The mission of our collective is to promote diverse, untold stories. Our story contains an interracial couple getting past their pre-conceptions. But also, our crew is incredibly diverse. The director is biracial, and the production team is encompassed of men and women of several ethnicities.

THE STORY

This is a film about the beginnings of a relationship. Wesley and Krys are at Wes's home the night of their first date. Things are going well but it’s clear that they both are hiding something. When Krys gets a text in the middle of the night and suddenly has to leave, Wesley presses her to tell him why. This leads to an escalating conflict as the two try to sort out what’s the actual truth about the other person, each with their own secret that they fear will ruin their relationship before it even gets started.

AN EXPLORATION

This film is an examination of perception, truth, and how we lie by omission in relationships. Add in the perceptions and bias of race and gender, and things get even messier and more complicated. But most importantly, this is a film about love and how finding it goes beyond any other obstacle that is put in your way.

The two main characters, Wesley and Krys, are just getting to know each other. They are selective about what they share and that shapes the the other person’s perspective of them and how their potential relationship will fare. When a small secret is revealed, it changes the character’s perspective about the other person and whether a partnership is worth pursuing. All without knowing the entire story.

We use the element of split screen to keep the audience off balance and to not jump to conclusions over who is truthful and who isn’t. To prevent judgement from being cast on the characters and to also show how two people can experience the same event or space differently but at the same time be connected. This element will be used sparingly, frequently when the two characters are in separate spaces in the apartment and showing how each of them is reacting to a common situation.

THE CAST

RAE OLIVIER (KRYS)

JAMAR GANT (WESLEY)

THE CREW

WRITER/DIRECTOR - MARIS LIDAKA

Maris Lidaka is a filmmaker based in Los Angeles. He has worked in a variety of roles in the entertainment industry for companies Disney, Verizon, AT&T and HP. His projects have screened at several high-profile film festivals including the Cleveland International Film Festival and the PBS Shorts Showcase, as well as several streaming platforms including Facebook Watch . His films explore the point of view of the outsider and what happens when that point of view comes into conflict with the mainstream.

PRODUCER - MYCHAL GUYTON

With several years of communication experience within the radio, broadcast news, television, and film production industry, Hychal actively freelances on films, commercials, new media and music videos either as a producer, line producer, production manager or assistant director.

Mychal was the Creative Director of a non-profit organization called Inherwords based in Washington D.C. There he wrote and produced content which highlights the accomplishments and advancement of women in media. He has produced several award-winning short films such as The Bedroom, Courting Lewis Baker, Moonshot, End of the World and Web-series: The Beat and Path: Walk of Shame that have been screened across the world.

PRODUCER - EVELYN LORENA

Evelyn Lorena is first-generation Guatemalan actor, content creator, filmmaker, and writer residing in Los Angeles. Determined to develop more unique and original stories containing women of color, Evelyn began the first legs of her production company, Nouvelle Entertainment, alongside director Maris Lidaka. With Nouvelle, Evelyn has independently written and produced films that have premiered at such Academy Award qualifying festivals as Outfest Los Angeles and the Cleveland International Film Festival.

PRODUCER/CASTING DIRECTOR - M'SAADA NIA

M'saada Nia is a freelance casting director who's worked on both indie & studio feature films, network series, new media projects and major video games. Through her company "Copasetic Casting," she recently cast the pilot "Exchange" for Disney online, "The Birthday Party," a segment of the Sundance feature film horror anthology "XX" and the first season of the series "The New 30." M'saada has also cast ADR / loop groups for numerous features and made-for-TV movies (clients include Hallmark, Lifetime, ITC, among others). She's currently casting two independent feature films and a pilot.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER/PHOTOGRAPHER - SHANNON GODLY

Shannon is a published photographer and filmmaker currently studying Cinema & TV Production at USC. As a photographer, her personal work explores the expression of underlying and often societally de-valued emotions in human beings, like fear, shame, and certain desires. She believes that the inexpression of these emotions leads to feelings of isolation and repression. In addition to her work as an Associate Producer, Shannon will photograph and create the poster design for Breakaway in the style of her personal work.

CINEMATOGRAPHER - KEVIN PERRY

Originally from Boston, Kevin has been the cinematographer for several independent feature films and TV series. He has worked in the lighting and camera department on several major productions including Whiplash, HBO's Ballers, and FOX's Last Man on Earth where he gained understanding of lighting and framing and how to use these elements to enhance an audience's visual understanding of story. You see his impressive work here.

COMPOSER - AMANDA JONES

Amanda Jones is a Los Angeles based film composer whose music production credits include: How to Train Your Dragon 2, Dear White People (TV Series), Kingsman: The Secret Service, Oprah’s scripted drama Greenleaf, the original score for Kofi Siriboe's directorial debut Jump, James Bland's series Giants season 2 produced by Issa Rae, Eli Roth's mini-series on Crypt TV and the award winning film Across the Tracks.

WE'RE STARTING A CONVERSATION

Even with the increased call for diversity in media still need to do our part to make sure that everyone's story is being represented. This is especially true of romantic dramas, which are rarely done with interracial couples. We want to create something that shows nuance and humanity. Something that shows how two people from different backgrounds can come together and that the desire for love is everything. We want to show that the world of today and tomorrow is multicultural one, despite our national politics, and to create something relatable for mixed families and couples.

This film will be run in festivals and eventually live on the Vimeo platform for public view.

SO...WE NEED YOUR HELP!

(sorry for yelling..)

We need to tell this story the right way. Although we have a lot professionals giving their time and talent to their project. There are still some fixed costs that we need your help with so we can tell this story the right way.

We need to raise $3,000 minimum

This will cover the essential costs of our production without any sacrifice to quality.

If we raise $5,000

We'll have some more breathing room in our budget and be able to push the look of the film even further!

If we raise $7,000

This will cover the costs of post-production which includes score, sound design, and color correction. This will also cover the costs of festivals, distribution, and promotion costs.

SO JOIN OUR TEAM

You can become a part of Breakaway by following 3 EASY STEPS:

CONTRIBUTE

Any dollar amount helps and we have some great rewards tomake you a part of this film.

FOLLOW

You'll receive weekly updates on our progress not only while plan not only this film, but as we explore the world of these characters' love story.

SHARE

Film is meant to be shared, so let everyone know what you're a part of.

Thank you for your support. We will make you proud.

-THE BREAKAWAY TEAM