a few weeks away from filming?! and an ASK.
WHAT THE HELL.
We're a FEW WEEKS away from shooting my feature film, Vidhya’s Guide to the Afterlife. And I feel awesome.
Now, if you backed the Kickstarter first of all, you’re extremely hot, but also, you know that we made an ask for additional support to the film. And I wanted to send this ask out via my lovely newsletter in the event that you aren’t a backer but want to become one. Because by supporting Vidhya's Guide, you're not just backing a film – you're part of a new era of Hollywood where people, not just studios, decide which stories get told. AND THAT RULES.
So, here are the details of the above ask.
Where We Are Now: Thanks to our backers’ support, we raised $250,000 (!) for this film!! What the hell. We are in the throes of pre-pro with our finalized script. And our art department is rushing to buy these plates specifically.
Why We're Reaching Out: Filmmaking is deeply collaborative. Every department, from the Art team crafting the sets, to the DP and all her necessary team members, to wardrobe department that will inevitably have to help me with saris... These people work tirelessly behind the scenes and are already working for a SUPER low budget, believe us.
However, several of our vital departments are running with a lean team even for such a low budget, and we need to expand our crew to ensure that we deliver the high-quality film you deserve. Based on what we learned from the table read and our refined creative vision, we're aiming to raise an additional $35,000 to $50,000.
BEFORE YOU FREAK OUT!!!!!!! WE WANT TO BE TOTALLY TRANSPARENT ABOUT WHAT WHAT THIS ADDITIONAL SUPPORT WILL DO! So here's the detailed breakdown of the additional $50,000 ask:
CREW ($20,044)
Camera Crew: +$3,646
Assistant Directors & Production Assistants: +$4,800
Additional crew expansion across departments: +$11,598
PRODUCTION DESIGN ($16,469)
Art Department Crew: +$7,769
Art Equipment Rental & Purchase: +$6,500
Design & Dressing: +$2,200
^ One significant challenge we've encountered: we weren't able to find an existing South Asian-specific home for our hero location. This means our art department needs to transform a location to authentically represent the world of our story – adding over $10K to our art department budget to ensure the cultural specificity and visual richness this film deserves.
SET OPERATIONS ($8,184)
House Location Fee: +$2,000 (our hero location could not meet our original number so we had to increase this budget)
Indian Store Location: We've already spent our location budget on the house, and the Indian store location is proving more challenging than anticipated. Most stores are open seven days a week, and we can't afford to pay them to shut down. We're limited to stores closed on Mondays, and if we find the perfect location, we need to be prepared for fees higher than our initial $1K budget.
Craft Services & Catering: +$3,575
Additional set operations: +$2,609
TALENT & CONTINGENCY ($5,303)
Insurance increase (jumped to $11K due to added prep days)
Contingency buffer for unexpected costs that inevitably arise in production
We also want to share that, in LA, many talented and experienced crew members are currently facing a MAJOR slowdown in work opportunities (which is why you see noticed the same 5 people in every movie, or only get 8 episodes to a season of TV and maybe only maximum 2 seasons), and by once again contributing to our campaign, you'll not only be helping Vidhya's Guide but also providing valuable work to skilled professionals in our community when they need it most.
How You Can Get Involved: We understand that asking for more is a significant ask, maybe even deranged, but this pledge will directly impact the quality and impact of Vidhya's Guide. So we're offering a "Special Thanks" sponsorship package for $5,000, which includes:
A personally specific mention in our "Special Thanks" section
Set visit opportunity
Additional perks that we will work out WITH you!
We're also exploring Producer credits for $10,000 contributions and have opportunities for product placement partnerships. For those interested in smaller contributions, we'll also be releasing additional project merchandise (like "White Squirrels" shirts) at various price points.
The TL;DR: Would you have an interest in stepping up again to help us reach this final goal? We're looking for about seven people to contribute $5,000 each – something we believe is imminently doable with our amazing community of backers. Any amount you can contribute, no matter the size, will be deeply appreciated and put to excellent use.
If you or anyone you know is interested in learning more or discussing contribution opportunities further, please contact our producer, Anand Shah, at anand@effinfunnyproductions.com. He's happy to answer any questions about the project, set up a meeting, or discuss specifics about how you can be involved. And of course, there’s more info on the movie itself and the campaign at rekhamovie.com.
Thank you SO, SO MUCH for believing in our film. I LOVE YOU ALL.
Rekha
P.S. You’re all literally beautiful and you have any questions about the project or budget, please don't hesitate to reach out to anand@effinfunnyproductions.com. We're here to answer anything you'd like to know, even if it takes us a moment!