Told with humor and suspense from an omniscient point-of-view, and shot in a gritty verite style reflecting its unvarnished South Bronx milieu, CROTTY’S KIDS follows five Eagle Academy debaters as they evolve from content-light amateurs to critical thinking heavyweights.
However, debate is only an ongoing MacGuffin into the heart of the story: young men in search of an intellectual father figure. Coach Crotty arrives in their lives with the clock running out. In two years, they are likely to become grist for a staggering statistic: 60% of urban males never graduate high school.
As “Crotty’s Kids” grow in debate, we are pulled into the struggles of their personal lives. Layer by layer, scene by scene, we also come closer to the real Crotty. Between the polar extremes of his coach persona, we find a softer side. Interviews with friends and family reveal a man on a mission, fueled by the recent deaths of his own parents. However, a series of failed tournaments, program funding cuts, parental resistance, and the conflict between Crotty’s unique pedagogy and the educational status quo causes him to question whether there is value in his quest.
By film’s end we see the Eagle team win big, but realize that this journey was never about winning debates. Our hearts break at the complete portrait of Crotty and his motives, when he openly admits to the camera, “I have never had kids of my own; this is it, man.”
Subsequently, the Eagle Academy debate program is canceled, leaving Crotty without his kids and the kids without their surrogate father. Are they prepared to stand on their own against the statistic that drew Crotty to them in the first place?
Risks and challenges
Because this fundraising effort is focused exclusively on post-production of a locked and finished film, we will face fewer obstacles to project completion. Our planned use of Kickstarter funds to complete color correction, sound editing, DVD creation (including outtakes, interviews, and short films that will go on the DVD) and final deliverables will be covered by the monies raised. Any extra money raised will be used for the creation of future deliverables (e.g., BlueRay disc, DCP package), should the need arise. Nevertheless, there could be delays, especially on the DVD production end. Editing, in particular, could take longer than expected. This might result in up to two or three months delay in completion of DVD and its distribution to Kickstarter donors.
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Funding period
- (25 days)