BUGGY: A Short Film

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BUGGY, a short film, tells the story of an ambitious theater major who finds out she’s pregnant the night before her final college performance. Buggy must find a ride to her abortion, endure the inane positivity of her understudy, and evade protestors...all before call time. Motivated by a recent six-week abortion ban in their home state, Hart Lang and Mary Tilden wrote BUGGY as a way to tell a character-focused story about a young artist’s pursuit of her dreams and the obstacles that arise as she navigates restrictive cultural forces and healthcare policies. Your donation will support an independent film project that tells a nuanced, timely, funny story of abortion access in a red state.

About This Project

The idea for BUGGY came when a member of director Mary Tilden’s family experienced a life-threatening emergency during her pregnancy and, as a resident of Georgia, was unable to receive treatment in her home state. She had to drive 6 hours to North Carolina to receive the medical care she needed to survive. Though the topic of abortion feels political, the truth is that it is personal and contextual.

Stories like this are becoming more common. But a story that isn’t often told is one about a person who does get the care they need, even when it’s not a life-threatening situation. What if someone follows all the rules, gets to the clinic before the “deadline”, and makes it back in time for their performance that night? South Carolina is full of young artists, people with dreams and goals, but we know that is not how the rest of the country sees us. It was important for us to tell a story about people who, while having to confront hard choices at every turn, still choose themselves and the life they want.

Mary Tilden, a Chicago-based filmmaker and director, looped in Hart Lang, a childhood friend and longtime collaborator, to help write the script for BUGGY. Five drafts later, this campaign is a launching point for the development of the film, which will shoot in Mary and Hart’s home state with a combination of collaborators from both Chicago and South Carolina. We are partnering with filmmakers at the University of South Carolina and Chicago-based RM. 19 for production and casting support.

Funds from this campaign will support equitable pay for our team of highly skilled creatives as well as material production needs like equipment and location costs. With films on OTV streaming platform and Omeleto shorts, director Mary Tilden has gained a solid understanding of the film festival and distribution possibilities for short films. BUGGY is an excellent fit to be programmed at festivals that are Southern-focused, women-focused, and queer-focused.

The film has rich characters, stunning visuals, and a theatrical setting for our team to sink their teeth into. After the festival run, the film will be available to stream for anyone unable to attend a festival. 

As we seek to tell a story that addresses the lack of resources available to people in reproductive health and sexual education, we are confronted with the lack of institutional support for independent filmmakers who want to tell these kinds of stories. Your support helps us close this gap.

Thank yous

Contribute any amount or choose from the levels below.

• $25
  Social Media Shout Out & Thank you ($25.00 is tax deductible.)
• $50
  Above + Your Name in the Film Credits ($50.00 is tax deductible.)
• $100
  Above + Link to a private early screener of the film ($100.00 is tax deductible.)
• $250
  Above + Your name is included as a cameo in the movie ($250.00 is tax deductible.)
• $500
  Above + Choice between a Storytelling Coaching with with Hart Lang, Acting Coaching with Mary Tilden or a producing consultation session with Rm. 19 productions ($450.00 is tax deductible.)
• $1000
  Above + Associate Producer Credit ($950.00 is tax deductible.)
• $2500
  Above + Executive Producer Credit ($2450.00 is tax deductible.)

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Mary Tilden

Make a Wave Artist

Mary Tilden is a queer, Southern-born writer, director, actor, producer, and educator. Past work as an actor includes The Wolves at Goodman Theatre, which won a 2018 Jeff Award for Best Ensemble and Athena at Writers Theatre in the titular …

View Mary Tilden's profile

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