"The Book of Ruth"
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Family
"The Book of Ruth" is an extraordinary "what might have been" tale, centered around a deep-seated family secret that finally comes to the surface. This is a poignant story that touches on family history, our memories of the past, denying what once was, and ultimately, accepting our true selves.
"The Book of Ruth"
New York City, New York | Film Short
Drama, Family
2 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $25,080 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
155 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
"The Book of Ruth" is an extraordinary "what might have been" tale, centered around a deep-seated family secret that finally comes to the surface. This is a poignant story that touches on family history, our memories of the past, denying what once was, and ultimately, accepting our true selves.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Visit our website
לעברית לחץ כאן
The Book of Ruth is a short film set during a Jewish family's visit to their grandmother's on the night of the Passover Seder.
We are shooting in the Spring of 2019 with our lead, Tony and Emmy award nominee, Tovah Feldshuh (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Walking Dead).
Ruth, who lives in seclusion, has been hiding a secret for years, a secret that will change the way her family looks at her, a secret that could change the life she's chosen for herself. What a better time for life altering discoveries than over a family holiday dinner?
This project has been in the making for a few years, ever since a certain misworded bit of journalism sparked a "what if" sort of idea, examining the motives behind peoples' decisions.
The screenplay for Ruth's was chosen as official selection/finalist in festivals and grants around the U.S. (NYC, LA and more) and abroad (Mexico, Canada, UK, and more) mostly under the "Best Screenplay" and "Best Unproduced Screenplay" categories. This goes to show that there's anticipation for the story to be told before it has even been produced, and can positively predict acceptance to festivals later on, as a completed film. We can't wait to show it to the world!
We live in a time when it's worth examining how our need to know everything may affect others, a time when we can see what hatred can lead to. This project helps us remember the consequences of such tendencies and phenomenon.
Visually, we're aiming for a story being told with a very warm and welcoming, familial look. Ruth’s garden is vast and full, to represent a life well-lived and a home well-tended. It’s Passover, the start of spring, and her home is surrounded by budding trees and bright colors. Inside the house, we envision lots of coziness and warmth. Ruth’s home is old, outdated even, but welcoming and cheerful. Muted carpets, thick curtains, brown dining sets, old patterned plates. Everything we see is well-worn, loved, lived-in.
To set the scene, we will introduce the family, Ruth, and her home, with a sweeping drone shot. Once inside, the cinematic style will look mostly handheld, to reflect the casual, familiar, almost chaotic nature of this family’s way of communicating with one another. The final scene, with Ruth in her bed watching television, will be a calm contrast to the family dinner. A quiet, dark room, with only the light and hum of an old television. A peaceful bookend to a chaotic day, and an even more chaotic life.
The opening exteriors will sound just as lush and springy as it looks. Birds chirping, sprinklers running, and a very distant sound of a few cars passing. Inside, we will hear clanking plates and people talking over each other. A very happy chaos. And at the end, to mimic the minimal visual style, a nearly silent room, with perhaps a few crickets chirping outside, and the hum of the old television. The score will be very simple and minimal, with a simple track at the beginning, and something in the same vein to round out the end. Nothing distracting or overly dramatic. It will all feel very natural.
I am drawn to the instantly recognizable family dynamic that is presented in the Ruth’s screenplay, and I envision it similar to that of The Family Stone. A casual, familiar family, coming together for a holiday. And then, by the second half, the expectations of the type of film and type of family we’re watching are completely subverted. We learn that there is much more to this family - that initially seemed so much like our family - than meets the eye, and we discover that the people who we think we know so well can be holding onto decades-long secrets, hidden in plain sight.
I love that there are clues sprinkled throughout the story. I am very drawn to this sort of subtle storytelling. Clues that tell us very important things about a character that we don’t realize are clues until later on.
As a Jew, I am particularly drawn to this story and have an instant connection to this very relatable family. I adore the added fantasy element. And I love getting into the psyche of the reasoning behind certain decisions.
While our goal is $25,000, more would help tremendously in making the best possible film.
If we raise $25,000, we'll be able to have contingency funds in place should anything go wrong, as well as cover our post-production costs.
If we raise $30,000, we'll be able to cover our festival and promotional costs for completing and getting the film into the world and in front of a wider audience.
Please join us and help us bring this story to the big screen!
Thank you!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Camera Department and purchases
Costs $4,000
We're hoping to shoot on a Ursa Mini or Sony FS7 (and also use a drone!)
