Stephen King’s Willa, from his collection titled Just After Sunset, is set to begin filming in NSW in 2024 thanks to The Dollar Baby Program and Kickstarter.
Award-winning writer and director Warren Duncan from Sydney has taken on what he describes as the most ambitious Stephen King Dollar Baby crowd-funding campaign to ever exist. While the film has already reached its Kickstarter funding goal, the team are aiming to raise as much money as possible in order to better fund production, increase pay for cast and crew, and allow for more film festival entries.
Stephen King makes many of his short stories available for filmmakers to adapt as part of The Dollar Baby Program. This isn’t director Warren Duncan’s first foray into the Stephen King film universe, with his previous Stephen King short film titled All That You Love also being crowd-funded on Kickstarter.
All That You Love holds the record as the most-backed Stephen King short film on any crowd-funding platform ever (350 backers over two campaigns). While Willa has a way to go backer-wise (needing 166 more backers to break their own record), they are also slowly chasing down another record which is for the most-funded Stephen King short film (Willa currently sits in second place). Another $6700 will make Willa the most-funded King short film through crowd funding ever.
Willa, from The Raven Flies West Films and 19th Edition Films, tells the story of David who wakes up on a train platform unable to find his fiancé Willa. The other passengers warn him not to go into town to look for her, but he goes anyway. He finds Willa sitting alone at a Pub in the nearby town and what she reveals to him will change the course of their lives forever. Willa combines a perfect mix of horror and drama to reveal a story that stays with you long after the credits roll.
Willa stars Tal Hymans, Michael Albrecht, Tahlia Crinis, Ambrose Randall and Ivy Giovanna Axisa.
You can find out more about the Willa Kickstarter campaign here.
Cinema Australia 