Killing Kyle

Logline

Black siblings embark on a roadtrip to "kill Kyle," the basic, white guy who just dumped their anxiously attached little sister, Hazel. On her gosh damn birthday, no less!

Tone and themes explored within the film:

In this witty tragicomedy, I explore themes of generational trauma/unrequited love/internalized racism/Queerness/and Millennial Media all while also ensuring that the film centers Black joy/allyship/and the art of hoping.

Story Synopsis

After Hazel is unceremoniously dumped by Kyle, her older siblings, Diana and Justin, come to her rescue and Justin playfully suggests they take a roadtrip in his vintage VW van named Frodo to kill Kyle, who moved from Kansas City to Portland, OR. A little murder never hurt anyone, right? Diana and Hazel eagerly agree to this mission-driven “sibcation”).

En route, they reminisce about their late mother, which prompts the siblings to add a visit to their estranged Aunt Lucille. ( They also pick up a hitchhiking journalist, Daniel, for “no apparent reason”).

But after arriving at their Aunt’s “house of God,” and indulging in a “delicious” meal of liver and water, Aunt Lucille spills the tea about why she’s chosen to distance herself from the rest of the family.

The revelation causes reverberations through each sibling’s psyche, exposing the coping mechanisms each has taken since their mother’s death and their father’s own hurtful inability to show up for his young children during their time of need.

However, as they unpack their trauma, the siblings begin to recognize the strength, beauty, and tragedy of her mother’s struggle before her death and thus they agree to center their healing rather than their grief.

Meanwhile, Aunt Lucille gives her brother-in-law some tough love and urges him to repair the relationship between his children… which may or may not lead to an unexpected and random reunion at a renfair.

After this last plot twist, Hazel finds herself no longer thirsting revenge. And when the group of travelers finally confront Kyle, Daniel takes matters into his own hands, in order to help Hazel re-write the ending to her own “happily ever after” story.

Status of Project

We are now in production! We have done 6 days of production so far and have about 10 days to go which will be filmed over the next couple months of 2025.

Since this project is self-funded and feature length, there’s a modicum of stop-and-go energy with this project, which is pretty aligned with any of life’s journeys, be they fictional or no.

That said, you can help us get to our destination faster by either resharing our posts on social media, offering your services , or being a donor for our GoFundMe or by sending directly to our venmo @staylittpdx (this last one is preferred ;) ).

For donors who give $25, you will receive a producer's credit.

For donors who give $50 or more, you will receive a producer's credit and you are invited to visit our set during filming.

For donors who give $100 or more, you will receive a producer's credit, a visit on set, *and* free entry into all of our upcoming fundraising events.

Pertinent info for donors:

Our current working budget for this film is 45k, and I have invested 10k into the production already. We have raised roughly 2k in donations via fundraisers/CTA posts/some cast and crew have worked as in-kind volunteers or agreed to a work trade. All Cast and Crew members are welcome to step away from the project or re-negotiate at anytime based on their individual needs and clearly articulated requests/boundaries. All cast and crew members are working on deferred payment, and I pay them as soon as I am able given that I’m a disabled single mama doin’ their best ;).

Killing Kyle is only being made due to the fact that I have stopped waiting for permission to do things or for people to jump on board. I practice radical acceptance at all time and remain dauntless.

I will be sure to keep you all updated along the way until we reach our destination!

And thank you so much for reading!