All additional crew
Costs $9,000
All other crew members (AD, PAs, sound, HMU and more) and all their equipment and expenses.
Union fees and additional taxes
Costs $500
Wish we could keep all your kind contributions, but alas!
Location & Catering
Costs $1,500
We gotta pay the people who host us and feed us, right? We'll be filming in a two story house.
Transportation and co.
Costs $1,000
This is how we get to set! (oil, and gas, and tolls, oh my!)
Overall post-production
Costs $2,500
This is for our editor, colorist, sound mixing and more!
Share this update!
About This Team
Chen Drachman (Executive producer, screenplay, actress) is an Israeli-American. She has been living in NYC for eight years and became a permanent resident through an application of excellence in the field of production. Chen is an actress (Last Week Tonight, BlackBox, The Path) and a writer with scripts that have been finalists/official selections in festivals around the world. She was a film and TV major in Israel (graduated with honors) and an acting major in NYC.
The story of Ruth's is especially relevant to Chen who is third generation to Holocaust survivors. She would love the chance to bring this "what if" story to life, and to encourage the viewers to have a meaningful conversation about the themes, to read and research more about the Holocaust and stories of survivors.
Her Grandma passed away while Chen was reworking the script, fueling even more the will to bring this story about a grandmother and a granddaughter (a relationship you don't see at the center of many stories) to life.
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Becca Roth is an award-winning documentary and narrative filmmaker who has written and directed films that have screened at film festivals and in communities nationwide. Her debut documentary feature, One: A Story of Love and Equality, delves into the personal stories of people on both sides of a heated political debate, and strives to understand differences and build bridges, which is an ongoing theme in Becca’s work.
In 2017 she wrote, co-directed and starred in two award-winning narrative short films,Lenses and Workout Gaze, which are currently screening in film festivals. She also directed an upcoming short digital documentary series, The Difference, for the Academy Award-winning documentary company Shine Global. Later in the year, she directed an episode The Election Effect, a digital documentary series about the impact of the 2016 presidential election on teenagers across America. The series won the award for Best Documentary or Educational Series by the International Association of Web Television, and is produced by Shine Global, in association with ParamountNetwork.
At the end of 2017, Becca became the director of a documentary project featuring long term survivors of pancreatic cancer for an organization called Let’s Win.
At the beginning of 2018, she directed and co-wrote a comedy short film, Boy Genius, which is currently screening in film festivals. She is also an actress and improviser, starting her third year as a resident house team performer at The Peoples Improv Theater. She is now busy at work pursuing production of her first narrative feature.
Caitlin Gold
Caitlin is an independent producer and founder of the New York-based development and production company, Tanbark Pictures. She has produced award winning features including IMAGINE I'M BEAUTIFUL and the upcoming THE SOUNDING, starring Catherine Eaton, Teddy Sears, and Harris Yulin. Her latest film, INEZ & DOUG & KIRA, starring Michel Chernus, is currently in post. Caitlin is also one of the founders of The 51 Fund, a new equity fund dedicated to financing female-helmed narrative feature films.
Natalia Bougadellis (Director of photography) Natalia is a director and cinematographer from Athens, Greece. She recently graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied film and television production.
Though Natalia has been working in New York these past few years, she is still very connected to her hometown, Athens, where she shot her critically acclaimed directorial debut, “The Owls.” The film has played in eleven countries and over thirty film festivals.
Natalia has received several distinctions and awards for her work in cinematography and directing. She has also served as one of the Co-directors of the Fusion Film Festival, that celebrates women in film and is part of the Sundance Initiative for Women.
While Natalia has been working in the more commercial industry, shooting spots and internal use videos for Nike, Swarovski, and Calvin Klein, her true passion is narrative filmmaking. She is a strong advocate of gender equality and the promotion of queer stories in Hollywood.
Ginn Andrews is a writer, producer, and social media coordinator specializing in the crowdfunding of diverse and socially-aware short films, features, documentaries, and music videos.
She most recently promoted the campaign for the music video “Too Many Bodies”, which utilizes the artistic medium of modern dance as an empowering form of healing amidst a time in history when school shootings are a part of our daily reality. The piece has recently been supported by gun reform activist Alyssa Milano.
One of her greatest successes and most enjoyable projects was the short farcical comedy “Wedlocked”, penned by LGBTQ icon Guinevere Turner (“The L Word”, “American Psycho”, “The Notorious Bettie Page”, “Charlie Says”), which hilariously highlighted the laws which previously governed LGBTQ divorce prior to the Supreme Court decision for marriage equality. The film screened at 50 film festivals, including Outfest.
