Invest in Road To L’Etape Du Tour

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT:

As a person born with a congenital heart defect, this is a story I have wanted to tell for a long time. When I was young, I always thought of my heart condition as being past tense, it was simply something that had happened to me. It wasn’t until I performed poorly on a cardiac stress test later in life that the condition became frighteningly present tense. My heart condition was something that I not only needed to deal with, but it was something that would continue to complicate my health as I aged.

I’ve had to prioritize my health, and following in my father’s footsteps, turned to cycling. My father has been an avid cyclist for as long as I can remember and has ridden the L’Etape du Tour, where amateur riders can ride a stage of the Tour de France, several times. Unlike our lead character Amy, I did not lose a father, but lost an uncle, cousin and grandfather, all to heart related complications. Their deaths deeply affected me and have altered the way I live my life.

This film is for:

Anyone who has ever been affected by health problems. 

Anyone working through grief in the best way they know how. 

Anyone born with a condition they feel trapped by.

Anyone who seeks to live life to the fullest.

The writer/director at two years old receiving her second of three open heart surgeries:

PREVIOUS WORK:

As a writer, I explore humor and meaning in the face of tragedy and grief, drawing on personal experiences to create compellingly realistic characters who must evolve as they cope with unexpected hardship. Much like in real life, my characters' stories have both blessings and curses. Through it all, they grow despite losses or challenges, and find ways to carry on.

Watch my short film Brothers below:

ROAD TO L'ETAPE DU TOUR - THE MOVIE

CHARACTERS:

LOCATIONS:

CINEMATOGRAPHY:

COMPARISON FILMS:

TIMELINE:

BUSINESS PLAN:

The money we raise via WeFunder will go entirely towards the production of this feature film; our location rentals, our crew, and our cast. We will aim to generate revenue by making deals with domestic and international distributors. Specifically, once the film is completed, we will submit to the top film festivals (Sundance, SXSW, Cannes, etc) as part of our content marketing strategy. Then, we will pursue distribution deals for the film with agencies, distributors, and sales companies.

After payment of production related expenses, proceeds from such deals would first provide for privileged returns for investors of 120% of your initial investment (130% of your initial investment for Early Bird Investors). After receiving such privileged returns, investors would receive 50% of net profits. As an illustrative example, if we sold US distribution rights to a large content streamer for $1m, had production expenses of $300k (funded entirely with proceeds from this WeFunder campaign with $75k of Early Bird investment and $225k of non-Early Bird investment), Early Bird investors would receive their ratable share of approximately $177k ($98k of initial investment plus privileged return and $79k as their ratable share of net profits) and non-Early Bird investors would receive their ratable share of approximately $507k ($270k of initial investment plus privileged return and $237k as their ratable share of net profits).

COMMUNITY:

The Upper Valley, an area of New England that includes towns in both Vermont and New Hampshire, is home to Dartmouth College, many well known artists, writers and athletes. It’s the type of place that you so desperately want to leave as a teenager, but then find yourself counting the days until you can go back as an adult. I believe that New England is a relatively untapped area where more filming should take place. In my experience, New England film festivals have some of the highest attendance rates, indicating that there is strong demand for independent film in New England.

I’m so excited to involve people from the Upper Valley and the greater New England area in our film. We already have half our locations lined up thanks to the generosity of friends and family. We have a long list of New England local crew members to call upon once filming is underway. I want to share the beauty and the talents that the community of the Upper Valley has to offer, and hope this will be the first of many films I make here.

TOUR DE FRANCE and L'ETAPE DU TOUR:

ABOUT US:

Julia Coulter is a director, writer and actor based in Los Angeles. A graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), she earned her BA Honors in Acting. Since 2013, RWCMD has topped the rankings of university drama and dance programs. While at RWCMD, Julia worked with some of the UK’s top directors and performed on some of London’s biggest stages: The Royal Court and The National. In her second year of training, she booked her first professional voiceover job with BBC Radio.

After moving to Los Angeles, Julia signed with FireStarter Entertainment. Julia made her network debut in the HBO series Insecure, and shortly after, she booked a role on the Showtime pilot The Wood. Julia has also appeared in numerous short films and web series. She has worked as a voiceover artist for Voxx Studios for over six years, dubbing TV series and movies from Spanish, Russian and Chinese into English.

In 2019, she directed her first short film, Brothers, which she wrote and produced. The film stars Sharon Lawrence as the grief stricken mother of brothers Taylor and Elijah, who are played by Alex Alcheh and Kevin Michael Martin. The film has played at a total of ten film festivals including the Academy Award Qualifying New Hampshire Film Festival. Her second short film, Habit, which she wrote and starred in is currently making the festival rounds, it most recently won best short film at the Vegas Movie Awards.

Behind the camera, Julia has worked in the production office for HBO’s Silicon Valley, Generation, Insecure and The Idol, the Netflix series Special and Amazon series Hunters X-Ray.

Fearon DeWeese & Juliana Folk launched Ashella Productions in 2021 to produce their first Pilot Episode, UnCredited. UnCredited has gone on to win Best Episodic at the Lady Filmmaker Festival in Beverly Hills, the Palm Springs Shorts Fest, and Niagara Falls International Short Festival. Fearon also won BEST NEW DIRECTOR at the San Diego Shorts Festival.

Ashella Productions aims to produce stories that drive conversation, are entertaining, and connect to the soul. It was essential to create a production company that supported women in film, directors, and storytellers.

Fearon DeWeese has always had a passion for telling stories through Film and Television. She had her own local TV show with her sister at the age of 12. After college, she got into event production and has produced over 1200 events. She attended the first year of the Napa Valley Film Festival, where she fell in love with film festivals and applied for a job. She quickly worked her way up to a Director position and produced the film festival for eight years. She also went on to work for Mill Valley Film Festival before launching Ashella Productions. Fearon has experience managing talent, taking care of hospitality needs, location searching, producing, and directing. She manages budgets, creates full production schedules, and can direct a large team. She wears many hats during production and thrives on set. 

Juliana Folk (Jules), at age 8, started modeling, studying acting, and beginning her journey with writing. She knew from a young age she wanted to act. She even hosted and produced her high school morning show. After college, she packed her bags and moved to the city of stars to jump into acting and has been doing it ever since. She met her husband and moved to Northern California. She joined Fearon at the Napa Valley Film Festival, where she worked for five years while acting.

Genevieve Kertesz is a 1st AD, writer and director who actively seeks unique and engrossing tales. Her passion lies in showcasing individuals in the midst of their battles - fighting for their lives, their beliefs, or simply for their own identity. Particularly, she emphasizes complex strong women characters, aiming to inspire others through her narratives.

One of her recent achievements is her AFI thesis film, "The Erl King," which has been enjoying great success on the festival circuit. The film has played for prestigious events such as the Pasadena Film Festival, Film Quest, and Beverly Hills Film Festival. Notably, "The Erl King" earned a spot in the esteemed New York Times' list of "Five Horror Movies to Stream Now" for July, highlighted as part of Etheria Film Night 2023.

Genevieve's creative journey also includes her directing for the Screen Australia and Google-backed digital series, "NEVERNIGHT," a thrilling adaptation of the renowned New York Times best-selling fantasy novel of the same name. This web series has garnered significant attention and has amassed an impressive 240,000 views online.

She completed her master's degree at the prestigious American Film Institute, building on her earlier educational background with a BA in Film and Screen Media Production and another BA in Business with a major in Advertising from Australia.