In January of this year, I began to write a script for a short film, US, ALL ALONG. My initial inspiration came from a place of wanting to explore a very personal dynamic through this medium that is new to me as an artist. 

Words have provided me with a landscape robust with meaning.  As a kid, poetry became a means of deciphering the earth, its unfolding, and my place in it. Later, I leaned into essay writing, the fullness of that form mirroring what it felt like to discover more of who I was at the time. 

The process of writing Us, All Along has been a tumultuous yet determined journey. Creating an atmosphere that is, at each stage multi-dimensional has deepened my internal ethos as an artist. The story and its parts have slipped into a life of their own. Over the past eight months, the script has undergone many iterations and its shapeshifting continues as we will be shooting the film this September. I am excited to see all of the internal visualizing come to life in physical space.

I am beyond amazed by all of the people who have already shown such grace and patience with me and this project, their support means the world. It has been a wonderful process of collating a crew of people who I trust and love and am inspired by. 

The amazing Miranda Yang is producing- Miranda and I have been working closely in the last couple of months amidst pre-production. The remarkable Jasper Fletcher will be the Director of Photography. And the awesome Georgia Reed-Stamm will be Assistant Director.  Each of these wonderful people are thoughtful and intentional humans and artists and I feel so so lucky that we will all get to work alongside one another. 

Every single person involved I respect greatly and my trust in each of them is just even more immense. 

As our shoot dates are quickly approaching we’re currently raising the necessary funds to cover production costs including camera lenses, lighting equipment, actor fees, crew fees, travel fees, and food to make sure everyone on set is nourished. 

Thank you for supporting the actualization of this story!

• Tae Weiss