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An Indie Filmmaker Wants to Make a Newtown Shooting-Inspired Short

It’s been less than two months since twenty children and six adults were killed in a school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. But already, one filmmaker is working on a movie that uses the tragedy as an inspiration for its story. Writer/director Jonathan Bucari and producer Carina Rush have set up an Indiegogo campaign for their short film Illness. As of this writing, they have raised $610 towards their $3000 goal, with 14 days left to go.

Now, the first thing I thought when I read this THR headline was that this project was the height of too-soon bad taste. But then I read the logline for the film, and found out that the short isn’t some exploitative reenactment of the massacre, but instead is something much more interesting:

“Illness” is a story about the tragic fate of Benjamin, a thirteen-year-old boy with a terrible mental illness, and the ever-growing fear of his parents after they learn about the shooting in Newtown in December 2012.

That’s a fantastic premise. We demonize the mentally ill in this country, and school shootings often exacerbate that fear. You’ll see the same people who reject gun control calling for registries of all people living with mental conditions. It’s a horrible injustice, and it would be great for a movie that portrays such an afflicted person as a human being to get some attention.

The town in which Bucari plans to shoot hates the idea. But I really hope he’s able to go through with the project. It’s something we could use right now.

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