Hi Kickstarter, I am Samina Chaudhry Hitch, the writer/director of Anarkali Blossoms.

Anarkali Blossoms is a short film that is the seed of a feature-length story about a mother who kidnaps her own child.  A fusion of politics and narrative, this short film explores the emotional dynamics of a modern family entangled in the throes of the family court system.  It will be shot this spring on the Northern California coast, featuring actors Sonal Shah, Jayce Alexander Basques, and Katie Toledo.  

Though the story is fictional, its sentiments are based on my own personal experience.  I spent most of my twenties enmeshed in a high-conflict custody battle in California.  After devoting years of research in law school to deconstructing the family court system, I realized that no amount of theorizing could accurately convey the emotional turmoil that I knew firsthand.  I decided to make a narrative film to start a larger conversation about the deeply resonant effect of laws that define who is family and who is not.

We have our script, cast, crew, and location.  All we need is funds to give this production momentum before our shoot in April.

Your donations will support:

• Pre-production costs (production insurance, props, set dressings, equipment rental)
• Shooting costs (transportation, meals and housing for our volunteer cast and crew); and 
• Post-production costs (including festival submission fees and distribution).

If we do not reach our Kickstarter goal, we will not receive any funding.  We will still shoot the film, though it will have lower production value and may not reach its full potential and reach as wide of an audience once it is complete.

Any money we raise above our minimum will go to additional post-production costs, promotional costs, and distribution.

No matter how little or how much you donate, we want you to feel like you are a part of this film, because you helped to make it happen.  Please take a look at the right sidebar to see the incentives and rewards we have to offer you along with your contributions!  Please visit our website for news and updates, and find us on Facebook and Twitter!  We welcome you to listen to a sample of the soundtrack here.

ANARKALI BLOSSOMS CAST AND CREW

Featuring...

Sonal Shah 

Jayce Alexander Basques 

Katie Toledo 

***

Written by: 

Samina Chaudhry Hitch

Director:

Samina Chaudhry Hitch 

Producer:

Samina Chaudhry Hitch 

Alexander Winter

Assistant Producer:  

Lina Vezzani-Katano

Director of Photography/Camera #1/Art Director:  

Kimberly Bainum

Assistant Director/Camera #2/Storyboard Artist/Editor:  

Fred Kolouch

Production Sound Mixer:  

Colin Wright

Film Score:  

Samina Chaudhry Hitch