What Story Are We Telling?
Half Shell follows a Cape Cod teen who must commit a terrible crime in an attempt to free herself and her unborn child from a world of abuse, addiction, and stolen oysters.
At its core, Half Shell is a story of survival and the hope for an existence free from danger. We are exploring the question, “what would you be willing to do to protect the ones you love?”
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Most would answer, “I’d do anything,” which seems feasible if your socioeconomic status affords you a life of comfort and safety. Yet, for the people in America's communities who live in poverty; who struggle with isolation and trauma; who face violence at home; finding a way to escape with your loved ones to a better life can require taking drastic action.
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Our lead character, Danielle Jones, is willing to do just that—take extreme action to protect herself, her unborn child, and her boyfriend. Unfortunately for Danielle, the choice to act has terrible consequences.
Our Goals
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There continues to be an ongoing opioid and addiction epidemic in the country. CDC data shows we are still struggling to find solutions to reduce the number of overdose-related deaths.
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After considering how Half Shell could best serve our communities, the production developed the following two goals:
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1. Create a compelling short film that will be well received on the film festival circuit, thus heightening awareness of harm reduction strategies and efforts.
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2. Use the film as a tool or resource for supporting harm reduction strategies and addiction-related missions by creating partnerships with state, municipal, and other harm reduction organizations.
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The difficulty surrounding the implementation of harm reduction strategies is an important issue. While there is no universal solution, we believe we can use art and film, such as Half Shell, to meet people where they’re at with their addiction and understand the conditions of use, or those external and internal factors that lead to addiction.
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Half Shell takes on social challenges such as: abuse; trauma; isolation; and poverty. Experiencing these social issues makes people more likely to struggle with addiction and affects an individual’s ability to seek treatment.
The above social issues, along with the story’s true-crime inspired narrative, will be presented in a highly dramatic, compelling animated short film.
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The production hopes that the film can foster conversation between individual and community stakeholders/organizations to assist in creating more effective harm reduction programs and policies.