The Wall
**image is not licensed and will not be used for the final film**
Hey everyone! I’m a Chicana actor and filmmaker. My name is Karina Noelle Castillo from Los Angeles, CA and I’m the Director and Writer of The Wall.
The Wall is a tense psychological thriller with a searing message about the repercussions of denial and repression after trauma. The filmmaker‘s goal in this, and all her films, is to shine a light on mental health, and to feature People of Color in leading roles with as much nuance and truthful representation as possible.
My script for this short was recently awarded the Premier Entertainment/ Dr. Ruiz Film Production Grant from the Mexican American Cultural Education Foundation. My team and I are seeking additional funds in order to not only do justice to this deeply personal story, but to pay all of the talented Cast and Crew what their expertise and time deserves.
The Wall is a story about how denial and repression can cause trauma to fester and swallow you whole, and how facing those same fears can be a glorious rebirth.
Synopsis
We begin with LARA and her husband SAMUEL, both 30's, packing up the belongings of their seemingly perfect life as they move into the country.
As we follow them into their new duplex, the divide between the young couple, and between the two duplex units, starts to reveal itself as much darker than we expected. Lara begins to experience sounds and visions seeming to come from the neighbors on the other side of their shared wall. But when Samuel doesn't seem to experience the same disturbances, Lara begins to wonder if what her neighbors are going through is abuse, or even hauntings... Although she tries to ignore them, Lara's visions only heighten as a dark figure begins to appear to her and leads her down a path she's tried to forget.
Although terrified, Lara must confront her fears, and her past, if she wants to find out what's happening on the other side of The Wall...
Funding
- $10,000 will go to the Camera Department including payments for the Director of Cinematography, camera rentals, and other crew who create the stunning visuals.
- $5,000 will go to Special and Visual Effects to because every good suspense flick needs a scary monster.
- $5,000 will go to the unsung heroes of the film world. They work tirelessly to make sure the right creative team is hired, schedules are followed, and the whole production runs smoothly.
- $5,000 will go to locations to get just the right setting for this intimate and eerie story.
- The rest of the funds will go toward the rest of the essential filmmaking expenses like the Electric Department, Sound, Hair and Makeup, Cast, Catering, Post Production Effects, Editing, Film Festival Fees and Insurance.
Why funding matters to The Wall
As a part of the MACEF Grant conditions, this short film must be produced in just 6 months time and be presented at the May 13th-14th Mexican American Film & Television FestiVal held in Los Angeles, California. This 6 month timeline is a challenge, even for a short film!
Any monies donated will help to ensure the final product is Festival worthy, and that the talented cast and crew get the payment and representation they deserve. Filmmaking is a labor of love and a massive time commitment, and the right funding can make or break a film. Your contribution, no matter how small, is an investment into the future careers of these talented individuals, and an investment in the future of the entertainment programs you desire to see on your television screens.
Message and Thank You From the Filmmaker
All an artist ever wants is to make their dreams come true. Your support, in all forms, is a step towards me realizing that goal. I hope to make you proud and deliver a film to you that is not only entertaining, but also deeply moving and original.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for you support. It truly means the world to me.
Karina Noelle Castillo is an LA Chicana, actor, producer, director and entrepreneur from Los Angeles, CA. She is an alumnus of the prestigious Los Angeles County High School for the Arts and California Institute of the Arts where she studied as a Theatre Major. Her work has been seen on channels such as ABC, FYI, FOX, MeTV and Amazon.
Her film and television acting credits include NCIS, The Good Doctor, Grey's Anatomy, L.A.'s Finest, Better Things, and Promised Land as well as horror anthology feature film Holidays.
In 2014 Karina served as the honorary Quinceanera for Hollywood Forever Cemetery's 15 year anniversary of its famed Dia De Los Muertos celebration. The event was attended by over 40,000 people and is the largest Day of the Dead event in Los Angeles.
In 2019 Karina and cofounder Stevie Rae Dominguez launched their Los Angeles based arts collective The Heartbreak Artists. As a subsidiary of Another Killer Winter, The Heartbreak Artists seeks to continue its parent company's goal of highlighting life's bitter-sweetness by supporting local artists in their quest to find beauty in chaos. Members include poets, cartoonists, painters, filmmakers, photographers, and more.
In 2020 Karina started Humana/Xicana, a clothing line focused on connecting to her indigenous roots by bringing the iconography of Pre-Columbian civilizations into the modern age.
