Introducing "Tala"
Abby Malala wants you to fund the future of queer Asian American cinema
In case you missed my video post from over the weekend, you can now check out my pitch and fundraising campaign for my upcoming short proof-of-concept film Tala, which follows an internet star who survives a suicide attempt. I’m crowdfunding for this film on Seed&Spark, and you can help make sure it happens.
On the site, you can check out the incentives we’re offering in exchange for contributions as little as $10, our vision and wishlist for the production of the film, my inspirations as the writer, director and lead actress, and more! And besides making a contribution, you can also follow the campaign on Seed&Spark (we need to hit 350 followers by July 2nd), follow us on TikTok and Instagram @tala444real, and spread the word with any and all film freaks and wealthy benefactors of the arts you may know!
This fundraiser is also part of the Gold House AAPI Renaissance Rally, a rally pushing multidimensional and unexpected AAPI voices, stories and characters to the front. And Tala is definitely that. She’s a loud, messy, chaotic, queer Filipino-American influencer who survives a suicide attempt and now, with the help of her best friend Julian, faces a future she still struggles to see herself in.
In her first 36 hours after leaving the hospital, Tala encounters an evil ex-boyfriend, an ex-girlfriend who it’s always so awkward to run into, teen girls who follow her on TikTok and the disembodied voice of a distant ancestor, she thinks. Did she actually die and go to Hell? Is she in limbo and her imagined version of Julian is leading her on some It’s a Wonderful Life-esque journey through all the reasons why she should keep living? Or does life just have a funny way of putting her in situations?
For this fundraiser, our goal is to raise $5,000 by July 2nd. Ideally, we’ll hit $1,500 by next Monday, June 9th. That’s like if 50 of you contributed $30, or if 150 of you contributed $10, or if 1,500 of you contributed just one dollar! These funds will go toward compensating the cast and crew, keeping them fed, renting equipment, securing locations, insurance, the works. As the writer, director and lead actress, I intend to compensate myself last for the sake of bringing the vision to life and properly compensating my hardworking team.
With your help, we can bring this vivid fever dream to life and even to a screen near you someday. Thank you all for supporting the future of queer Asian American cinema.
Love,
Abby and Tala
