Kickstarter

To see the trailer, click here!

Cement Suitcase is what we're calling an "anti-romantic comedy." It's the first feature-length film from writer/director Rick Castañeda and it's set in his quirky hometown, deep in Washington state's beautiful wine country. The film is about a guy named Franklin who's pretty bored with his life: his dead-end wine-tasting job, his small-town lifestyle, and his cheating girlfriend. The question is: can Franklin get himself to do anything about it?

THE PRODUCTION

We shot Cement Suitcase last summer, with the help of a small army of awesome volunteers who stepped up in ways we never could have imagined. People took leaves from their jobs to work on our set 12+ hours a day, 6 days a week. They loaned us their cars, their houses, and their businesses' good names. Thanks to their help and more, we were able to get some amazing footage on an incredibly tight schedule.

HALFWAY THERE...

So that's half the battle. Since August, we've been hard at work editing it and getting it ready to be seen.  Getting an independent film out to the world is no small feat, though, and that's where we need YOU to come in and join the Cement Suitcase army of volunteers and supporters.

WHAT DO WE NEED THE MONEY FOR?

So glad you asked! We need money for everything from finishing the editing, to animation, visual effects, music, and sound design. That will get us a finished film, and we feel pretty sure it will be great.  THEN comes the hard part: sending the film out to festivals and promoting it every way we can think of. We are going to do everything we can do to make sure that the film gets a great distributor, so that people (like you!) actually get to see it, someday soon! 

For example, to submit a film to a festival, we'll need to pay an entry fee. Also, printing posters costs money. A bunch of money. Our sound designer is giving us a huge discount, but even he has to pay rent. Even putting the film onto a digital HDCam tape so that it can actually play at festivals will cost $725.

THE REALITY

Small independent films like ours struggle to get made, let alone be known. Even really great ones can sit undiscovered for months, years, or even forever. Forever is a long time, friends. We're determined not to let that happen to this movie. Will you help?

To see more, go to www.cementsuitcase.com

---------------- Frequently Asked Questions -------------------

How can I donate? Just click on the "Back This Project" button in the upper right-hand corner. That'll take you to a place where you can pay by PayPal, or credit card via Amazon.com. Email us if you have any problems or questions - we can walk you through it.

I have a question about the rewards. We would love to answer your question. Please contact us and we'll try to answer it right away.

How can I contact you? Email the director at rick@leadballoonpictures.com, or call us at 310-862-4262. Or, even simpler, click on the "Ask a question" at the bottom of this page. We'd love to hear from you!

When will the movie be finished? We're planning on finishing the film this summer, submitting it to film festivals in the fall, and premiering it in 2013.

What happens if the money isn't raised in time? Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands, and your credit card or debit card will not be charged. So help us get there so that doesn't happen!