**Every donation will receive a thank you in the credits, and on the Facebook page!**

THE FILM

"East Tremont Blues" is a dark comedy observing a family celebrating Thanksgiving.  In family, there should be respect, honesty, and happiness.  This family has none of those qualities.

They proudly proclaim their values in the most vulgar ways, and yet they hide their anger over the past.  They keep secrets, and yet they single out those who keep secrets as traitors.  And when they're honest, they're too honest.  They unconsciously seek truth and resolution to past events, but when they get just a bit of it, they recede into denial.

The story is told through the point of view of a little boy as he plays hide and seek, witnessing all the events happening around him.  He is an unbiased and mostly silent main character.  Through him we are able to witness all sides of the argument and understand everyone's actions and motives...something that could never happen in real life.

WHERE THE STORY COMES FROM

Families argue over the most petty things, and what can we really do about it?  We're all stubborn in one way or another, and most of the time we don't even listen to the each other or realize what we are saying, when in actuality, that's all we really need -- to listen.  To ourselves, and to others.  Anyone outside of the heated debate will know this and know that they are helpless to change it.

This feeling of being helpless to change anything is universal.  Everyone has felt this way in some context.  The intention was to take these personal experiences and turn them into a story with universal appeal, or more so, a story that contains both sympathy and empathy for all its characters.  It's dramatic, yet funny.

WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING

The money raised will be going into many different aspects of production.  You will be helping us secure our equipment, the location, craft services, and transportation, among many other things.

While filmmaking is more accessible now more than ever before, money will always be a hurdle.  In order to ensure that we can continue with this production, we need to at least meet the proposed budget.

ABOUT US

221 Productions is the result of four passionate filmmakers looking to get their feet in the water.  Created in January 2012, 221 Productions has a slate for the next year that includes two short films, a feature film, and a web series.

Gary Morra (Writer / Director):

Gary is SVA thesis student and screenwriter.  He's been writing and directing for the past four years, with three features and many more short films completed.  Since September he has co-directed two short films, including "Ready To Order?" (link to view below) and "Missed Connections."

He is developing a feature length screenplay to go along with this completed short film.

Mike Pasquariello (Producer / Editor):

Mike is a NYIT thesis student, and freelance editor and producer.  As well as editing his two previous short films, "Ready To Order?" and "Missed Connections" he has put together reels for actors, and freelances for Sweet TV.

Besides "East Tremont Blues", he is directing a short film he wrote, which is expected to shoot in the Summer of 2013.

Crew:

Ryan Nocella (Director of Photography):

Ryan is a SVA thesis student and director of photography.  Together with a group of talented artists, Ryan started the Gold St. Collective, a NY based production company.  With numerous projects already under their belt, they continue to push forward and raise the bar with their work.

You can view his reel here.

The three of us have collaborated on another project in September of 2011, titled "Ready To Order?" which can be viewed here.

WHY SHOULD YOU HELP US?

In order to fully realize our vision onto the screen, we need YOUR help!  Not only will you be funding our project, but you're funding our futures.  We are putting everything we have into this, and pulling all the strings we can to make this the best possible film it can be.  Just like we do with every project, we are pouring out hearts into this, and are calling on you to do the same.  

Help us create something we are proud of, help us create something to further ourselves and everyone involved in the project.  Help us create our future.