This is a short film about an impoverished elderly woman living in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. She not only has to navigate the dangerous streets in the present, she's hopelessly trapped in the traumas of her past. This is a look at the world through her eyes. This story is dedicated to those in our own lives who have been lost to addiction and mental illness and will challenge us to not look away.

 

I was inspired to make this film as I was driving through San Francisco's Tenderloin District and stopped at a light. There I saw a rather disheveled older woman, standing between the parked cars reaching out into the traffic with a can. It was painful to see and I couldn't help wondering who she was and how she ended up like this. I was reminded of the fact that older women, like myself, become more and more invisible as we age but to be struggling in poverty and illness makes this population even more marginalized. I started volunteering at a nearby community center to try and understand and began to notice just how many of them live in the shadows.    

 

I'm making this film to draw awareness to the struggles of older women living in poverty as well as emotional pain suffered by those who have experienced physical and sexual trauma in the past...the kind of pain that goes untreated, unresolved and unanswered for a lifetime. We all know someone who just can't get their lives together and end up on the street, barely able to take care of themselves. Some are family members or childhood friends or others we have met along the way. Some do pull themselves out of that spiral but many cannot despite the help and resources available to them.  

 

If you would like to honor or acknowledge anyone you know who has ended up suffering on the street because of addiction or mental illness, please consider making a donation on their behalf. Their name will be added to a special tribute section in the closing credits. You will also be named as a contributor in the closing credits of the film. Your substantial contribution will be credited as Associate Producer, Producer or Executive Producer.

 

WHERE WE ARE AT NOW:  Principal photography has begun and will be completely in August 2022 and those efforts are fully funded.  What we need now are finishing funds for post-production editing, sound, music and artwork. We'll also need funds for marketing, and film festival submissions. Every contribution helps!!  Be part of the team that makes this film.

 

Thank you and please reach out if you would like to speak with me directly.  My first short film, I'm Fine has placed in a number of film festivals including Vancouver Int'l Film Festival, WRPN Womens Int'l FIlm Festival, Indie X Film Festival, Indie Short Fest, Toronto Film Channel Film Fest, Top Indie Film Awards, and Tokyo Int'l Short Film Festival.

 

Kip Pearson

Writer/Producer/Director or Hyde Street

crashingpicturesllc.com 

IMDb.me/kippearson

Facebook. @HydeStreetFilm     and @ImFineFilm