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THE STORY
Set in present-day Los Angeles, this Dramedy follows Rick Dale, an ex Jiu Jitsu World Champion as he pursues his passion of becoming a writer. When an unwanted new student Tay comes in and upsets the balance of gym, Rick is legally forced to allow her to train. He does everything he can within his power to force her to quit, but that all changes when he discovers who she really is...
Why now?
We believe in the power of a good story. Most of Hollywood has turned into a propaganda machine. We'd like to honor the days where a movie was just a movie.
We believe that it doesn't take millions of dollars to make a good movie, sure you have to have some money (hence us being here :) but if you have a solid script and some banging acting we believe we can bring a good story to life.
The world of Jiu-Jitsu hasn't gotten much attention in the past but recently thanks to sports like MMA and serious fighters like Gordon Ryan and famous figures like Joe Rogan it has really made it on the map. And if you haven't joined a BJJ gym recently ... It's a funny sport. Although severely effective when it comes to real life conflict, the intimate nature of the art allows for much awkwardness and comedic moments.
It's appearance on the surface is that of a niche film, but it is very much accessible and relatable to all walks of life, it carries a deeper message and arguably marries the Comedy genre and a Drama nicely.
Why us?
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Well for starters, we know Jiu-Jitsu (helpful in a BJJ movie).
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It goes without saying that Kit Dale's reputation precedes him. The man knows Jiu-Jitsu. Arguably one of the best black belts in the world, he has won multiple world pro championships, including a Brazilian nationals title and has competed against the best in both IBJJF Gi and No Gi and ADCC and continues to teach his nuanced and progressive style of learning the fighting art.
Not only is he the Jiu-Jitsu master but one hell of a writer. Kit got into movie-making a long time ago in the form of sketch comedies with his brother SK Dale (now big-time Hollywood director) and went on to star in large-budget movies.
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Kit began writing a few years ago full time under the mentorship of well-established Golden Globe winner and Oscar-nominated writer Sheldon Turner. With five solid features and one pilot under his belt, Kit has written White Belt as his best one yet.
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Becca Buckalew although not as good at Jiu-Jitsu, (arguably) still holds her own on the mats. Undefeated as a white and blue belt and JJWL World champion, Becca first joined the Jiu-Jitsu community just over three years ago and hasn't looked back since.
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There was something always inherently funny about Jiu-Jitsu to Becca and when the opportunity arose she pitched Kit on the idea of writing about it. Becca's been in the film industry for 13 years studying at Groundlings and UCB and has worked domestically and internationally as an actress on TV shows, Feature Films and many many commercials.
We believe that their skills and expertise coupled together are going to bring us one hell of an entertaining movie.
Our Secret Weapon
Steve Brown has been kind enough to offer his incredible services to us in the form of stunt coordinating. There is not much worse than bad stunts in a high impact movie so we are lucky to have him. You may have seen some of his work on Wonder Women, Avatar, the newest Super Man and many more.
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WHY DO WE NEED MONEY??
We are shooting to raise 50k on Seed and Spark but also crossing our fingers in the hopes to make much more. 50k will allow us to make it but 150k will give us the ability to make it the very best it can be. We are not taking a red cent from the donations (in fact we are losing money on this), your donations will help us pay for critical components of the film, including crew, gear, production design, editing, insurance, meals for the team, and Kit's mental therapy (kidding... he's beyond help). Our dream is to be able to pay the entire cast and crew (lofty ambitions, we know).
Where we are currently at in the production process is finalizing our cast, rehearsing alllll the stunt scenes, locking down our locations, with great hopes of rolling the first of September.
HOW YOU CAN HELP!
1. FOLLOW US ON ALL OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
Be sure to follow us here on Seed & Spark, but also on
Instagram (click me) and join our mailing list (click me). And encourage your friends to follow us too!
2. SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT #whitebeltmovie
Please tell your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors about our movie. Share our posts, campaign page, and our backer updates! We're pushing to shoot in September!
3. KEEP FOLLOWING OUR CAMPAIGN!
Regular visits to our Seed & Spark page keep you in the know AND increase our chances of being a featured project on the Seed&Spark homepage!
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ALL donations to this campaign are tax deductible. In accordance with IRS regulations, The Film Collaborative (TFC) issues tax receipts. Crowdfunder admin fees and credit card processing fees are deducted before TFC receives the funds. TFC issues tax receipts on the amount they receive minus the fair market value of the incentive you select.
Please fill out your entire full name and address if donating to the movie !
THANK YOU!!!
-Team White Belt Movie
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