Kickstarter

SYNOPSIS

STAY THEN GO is about a woman, Marion Baird, event planner extraordinaire. She cares about brides, grooms, 50th wedding anniversaries, ice sculptures, bar and bat mitzvahs, and unrefrigerated truffles. Her husband, Dick Baird, a studio photographer, has a distinct knack for documenting an exalted version of normal. Teeth never looked so white, ruffles so starched; shiny shoes, shiny hair, shiny pets. They have a little child, Eddie, which oddly rocks and strains their careful world. They discover that he has autism. For Marion, this changes her career, her marriage, her life - inexorably. As Eddie gets older, a glimmer of a lovely identity emerges for him, that of a young artist. But just as he, (and Marion) begins to envision an independent adult life, an unlikely event occurs, altering their course forever.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

When I first learned that my 3-year old son was diagnosed with autism, the first questions I asked my therapist were 'Will he have an apartment? Will he find a girlfriend? Will he find love?' At the time, I didn't know that those exact concerns would not only fuel the choices we made as a family on my son's behalf, but that they would serve to inspire my script for the film Stay Then Go. Stay Then Go is the story of the sacrifices one mother must make in order for her autistic son to live a productive and dignified life. While the film draws upon many of my personal experiences as a mother of a child with autism, my goal was to employ my skills as an artist to address the concerns not only of families of children with disabilities, but of all parents and loved ones alike. 

Little did I know that the journey would require the generosity and support of so many creative collaborators, funders, friends, family and virtual strangers. Yet, I continue to need support in order to complete the film. The journey is not over and we need your help. 

INSPIRED TO COMMUNICATE AN EXPERIENCE FACED BY MILLIONS. VIA ART.  

With 1 in 88 children now diagnosed with autism and 1 in 6 children with a developmental disability, there are millions of mothers and fathers confronting the realities of their children with autism growing to adulthood in a world where  there is an often unintentional yet prevalent misunderstanding of their potential and place in the world. Given with the complexities of autism this misunderstanding which exists among the general public, further interferes with the goals that most parents and their autistic children/young adults have: To have an apartment, and friends. To find love and meaningful work. An unenlightened public makes this goal more difficult to attain. Where there's more understanding, there's more inclusion, more acceptance, more opportunity - to make a life of quality and dignity. 

BRINGING THE LIGHT

STAY THEN GO will bring some light to these issues by way of a story- of a mother and her son. And not with statistics, expert talking heads, or case studies. Through, the power of art, and story-telling, we'd like to connect, to entertain, to puncture consciousness, and to move humanity along, just a little. 

See the video below from a parent who has a son with autism and why she thinks Stay Then Go is such an important story to tell at this time. 

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

STAY THEN GO is a feature film project shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota August 27 - September 14, 2012, with Christine Walker and Geoffrey Sass producing and Stephanie Dillon as Executive Producer. 

About Producer Christine K. Walker

Christine Walker is an award-winning producer of artist-driven independent film. Her film credits include: THE TURIN HORSE by Hungarian auteur Bela Tarr which was recently awarded the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize and the Fipresci International Press Prize at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival; the Sony Pictures Classics film DARLING COMPANION, directed by Lawrence Kasdan starring Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline; the Sundance Film Festival premiere film THIN ICE directed by Jill Sprecher with Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin and Billy Crudup; Sundance opening night premier film HOWL directed by academy award winning directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman starring James Franco as the beat poet Alan Ginsberg along with Jon Hamm, and David Straithairn; the Todd Solondz directed LIFE DURING WARTIME which won Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival in 2010 and is nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Walker also co-wrote and produced OLDER THAN AMERICA starring Adam Beach and Bradley Cooper; FACTOTUM starring Matt Dillon, Lily Taylor and Marisa Tomei, and line-produced the Academy Award nominated AMERICAN SPLENDOR. The film garnered more than thirty two international awards. Christine’s awards and recognitions include the National Board of Review Freedom of Expression Award for HOWL, Producer’s Guild of America Diversity Award, Independent Spirit Award nomination for best new producer, and the Sundance Institute’s Mark Silverman Producing Fellowship Award and the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Utah.

About Producer Geoff Sass

Geoff Sass has a background as an independent film producer and marketing professional. As the former Chief Marketing Officer of the mini-studio Werc Werk Works, he recently guided LIFE DURING WARTIME and HOWL to theatrical distribution with IFC and Oscilloscope. Geoff also managed festival and marketing campaigns for the films at Sundance, Venice, Berlin, New York International Film Festival, Toronto among others.

Geoff also brings significant brand perspective to his work in film having developed innovative marketing programs for top brands including Chamilia, Target, Nike, Capital One, Lee Jeans, and Thomson Reuters. As a producer he has teamed up with filmmaker Shelli Ainsworth to create a series of highly regarded short films that have appeared nationwide on PBS, as well is in museums and festivals around the world. He is a winner of numerous EFFIE and AdFed awards for effectiveness of advertising and creative excellence.

About Executive Producer Stephanie Dillon

Stephanie Dillon’s business acumen was developed after years of managing private trusts for large energy consortiums. On a personal level, she has devoted her life to working as a tireless advocate for women’s issues, and to serving in counseling roles at several organizations focused on women in crisis, in both Minnesota and Texas. Utilizing her vast national network of contacts and resources, Stephanie has now parlayed her skills into a lifelong passion for broadcast media and entertainment, with a focus on facilitating projects from conception and financing through distribution.  Her current work includes the development of two feature films, a television pilot, various commercials and branded entertainment.

JOIN US 

Significant funds have been raised to make STAY THEN GO but, of course, we need your participation. And we have found kickstarter to be the perfect place to allow everyone to contribute something. Any size donation will help us toward our kickstarter goal which in turn will help us toward completing the film.