RACE TO THE FINISH LINE!

ONLY THE YOUNG, our feature documentary debut, has been accepted to premiere at the prestigious documentary film festival HOT DOCS in Toronto in early May. We are incredibly excited, as well as nervous because the movie isn't finished and time is short!

We have extremely talented professionals working tirelessly to finish the sound mix, color correct, and transfer of the film, as well as create art work for it. They believe in OTY so much they’re all working on deferred pay. And that's where we need your help: this campaign is our way to fulfill that promise to our collaborator friends.

For us the specific music in our film is very important, and unfortunately not cheap. We fell in love with some pretty old obscure soul tracks that make up the soundtrack to our film. There isn't any other music that would be as fitting for a coming of age film. The music addresses heartbreak and a struggle with relationships. So with your help we can fully own our own film by the time we premiere in Toronto.

The production of OTY has been a testament to the indie approach to movie-making. Without any funding, we made countless trips up to Canyon Country out of love for our subjects: Skye, Garrison and Kevin, who are three of the wisest, most soulful and hilarious high schoolers you will ever meet. We tried our best to capture their real and personal moments, but with a composed visual aesthetic more commonly seen in narrative films.

Please help us across the finish line. And please join our community as we screen at other festivals around the country and, with a great amount of luck, hopefully a cineplex near you!

Love,

Liz and Jason

CRITICAL RESPONSE

• "An unqualified hit. Of the past decade's many fine films on skateboarders and international skateboarding culture, Only the Young stands out as the most human and affecting." Variety
• "One of the freshest and most assured debuts in recent memory." Cinema Scope
• "Stunning." Huffington Post
• "A major feature debut. Beautifully shot and affectionate without turning cute or coddling, it's the best possible kind of crowdpleaser." Filmmaker Magazine
• "Truly cinematic. Only the Young captures small moments that seem too good to be true yet too genuine to be staged or scripted, with an exceptional lyricism not found in most fiction features." RogerEbert.com
• "Sublime." Reverse Shot
• "After only one viewing, I’m ready to file Only The Young in the all-time coming-of-age canon." Hammer to Nail
• "An extraordinary discovery to add to the year's 'best of' list." Ripping Reality

And David Wilson the founder of TRUE/FALSE wrote the summary:

“Garrison and Kevin are best friends. They skate every day and explore the underpasses and abandoned homes of their Southern California desert idyll. But everything changes when Garrison discovers the opposite sex. Only the Young powerfully summons up an evanescent moment: that potent stew of teenage urgency, boredom, and young love that adults misconstrue as aimless wandering. It will lure you in with sugar-sweet shots of abandoned mini-golf courses and an infectiously expectation-defying score, but it sets its hooks by working both with and against the performative veneer of teen life that is universal. Even the film’s wide-eyed Christian youth, unsure quite how to rebel, still know they need to. This is the kind of film you’ll want to hold close to your chest for days, revisiting its tender love for its subjects. Only the Young isn’t jealous of youth, it is youth.”

BUDGET BREAKDOWN - where your money will go

Movies are expensive! And out of the kindness of their hearts, amazing professionals are giving us great deals because they love our film. Your contributions will go towards paying for:

• Color Correction - $1,500

• Sound Design/Mix - $1,500

• Hard Drive - $550

• Music Rights Purchase (this is our biggest item: the soul music that we don't yet own, which is so essential to our movie!) - $7,700

• Original Music Composition - $800

• HDCAM + Transfer Fee - $1,050

• Promotional Materials (Poster Printing + Website + Buttons, etc.) - $820

• Kickstarter Incentive Fulfillment - $1,650

PRIZE SAMPLES

Our 11"x17" poster featuring James P. Gannon's original painting

Trailer for THOMPSON - Sundance 2010 & SXSW 2010 - Winner (Grand Jury Prize)

Skye's best friend Sam will draw a super rad portrait of you

An example of Elizabeth's cousin's metal work

WHO WE ARE

Directors

Jason Tippet

• THOMPSON - Sundance 2010 & SXSW 2010 - Winner (Grand Jury Prize)
• HOWLING AT THE MOON - SXSW 2011

Elizabeth Mims

• THOMPSON (producer) - Sundance 2010 & SXSW 2010 - Winner (Grand Jury Prize)
• HOWLING AT THE MOON - SXSW 2011

Producer

Derek Waters

• DRUNK HISTORY - Sundance 2010 - Winner (Best American Short)

Associate Producers

Yoko Okumura

• GEORGE AND YOKO - St.Louis International 2010
• UNTITLED KATIE COURIC DOCUMENTARY (2013) by Stephanie Soechtig

 Sean Rourke Meehan

• SOPHIE - SXSW 2011

Josh Polon

• THE DO-DECA-PENTATHLON by Jay and Mark Duplass - Fox Searchlight, SXSW 2012
• KEVIN by Jay Duplass - SXSW 2011, WHOLPHIN 2012

Colorist

Loren White

Sound

Designer - Patrick Janssen

Mixer - Bill Meadows

Titles/Poster Ilustrator

James P. Gannon