She was also part of an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaking team for “To Climb A Gold Mountain”, a historical narrative which provided a voice to several female Chinese immigrants who faced immense struggles within the City of Angels.
Ginn’s love of independent film has driven her aspirations to one day write and direct her own documentary film.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Visit our website
לעברית לחץ כאן
The Book of Ruth is a short film set during a Jewish family's visit to their grandmother's on the night of the Passover Seder.
We are shooting in the Spring of 2019 with our lead, Tony and Emmy award nominee, Tovah Feldshuh (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Walking Dead).
Ruth, who lives in seclusion, has been hiding a secret for years, a secret that will change the way her family looks at her, a secret that could change the life she's chosen for herself. What a better time for life altering discoveries than over a family holiday dinner?
This project has been in the making for a few years, ever since a certain misworded bit of journalism sparked a "what if" sort of idea, examining the motives behind peoples' decisions.
The screenplay for Ruth's was chosen as official selection/finalist in festivals and grants around the U.S. (NYC, LA and more) and abroad (Mexico, Canada, UK, and more) mostly under the "Best Screenplay" and "Best Unproduced Screenplay" categories. This goes to show that there's anticipation for the story to be told before it has even been produced, and can positively predict acceptance to festivals later on, as a completed film. We can't wait to show it to the world!
We live in a time when it's worth examining how our need to know everything may affect others, a time when we can see what hatred can lead to. This project helps us remember the consequences of such tendencies and phenomenon.
Visually, we're aiming for a story being told with a very warm and welcoming, familial look. Ruth’s garden is vast and full, to represent a life well-lived and a home well-tended. It’s Passover, the start of spring, and her home is surrounded by budding trees and bright colors. Inside the house, we envision lots of coziness and warmth. Ruth’s home is old, outdated even, but welcoming and cheerful. Muted carpets, thick curtains, brown dining sets, old patterned plates. Everything we see is well-worn, loved, lived-in.
To set the scene, we will introduce the family, Ruth, and her home, with a sweeping drone shot. Once inside, the cinematic style will look mostly handheld, to reflect the casual, familiar, almost chaotic nature of this family’s way of communicating with one another. The final scene, with Ruth in her bed watching television, will be a calm contrast to the family dinner. A quiet, dark room, with only the light and hum of an old television. A peaceful bookend to a chaotic day, and an even more chaotic life.
The opening exteriors will sound just as lush and springy as it looks. Birds chirping, sprinklers running, and a very distant sound of a few cars passing. Inside, we will hear clanking plates and people talking over each other. A very happy chaos. And at the end, to mimic the minimal visual style, a nearly silent room, with perhaps a few crickets chirping outside, and the hum of the old television. The score will be very simple and minimal, with a simple track at the beginning, and something in the same vein to round out the end. Nothing distracting or overly dramatic. It will all feel very natural.
I am drawn to the instantly recognizable family dynamic that is presented in the Ruth’s screenplay, and I envision it similar to that of The Family Stone. A casual, familiar family, coming together for a holiday. And then, by the second half, the expectations of the type of film and type of family we’re watching are completely subverted. We learn that there is much more to this family - that initially seemed so much like our family - than meets the eye, and we discover that the people who we think we know so well can be holding onto decades-long secrets, hidden in plain sight.
I love that there are clues sprinkled throughout the story. I am very drawn to this sort of subtle storytelling. Clues that tell us very important things about a character that we don’t realize are clues until later on.
As a Jew, I am particularly drawn to this story and have an instant connection to this very relatable family. I adore the added fantasy element. And I love getting into the psyche of the reasoning behind certain decisions.
While our goal is $25,000, more would help tremendously in making the best possible film.
If we raise $25,000, we'll be able to have contingency funds in place should anything go wrong, as well as cover our post-production costs.
If we raise $30,000, we'll be able to cover our festival and promotional costs for completing and getting the film into the world and in front of a wider audience.
Please join us and help us bring this story to the big screen!
Thank you!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Camera Department and purchases
Costs $4,000
We're hoping to shoot on a Ursa Mini or Sony FS7 (and also use a drone!)
All additional crew
Costs $9,000
All other crew members (AD, PAs, sound, HMU and more) and all their equipment and expenses.
Union fees and additional taxes
Costs $500
Wish we could keep all your kind contributions, but alas!
Location & Catering
Costs $1,500
We gotta pay the people who host us and feed us, right? We'll be filming in a two story house.
Transportation and co.
