About

UPDATE #5: We've Hit the 100 Backer Mark!

UPDATE #4: Writer/Director Pari Mathur publishes in the Huffington Post!

UPDATE #3: $10K in tax-deductible donations!

UPDATE #2: 70 Backers & $10K Pledged!

UPDATE #1: We've Hit the 50 Backer Mark!

Hey there! My name is Pari Mathur, Writer and Director of our feature film, Family Party. Just a quick warning before you scroll down: hold on to your knickers because your pants are about to be blown off.

ABOUT OUR FILM

Family Party is an independent feature film. It is a coming of age, romantic comedy that I wrote back in 2009. After sharing the story with friends, family, and a few creative mentors (including an Academy Award winner) over the years and getting a HUGE positive response for such a progressive story, I realized NOW is the time to bring my baby to life.

To give you a quick insight into the style, tone, and vision: imagine Ferris Bueller's Day Off meets Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist with some highly stylized Richie Yau cinematography :)

THE STORY

Family Party follows a group of high school seniors. It opens with our main protagonist Nick ready to attend a huge concert with his friends. Unfortunately, his mom has different plans for him and forces him to attend one last family event before he heads off to college.

Nick gets dragged to this family party, where he meets Arti. Turns out it's her graduation party, but she never wanted it in the first place. Like Nick, she wanted to go to the concert with her friends!

So Nick and Arti come together and plan an escape. But there are a few things that are stopping them from leaving: there is a jealous childhood friend, a missing diamond necklace, and a pundit (priest) who Tweets.

Will they be able to make it to the big concert? Or is this family party the end of their night?

Director Pari Mathur likes to shoot rehearsal tests for discussion points. Here is some behind the scenes rehearsal footage of Scene 16.

Note: there will not be any cats on set.

OUR PURPOSE

I love movies. I pursued my MFA in film production at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. I also watch a lot of movies. In fact, I have the 3-DVD Netflix account and am always inhaling media content. However, when it comes down to watching Indian-American films, I can't stand them. The reason is that they all have one distinct theme: cultural tension (i.e. parents vs. the kids, traditional vs. modern). What Family Party will do is wipe this out. Forget accents. Forget stereotypes. We will be showcasing the modern, integrated Indian-American society; I call it a cultural film 2.0.

OUR TEAM

Our team is comprised of talented and experienced professionals with film and commercial production background from both the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles, as well as advisers on both coasts of the United States. The team will be led by Writer/Director Pari Mathur and Cinematographer Richie Yau.

Examples of Pari's work can be found at his production companies: Paridym (a vendor for Google) and MKSHFT (branded content).

Below you will find Richie's Cinematography Reel. You can see his short film Stones, a 2011 Sundance Film Festival Official Selection, in its entirety on our Videos page.

For full team bios, check out our Team page.

OUR CAST

Family Party relies heavily on a strong, close-knit ensemble cast. Our cast primarily consists of talent from the San Francisco Bay Area, notably the Harker School Acting Conservatory, Oakland School of the Arts, and Naatak, a leading South Asian theater group.

For full cast bios, check out our Cast page.

OUR KICKSTARTER

Our goal is to raise $95,000 during our 30-day campaign. For a film, $95,000 isn't very much money at all. However, we have a very smart budget and efficient workflow. The majority of filming will be done in one house. There aren't any special effects or stunt work; this is a character driven narrative.

Every dollar we raise from our campaign will go into our production and post-production costs. This includes camera rentals, grip package rentals, cast, crew, feeding everyone, location fees, insurance, music, editing, and other production/post-production related costs. Your backing goes directly to funding this film and bringing this film to life!

Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing platform. If our $95,000 goal isn't met before the deadline, no money changes hands and no movie is made (knock on wood - is an Ikea table real wood?). Your financial support of Family Party is not a donation, you will receive unique rewards based on your pledge level - the more you pledge, the better the rewards (all rewards can be found on the right hand side of this page). More importantly, you will be joining our team and showing everyone that you believe in this project!

DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE!

Guess what? Donations made to Family Party are tax deductible! However, not through this Kickstarter campaign, but through our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas.

If you're a US-tax payer and interested in making a tax-deductible donation for the purposes of Family Party, click HERE.

Family Party is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a 501(c)3 non-profit arts service organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. You will be provided with a tax receipt by Fractured Atlas.

NOTE: Funds from tax deductible donations will be used to help reach our Kickstarter goals. However, tax deductible donations are not eligible to claim Kickstarter rewards.

If you have any questions about this, please contact us at FamilyPartythefilm@gmail.com.

OUR PRODUCTION SCHEDULE

Based on our current production schedule, if our Kickstarter goal is met, we will begin Principal Photography on March 30, 2013, with a 14-day shooting schedule. We will immediately follow this with two to three months of post-production, with a goal of August 1, 2013 for the final cut. The film will then be put into the film festival circuit. We are aiming for a December 2013 theatrical release.

YOUR SUPPORT

Besides backing our Kickstarter, you can also help support the film by visiting our website, liking us on Facebook, and sharing our Kickstarter campaign with friends and family.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. We're always open to you. Shoot us an email at FamilyPartythefilm@gmail.com and we'll get back to you ASAP.

We can't do any of this without your backing and support. We need you to join our team and help bring this project to life! Let's make a movie!

- Pari