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How to Grow a Ghost is a magical realism short film shooting on 35mm on a family farm in Cambodia, following a diaspora couple who build and tend an impossible creature made of memory. It's the thesis film and proof-of-concept for a feature currently in development, with production planned in Cambodia for 2027.
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$8,000 in seed funding is confirmed, covering early labor costs for the core creative team. Our Seed&Spark campaign closed successfully earlier this year, raising $6,355— fully funding location permits and our local fixer in Cambodia. That groundwork is done.
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That's the gap between "the paperwork is done" and "we can point a camera at the farm."
$2,000 — Crew travel & accommodation. Getting our director, DP, and key crew to the farm and housed for the shoot.
$2,000 — Core camera & sound equipment. The kit needed to actually capture the film.
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Where this goes next
Beyond the immediate $4,000, we're building toward a production that treats everyone on it fairly:
~$18,000–20,000 — a lean, digital-only shoot. Safe and complete, but with no margin.
~$25,000 — local Cambodian crew earn real day rates instead of working on deferred pay.
~$35,000 — proper permits, full equipment, and a schedule that doesn't rush anyone.
~$50,000 — the creative ideal: shooting on film stock, as the story deserves, with the full crew properly compensated.
Every contribution moves us up this ladder.