Set in New York City, the film follows a fashion school graduate named Lily who finds her world turned upside down when her charismatic best friend Kat announces she's moving away to London in a matter of days. At a LES art show the next night, they meet the enigmatic artist Henri, who Lily quickly takes a liking for. With less than seven days left, and a new attractor between them, Lily and Kat will find their "unbreakable" friendship put to the test.
Lily & Kat is a film where New York culture is brought to life - the sophisticated fashions, the buzzing nightlife, and the ever-changing art and music scene. We wanted to create a world that was exciting, fresh, and youthful, inspired by films like Pretty in Pink, the romantic comedies of the French New Wave, and the easygoing nature of early Wong Kar-Wai.
We shot the film over four weeks last October throughout Williamsburg, Soho, and the Lower East Side.
L&K features a wonderful cast of young actors, including Hannah Murray (Skins, Game of Thrones, Stuart Murdoch's upcoming God Help the Girl), Jessica Rothe (Blue Bloods, the upcoming indie Bastards of Young), Chris Riggi (Martin Scorcese's Wolf of Wall Street, Adult World, and Gossip Girl), Mimi Gianopulos (Dylan Kidd's Get a Job), Scott Evans (One Life to Live), David Wilson Barnes (Elementary, Louie, The Good Wife), and Jack Falahee (The Carrie Diaries). (Credit goes to Matthew Maisto, CSA for putting together this awesome cast!)
The Lily & Kat team features talents from the fashion and music video world. Producer Garen Barsegian has made videos for artists like Usher, Nas, Kid Cudi, and Swedish House Mafia and Co-Producer Brooke McDaniel has worked with the likes of Enrique Iglesias, Beyoncé, and Taylor Swift. Recently credited for the concert segments of Beyoncé: Life Is But A Dream, our DP Todd Antonio Somodevilla lends his eye for the lively aesthetic of the film. Hannah LaCava (stylist for Nylon, Vice, GQ) brings the downtown fashions to the screen as our Costume Designer. Production Design is by Stewart Gerard (Tucker and W). Our score is composed by rising electronic artist Glowbug who has been featured on MTV shows like Washington Heights. This is the directorial debut of writer/director Micael Preysler.
Ever hear of Hurricane Sandy?
As many of you know, the superstorm had devastating effects on the tri-state area, including New York City. It halted public transportation, caused a gas crisis, and left much of Manhattan without power.
Now imagine you're an indie feature, fighting and clawing through twelve-hour shooting days, precarious logistics, and a super-tight budget. Then suddenly a superstorm hits and cripples your transportation, destroys a number of crucial locations, and basically brings the shoot to a screeching halt. With this Kickstarter campaign, we hope to undo the damage of Sandy to our film ($25,000 worth) and get this movie finished. Your backing will let us beat Sandy!
Your pledge will go towards post-production costs like editing, color-correction, sound-mixing, VFX, ADR, film festival fees, and remaining crew and vendor payments incurred during Sandy. Simply put, you'll help us finish the film. And it goes without saying, the more we raise above the goal, the more incredible of a film we can make!
For your generous backing, we're offering a wide range of rewards from a live online screening of the film, cool props from the film (including paintings by our set decorator Brett Bell) and an exclusive poster by NY-based artist Serban Ionescu.
Serban has also generously donated two works from his DEMETER exhibition. The show served as the art gallery scene in film and the two works are heavily featured in the film.
Serban has exhibited at Bridge Gallery in the L.E.S., for solo shows ‘Demeter, 2012’, ‘Secret History, 2011’ and collective show ‘The Objectionists: Object City 2010’. He founded ‘The Objectionists’ a communal design collective. His work has been published in the New York Times, Dwell Magazine, Time Out New York, Troy Record, Working Class Magazine and many others.
More on the artist can be found here.
So if you like what you see, pledge what you can, spread the word, and remember everything counts! We are beyond grateful for your backing and happy to have you as part of the community behind the film!
For some of us, this has been two years in the making -- a dream that we've fought to turn into a reality. And we cannot wait to share it with you.
Sincerely,
Team Lily & Kat
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Check out our official website and IMDB!
Feel free to email us at garen@garenpictures.com.
Risks and challenges
Thankfully, the hard part is over. The film is shot and in the final stages of editing. And don't worry, we shot on digital so there's no chance of prints getting lost forever in a terrible fire.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterQuestions about this project? Check out the FAQ
Support
Funding period
- (30 days)