In 2022 Karina was named the Artistic Director of Thymele Arts, an arts incubator in East Hollywood.
Thymele Arts is a hub for new work and emerging artists.
I am Leonora Anzaldua, a photographer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA. My passion lies in amplifying the stories of underrepresented peoples and in making art for social change.
I trained in photography as an undergraduate at Yale University, where I learned from Timothy Davis and Gregory Crewdson the power of art to transcend aesthetics to prioritize meaning and communication. Theorists Brian Herrera and Laura Wexler grounded me in scholarship of race, gender, and representation.
I later earned my MFA at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, where I concentrated in cinematography and directing. There I was honored with many scholarships, including the HSF Cheech Marin Award, the NHFA Scholarship in 2010 and 2011, as well as the SUN Cinematography Award in 2011. I earned a mentorship with Michael Goi, ASC, and happily worked in his camera department on "American Horror Story Season II: Asylum."
My first short film was nominated for a student Emmy and my MFA thesis film "Madrugada quebradiza: The Break of Day" was honored with an Imagen Award Nomination, won a Gold Remy Award at Houston Worldfest, and participated in the Palm Springs Film Market.
I have worked in narrative series, documentary, hosted, and branded content for Barnes & Noble College, Buzzfeed, AwesomnessTV, Skybound Entertainment, IIRR, and Chesa Boudin for DA, among others. My narrative projects have participated in countless festivals and been nominated and awarded many times over.
Bel Hernandez Castillo has over 25 years in the entertainment industry, first as an actress then transitioning into entertainment media, as founder of the first entertainment trade publication focused on Latinos in Hollywood, Latin Heat Entertainment. Through her company, Latin Heat Media, LLC, a multi-media media platform focused on Latino content, the company’s mission is to create content by Latinos, about Latinos, for universal audiences.
Ms. Hernandez Castillo’s work in Hollywood is well documented. Credited with the expanding the coverage of Latinos in Hollywood, Hernandez Castillo collaborated with the publisher of the Hollywood Reporter to promote the “crossover” coverage of Latinos in the established trade. For six years she produced the Latin Heat Entertainment Conference working with the highest level of industry participation from Hollywood’s studios and networks. Her work led to her being named “The Godmother of Latino Hollywood” by Moviemaker magazine and she was invited to serve on the prestigious Peabody Awards Board serving as the first ever Latina/o Chair of the Board.
The Executive Producer of three TV talk to give Latinas a place at the talk show table. Ms, Hernandez Castillo is also an award-winning co-author of 8 Ways to Say I Love My Life.
This is the time to rally! How much of a miracle can we pull off?
No matter what number we hit, this has been an amazing experience and I am so grateful to everyone for pitching in and keeping independent film alive.
THANK YOU AND LET’S DO THIS!!!!
We hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. As we enter into the last three days of the crowdfunding campaign, we just wanted to wish you a very happy holidays and tell you how grateful we are for every single contribution that has come in. You have all made this experience so wonderful!
If you feel like you want to donate more we will be continuing to keep the campaign open until the 30th. Please share with anyone who you feel might be interested in donating as well.
We have only 2 more days left to reach the finish line! Although we’ve been lucky to have had so many supporters help reach our minimum goal, we’ve still got a long way to go and we need a miracle.
If you’re feeling the holiday spirit please consider donating to my short film, or share with anyone who you think might want to help support independent film.
I am so grateful to everyone who has contributed so far and can’t wait to show you all the finished product.
With everyone’s help these past few weeks we’ve been able to hit our minimum milestone to have our funds distributes! I thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for your support!
We have 11 days to get to our finish line. Let’s keep it going!!
To everyone who has donated so far : thank you for your support!! It’s been an amazing experience seeing my community raise me up.
We’ve only got 13 days left to reach our goal, so it’s so important we get to our minimum! Once we get to $10,000 we’ll be able to apply everything to our final budget, so every dollar counts!
Let’s do this!
Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far. We’ve made great progress thanks to your generosity and support. Every little bit counts!
We’re so close to 8k! Only $30 to go. Will you help get us there?
A week from our launch and we’re just $3080 from our 10k minimum goal! Thank you to all of our contributors!
In only 5 days we’ve reached 30% of our minimum goal! Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. We’re realizing our dreams of an amazing short becuase of you.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far! Only four days and we’re already at $2830. If we keep going at this rate we’ll hit our minimum goal in only 14 days!
