Dirty Dishes

Connecting Threads Films

present the short motion picture

"Dirty Dishes" 

A film by Arka Gupta

Logline

Dirty Dishes is a heartfelt short film about a teenage boy re-evaluating the relationship with his single mother after he has a sudden encounter with his estranged father.

Synopsis

Dirty Dishes reflects upon the tender relationship of a single mother, Jane and her son, Max who has a deep-seated curiosity about his estranged father's identity. The script sees an evening of their lives when Max has a sudden encounter with his absentee father, George for the very first time.

Max finds himself at a crossroads first on having to choose between his mother and father but, makes a firm decision with who he wants to live as the conversation between him and George unfolds.

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How this story will be filmed? The Tukanga

The development and writing of the script finished and sent to the cast in January 2022. Dirty Dishes has a stellar cast of five; all the actors on board have prior screen and/or stage acting experience, with several accolades and awards shared between them.

During the pre-production phase, we will have twelve rehearsals in total before filming commences. These rehearsals include setting up relationship dynamics, character immersion and scene blocking. We intend to film this in late April of this year, which brings us with the following:

How your support will help us? The Tautoko

It feels strange asking for help in these trying times.

However, we feel fortunate and are incredibly privileged to be able to work with a stunningly talented group of artists, predominantly based in the vibrant Aotearoa city of Palmerston North, who are dedicated towards bringing this story to life! 

Our main aim is to honour the artists for their mahi and the skillset that they have brought here. We have applied to the Creative Community Scheme of Palmerston North City Council but with the success of this Boosted campaign, made possible by your kind donation, we will - 

• Compensate everyone in the cast and crew with a set day rate.
• Acquire other necessary production staples and supplies, to add to what we have already. We are delighted to collaborate with our DoP, the talented Derrick Sims of Fabled Motion Picture, who will bring in his camera gear.
• Provide sustenance on filming days.
• Fund the post-production phase.
• Submit the film to top-tier festival circuit.

This Boosted campaign is an essential step for our production. We will sincerely appreciate any donation towards reaching this campaign's goal!

We can't wait to share this production journey of ours!

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Meet our team:

We have a talented team of 21 artists, predominantly based in the vibrant city of Palmerston North. Here are the talented artists we feel privileged to work with:

Writer/Director/Producer - Arka Gupta

Cinematographer - Derrick Sims

Assistant Directors - Zak Rodgers and Natasha Melbye

Production Coordinator - Taryn Field

Production Designer - Aoraki Taonui

Sounds Mixer - Hugh Dingwall

Script Supervisor - Justin Ngai

Music Composer - Tommy Whitehouse

1st AC- Abby Koolard

2nd AC/DIT - Meshach Kirifi

Gaffer - Lawrence Chok

Boom Operator - Will Eddy

Key Grip - Aden Murtagh

Hair/Make-up - Dannielle Laws

Production Assistant  - Arlo Macmillan

And our talented cast:

Zain Collins as Max

Ben Pryor as George

Jane Bennett as Jane

with

Cameron Dickons and Sam Wyss as Max's friends.

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As an acknowledgment and a show of gratitude for donating, the team of Dirty Dishes wants to give something back! Every donor, unless anonymous, will get a special mention in the credits as a thank you! :)

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Keep up to date with our production progress on our Facebook and Instagram.

Check out this insightful Stuff article about our film.

We are sincerely grateful to be able to embark on this journey. We would love for you to join in this journey of ours and make it reach its destination.

Every little bit will be of great help..

Every little bit will be sincerely appreciated..

Every little bit will be essential towards reaching that destination.

Ngā Mihi Maioha,

Dirty Dishes Production Team.

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Why this story?

“Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are.”

  ~Dorothy Canfield Fisher

I have always had a strong knack towards writing relationship dramas and this time around, I wanted to write a story that captures the essence of motherly love of a protective mother-son relationship. However, Dirty Dishes is unique in the sense that it is told solely from the perspective of the son.

The mother is an invisible, though omnipresent character in the script, and her son’s journey is about recognising this presence, how she has never deserted him and why she has never spoken of his absentee father’s identity.

I now extend my arms towards receiving your kind donation, in order to transform this delicate story into the intricacy of heartfelt reel our Palmerstonian team will craft. 

Ngā mihi maioha,

~ Arka Gupta ~

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