Costs $1,000
This is how we get to set! (oil, and gas, and tolls, oh my!)
Overall post-production
Costs $2,500
This is for our editor, colorist, sound mixing and more!
Share this update!
About This Team
Chen Drachman (Executive producer, screenplay, actress) is an Israeli-American. She has been living in NYC for eight years and became a permanent resident through an application of excellence in the field of production. Chen is an actress (Last Week Tonight, BlackBox, The Path) and a writer with scripts that have been finalists/official selections in festivals around the world. She was a film and TV major in Israel (graduated with honors) and an acting major in NYC.
The story of Ruth's is especially relevant to Chen who is third generation to Holocaust survivors. She would love the chance to bring this "what if" story to life, and to encourage the viewers to have a meaningful conversation about the themes, to read and research more about the Holocaust and stories of survivors.
Her Grandma passed away while Chen was reworking the script, fueling even more the will to bring this story about a grandmother and a granddaughter (a relationship you don't see at the center of many stories) to life.
Becca Roth is an award-winning documentary and narrative filmmaker who has written and directed films that have screened at film festivals and in communities nationwide. Her debut documentary feature, One: A Story of Love and Equality, delves into the personal stories of people on both sides of a heated political debate, and strives to understand differences and build bridges, which is an ongoing theme in Becca’s work.
In 2017 she wrote, co-directed and starred in two award-winning narrative short films,Lenses and Workout Gaze, which are currently screening in film festivals. She also directed an upcoming short digital documentary series, The Difference, for the Academy Award-winning documentary company Shine Global. Later in the year, she directed an episode The Election Effect, a digital documentary series about the impact of the 2016 presidential election on teenagers across America. The series won the award for Best Documentary or Educational Series by the International Association of Web Television, and is produced by Shine Global, in association with ParamountNetwork.
At the end of 2017, Becca became the director of a documentary project featuring long term survivors of pancreatic cancer for an organization called Let’s Win.
At the beginning of 2018, she directed and co-wrote a comedy short film, Boy Genius, which is currently screening in film festivals. She is also an actress and improviser, starting her third year as a resident house team performer at The Peoples Improv Theater. She is now busy at work pursuing production of her first narrative feature.
Caitlin Gold
Caitlin is an independent producer and founder of the New York-based development and production company, Tanbark Pictures. She has produced award winning features including IMAGINE I'M BEAUTIFUL and the upcoming THE SOUNDING, starring Catherine Eaton, Teddy Sears, and Harris Yulin. Her latest film, INEZ & DOUG & KIRA, starring Michel Chernus, is currently in post. Caitlin is also one of the founders of The 51 Fund, a new equity fund dedicated to financing female-helmed narrative feature films.
Natalia Bougadellis (Director of photography) Natalia is a director and cinematographer from Athens, Greece. She recently graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she studied film and television production.
Though Natalia has been working in New York these past few years, she is still very connected to her hometown, Athens, where she shot her critically acclaimed directorial debut, “The Owls.” The film has played in eleven countries and over thirty film festivals.
Natalia has received several distinctions and awards for her work in cinematography and directing. She has also served as one of the Co-directors of the Fusion Film Festival, that celebrates women in film and is part of the Sundance Initiative for Women.
While Natalia has been working in the more commercial industry, shooting spots and internal use videos for Nike, Swarovski, and Calvin Klein, her true passion is narrative filmmaking. She is a strong advocate of gender equality and the promotion of queer stories in Hollywood.
Ginn Andrews is a writer, producer, and social media coordinator specializing in the crowdfunding of diverse and socially-aware short films, features, documentaries, and music videos.
She most recently promoted the campaign for the music video “Too Many Bodies”, which utilizes the artistic medium of modern dance as an empowering form of healing amidst a time in history when school shootings are a part of our daily reality. The piece has recently been supported by gun reform activist Alyssa Milano.
One of her greatest successes and most enjoyable projects was the short farcical comedy “Wedlocked”, penned by LGBTQ icon Guinevere Turner (“The L Word”, “American Psycho”, “The Notorious Bettie Page”, “Charlie Says”), which hilariously highlighted the laws which previously governed LGBTQ divorce prior to the Supreme Court decision for marriage equality. The film screened at 50 film festivals, including Outfest.
She was also part of an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaking team for “To Climb A Gold Mountain”, a historical narrative which provided a voice to several female Chinese immigrants who faced immense struggles within the City of Angels.
Ginn’s love of independent film has driven her aspirations to one day write and direct her own documentary film.