now exceed his output. He is stripped of citizenship and sent to Swift Serve, a fast-food facility where the Six-Minute Rule governs life and death: if a worker collapses, they have six minutes to recover before they are declared inventory and liquidated for parts.

There, Adrian meets Marisol. She is working to pay off the debt of her deceased parents and her brother, Rocket. When Rocket seizes on the floor and the timer hits zero, Adrian witnesses the clinical horror of the system firsthand. After a betrayal by his former manager, Dana, and the death of Marisol during a "voluntary" organ donation procedure, Adrian is left with a massive blood credit. Realizing the system monetizes everything -- even grief -- he gives his credits away and walks into a Continuance Processing facility to volunteer for final liquidation. He chooses the only act the system cannot optimize: an exit on his own terms.

This film is built on the belief that the most terrifying horror is not the monster in the dark. It is the clipboard in the fluorescent light.

The Two-Phase Structure:

The option agreement for Ellie Burdg's novel is already executed. We are raising funds in two sequential phases. Each phase has its own goal, its own deadline, and its own deliverables. Phase 2 only unlocks if Phase 1 succeeds. The master campaign below shows our cumulative progress.

The Four-Bucket Model:

1. The People Bucket: Cast, crew, writers, composers -- the human labor that makes the film.

2. The Place and Gear Bucket: Locations, equipment rentals, set build, transportation, meals.

3. The Post Bucket: Editing, color correction, sound design, original score, VFX, finishing.

4. The Paper and Contingency Bucket: Legal, insurance, festival fees, marketing, and the mandatory 10 percent emergency reserve.

What You Get:

Beyond the film, you enter the world. The BioValue Report Generator tells you if you qualify for Ascendent status or Frontline liquidation. The Swift Serve visor makes you part of the crew. The Pathway A Experience puts your name in the opening titles.

This is not a donation. It is your contribution to a film that refuses to look away.