About this project
WILLOWBROOK is a short film based on the true events surrounding the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. The film addresses the awful conditions in which people with developmental disabilities were warehoused and the controversial research experiments that took place under Dr. Saul Krugman in the 1960s.
We shot the movie earlier in the summer and it's looking great - thanks in no small part to a fantastic crew and our amazing talented cast including our two lead actors: PATRICK HEUSINGER (Black Swan, Royal Pains, the Broadway play Next Fall and currently filming the new Noah Baumbauch film) and LARRY CEDAR (HBO's Deadwood, The Crazies and Hollywoodland).
Our goal is to raise $5,000 dollars in the next two months to finish post-production on the film. There are a lot of remaining costs, such as:
- visual effects
- color correction
- composing and recording music
- sound mixing
- getting DVDs made so we can screen WILLOWBROOK at film
festivals and organizations all over the world.
I invite you to take part in a film that cannot be made without your financial support, no matter how large or small. With your donation, we will be able to tell this humbling story based on the shockingly true events that so many choose to forget.
If you are generous enough to support us with a donation, we will list your name and/or logo in our credits and publicity materials (to be viewed by hundreds of students, film professionals, and moviegoers at film festivals all over the country). And of course send you a copy of the final film as well as other things too! (see the "PLEDGE" section just to the right)
For a visual tour through our Story, Vision, Cast and Crew, Advisors, Industry Mentors and Research please visit:
Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions, I would love to talk to you about it more.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration.
*PLEASE NOTE: The language "mentally retarded" used in the above clip was a typical term used to describe People with Intellectual Disabilities in 1964. The director and producers of this film do not support the term "mentally retarded" or "retarded" to describe any person, especially those people with Intellectual Disabilities.
FAQ
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68
Backers
$5,266
pledged of $5,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on November 5, 2011.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Thank you! Your name/organization will be listed under "SPECIAL THANKS" in the credits (to be viewed by hundreds of students, film professionals, and moviegoers at film festivals all over the country). You will also receive a professionally mastered DVD of the film.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Thank you! Your name/organization will be listed under "MADE POSSIBLE BY" in the credits (to be viewed by hundreds of students, film professionals, and moviegoers at film festivals all over the country). You will also receive a professionally mastered DVD of the film.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
Thank you! Your name/organization will be listed under "MADE POSSIBLE BY" in the credits (to be viewed by hundreds of students, film professionals, and moviegoers at film festivals all over the country). You will also receive a professionally mastered DVD of the film and a limited edition poster signed by the cast and crew.
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
Thank you! Your name/organization will be listed under "BENEFACTORS" in the credits and on IMDB.com (to be viewed by hundreds of students, film professionals, and moviegoers at film festivals all over the country). You will also receive a professionally mastered DVD of the film and a limited edition poster signed by the cast and crew.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
Thank you! Your name/organization will be listed under "EXECUTIVE PRODUCER " in the credits, on IMDB.com and on all posters and publicity for the film (to be viewed by hundreds of students, film professionals, and moviegoers at film festivals all over the country). You will also receive a professionally mastered DVD of the film and a limited edition poster signed by the cast and crew.
Project By
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Born and raised in Liverpool, England, Ross moved to Los Angeles in 2007 to begin his MFA in Film Production at the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts. During his time at USC, Ross was awarded the Bill Mechanic Scholarship in 2008, the Tania Trepanier Scholarship in 2009 and in 2010 was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Production Grant to make Willowbrook.
His 16mm short film Last Day has screened at numerous film festivals around the world, including the Foyle Film Festival in Ireland, the Las Vegas Film Festival and the International Student Media Festival, where it won Best Short.
Ross produced a commercial for Cisco Systems featuring best selling author Tim Ferriss that gained the most online views in the 2009 Cisco Digital Cribs Contest and went on to win the Audience Choice Award. He has also directed numerous music videos including A Little Brighter for British singer/songwriter Pete Lawrie (Island Records).
In his spare time Ross enjoys playing his guitar, hiking the hills of Los Angeles and is currently writing a screenplay set in Liverpool in 1961 about original Beatles drummer Pete Best.
