About this project

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The story:
Sherwin and Fiona are at a crossroads. As an interracial couple living in the south, they seem to have created an idyllic bubble for their love. But after a recent visit to her ailing and prickly mother, Fiona is changed. Suddenly, their relationship is contentious and with no explanation, she announces she does not want to have kids. And then, she is gone. After tragically losing Fiona to a car accident, Sherwin is overwhelmed with grief and guilt. When a call comes from his estranged mother-in-law, Lucinda, inviting him to visit her in Maine, he is shocked, but desperate for answers and hope. Sherwin accepts Lucinda's invitation to the place where Fiona grew up, and embarks on a path toward healing.

FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE will participate in IFP's No Borders International Co-production Market in September, is currently a finalist for a Cinereach grant, was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship and was selected as one of ten international projects to develop at the Cine Qua Non Writers Lab in Mexico.

A proof of artist Joan Wadleigh Curran's print (an etching), being offered at the $250, $1,000, $2,500 and $5,000 levels:

The Director's note:
We are here on Kickstarter raising funds for my first feature film, FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE. We have put together an incredible team of passionate and talented filmmakers who want to bring this film to you. FIVE NIGHTS is a film about compassion and community. We are here on Kickstarter to not only fundraise, but to bring you into this film – to make it together.

The film began with grief, with a sense of loss. But on a deeper level, the film is about the complicated relationships we all have with the people we love – about the process of leaving home and returning. A process that begs the question, what (and who) do you bring home with you? In many ways, Sherwin, the protagonist of Five Nights, was never integrated into his wife’s family, and with her death, he has to face where she was from.

I am drawn to characters that take me on journeys – stories that expand your worldview while remaining in the realm of the everyday. For me as a filmmaker, I aim to make films with characters that are deeply thoughtful, creative, engaging and complex. I want to make films that are compassionate, challenging and brave. I aim to make the films I want to see.

Please join us in making this film.

I am sincerely grateful for your support!

We have an accomplished team of filmmakers working on FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE, including:

Bradford Young, Director of Photography
Bradford’s feature credits include Dee Rees’ PARIAH for which he won the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and Andrew Dosunmu’s RESTLESS CITY which also premiered at Sundance this year. Additionally, Bradford has shot MISSISSIPPI DAMNED, directed by Tina Mabry, which aired on Showtime and ENTRE NOS, directed by Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte, which received an honorable mention at the Tribeca Film Festival and was distributed by IFC. Bradford was featured as one of the 2009 Filmmaker Magazineʼs 25 New Faces of Independent Film and Variety’s Up Next: Masters of their Craft (2010).

Nekisa Cooper, Producer
Nekisa Cooper is an accomplished independent producer, who most recently produced the Sundance hit, PARIAH which will be released by Focus Features this winter. Nekisa was one of two producers to represent IFP at the 2009 Cinemart/Rotterdam Producing Lab, was a 2009 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow and was selected as one of five producers for the inaugural Sundance Institute Creative Producing Lab. In 2006, with award-winning writer/director, Dee Rees, she co-founded Northstar Pictures Inc., a company dedicated to telling stories that inspire and motivate audiences to interpret the world around them in a thoughtful and meaningful way.

Summer Shelton, Producer
Summer Shelton is an independent producer who has worked alongside critically acclaimed director Ramin Bahrani. She worked as an associate producer and casting coordinator on GOODBYE SOLO (FIPRESCI Prize, Venice 2008) and co-produced Bahrani’s short PLASTIC BAG (Venice, Telluride and New York Film Festivals 2009). In addition to producing FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE, Shelton is currently part of the producing team for Bahrani’s forthcoming feature.

Lois Drabkin, Casting Director
Lois Drabkin is a casting director in New York City. Recent films she has cast include Magnolia Pictures' NIGHT CATCHES US (Sundance 2010), starring Anthony Mackie and Kerry Washington, RESTLESS CITY (Sundance 2011) and THE DISCOVERERS, currently in post-production. Previously, she cast and produced Noah Buschel's THE MISSING PERSON, starring Oscar nominees Michael Shannon and Amy Ryan (Sundance 2009). Lois has also worked extensively as an associate, with credits including: WAR OF THE WORLDS, SALT, AMELIA, PUBLIC ENEMIES and the acclaimed HBO series THE WIRE.

Gingger Shankar, Composer
Gingger Shankar is an extraordinarily gifted singer, virtuoso violinist, composer and Songwriter. Gingger’s film credits include working co-composing the poignant score of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster PASSION OF THE CHRIST, composed music for CURCUMSTANCE, the 2011 Sundance U.S. Dramatic Audience Award Winner directed by Maryam Keshavarz. Gingger also created music for Mike Nichol's film, CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR and Jackie Chan's film, THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM. Gingger is the only female in the world who has mastered the 10-string Double Violin and was recently featured in the 2011 Filmmaker Magazineʼs 25 New Faces of Independent Film.

Chad Keith, Production Designer
Chad Keith is a native of North Carolina and has worked as a production designer on over ten independent features, including four films in competition this year at Sundance: TAKE SHELTER, MARTHA MARY MAY MARLENE (both went onto Cannes) and ON THE ICE in dramatic competition and RESTLESS CITY in the NEXT category. He enjoys working on projects that examine how culture impacts the story being told.

Contact:
www.fivenightsinmaine.com

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