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oh_davy

@oh_davy

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SPLASH CITY @lionsgate July 20th🍿
Dad | Writer | Filmmaker 🎬 | Combat Vet
Indie films. No shortcuts.
Co-founder @4ways_ent
Let's connect and create

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

LOOOOK AFTER THEM COPYRIGHTS HIT YESTERDAY 👑🦍 IM DROPPING ALL OUR SHIIIIII. YOU GONE SEE A LOTTA FOLKS FALL BACK OFF ALL THAT BITING NOW. GOTTA COME WIT YO OWN SHI. WE GOT OVER 200 PEICES DROPPING ONNA SITE. BUT FOR NOW CHECK THE

KWC BALL TIL WE FALL LONG SLEEVE WITH THE EMBROIDERED CROSSES. OMM WE MAKE SAUCY MERCH. WE PIONEERS OVER HERE AT KWC. NO BITING. NEXT YOU GONE SEE THE CRAZY CREW NECKS (NO HOOD) JOINTS. #kwc #oakland #frisco #qwc #splashcity

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No auditions. No casting call.

I met Liz as a stranger on a set, and by the end of the day it felt like we’d known each other for years. We’d both just come out of really hard seasons. She got past every wall I had - she saw the real me, something I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

I’d been carrying two characters in my head, Ronnie and Charlie, and one night I finally told her the whole idea. Terrified, I asked her: “what if we actually made this movie?”
She didn’t hesitate. She smiled and said: “I’ll throw in 10 if you think you can get the rest.”

Deal.

So I rewrote Charlie to be her. Charlie is part of the LGBTQ community, like Liz, and I wanted her to play someone close to herself for once. Then God sent a receipt: my script had a “passenger princess” sticker on the car mirror. Liz’s actual car already had one. I screamed.

This movie is a love letter. To myself - and to my friend, who had overcome so much in her life and ferociously believed in us. When I broke down on the road, exhausted and at my limit, she answered with grace and walked me to Whataburger so we could just be girls for a while. That’s who she is. That’s who Charlie is.

We both dreamed of leading a feature film. We just handed that dream to each other.

The Road That Holds Us is in post-production now. 🤍

@theroadthatholdsusfilm @lizcatchings

#indiefilm #firstfeature #filmmaking #womeninfilm #director actress casting theroadthatholdsus

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Part 3: how to budget your first feature. 🎬

I started with a table in a document. Not even a spreadsheet. My old film school classmate Sammie called every location for quotes — we cut locations to fit our $20K cap, then the numbers told us we needed $25K. My friend Nino turned it all into a professional spreadsheet.

The lessons: double your food budget (the surprise treats are what the crew remembers), budget for the little on-the-fly things, and add 25% because you don't know what you don't know.

Save this for the film you're scared to budget. 🛻🌵

#indiefilm #filmmaking #filmbudget #womeninfilm #indiefilmmaking #firstfeature

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Part 2: where the $25,000 actually went. 🎬

The first $10K came from Liz, one of my lead actresses. We met on set and hit it off — we hung out, talked movies, and I told her my story idea. She loved it, so I wrote it. No pitch deck. No hard sell. That traction gave me the confidence to build the decks and send the script to my DP, sound, producers, PD and art team. They rallied.

Then I took out a $15,000 loan — one of the biggest risks of my life. I had no idea how or when I'd pay it back. I just knew if I didn't do it then, years would pass and I'd regret it. Months later, an anonymous donor gave $15K.

Where most of it went:
📍 Locations — $4,335
🍽️ Food (crafty, lunches & per diems) — ~$2,500
😅 Surprises (contingency burned) — ~$2,000
🛡️ Insurance — ~$2,000

What we didn't buy: every piece of gear was donated by our EP Jonathan Cocco.

Lesson earned: if it's your first feature, budget 25% contingency. You don't know what you don't know — you're learning along the way, mistakes will be made, and they're costly. We may raise $5K more, putting the real total at $30K when it's all said and done.

My advice: keep it simple. Use free locations and the money goes a lot further. We were wildly ambitious doing a road trip and a movie at once — but damn, one hell of an adventure.

Save this for your budget. 🎬

#femaledirector #indiefilm #filmmaking #filmbudget #behindthescenes #womeninfilm #indiefilmmaking #producerlife #filmmaker #lowbudgetfilm

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I didn't make this film. We did.

8 humans, 2 cars, 7 days across the American Southwest — and one truck who never missed a mark. Most of this crew was making their first feature. All of them gave this story everything they had.

Meet the team, in no particular order except the order they earned:

🎬 JESSE — 1st AD
Set hero and road producer. The person you want next to you when the schedule falls apart at golden hour. Ours never did — because of him.

📷 QUINN — director of photography
There from the very first scout to the last frame. This film looks the way it does because Quinn saw it before the rest of us did.

🎙️ LANCE — sound
Our ears, our comedic relief, our set badass. You don't get performances like these without someone making sure every whisper lands.

🎭 LIZ — "Charlie"
Lead actress, on-set muscle, and the first believer — $10,000 before there was a deck, a plan, or any proof. Just an honest conversation about a story she loved. This film starts with her yes.

📋 BELLA — road producer
The one who kept 8 humans, 2 cars, and 7 days of desert shooting from collapsing into beautiful chaos. Every production needs a Bella. We got the best one.

📝 MP — script supervisor
The quiet guardian of continuity. While the rest of us ran on adrenaline, MP made sure the story actually made sense.

🎥 ADRIAN — 1st AC
Sweet prince. Vibes master. Kept the camera alive and rolling through dust, heat, and 4-hour-sleep days.

🚚 PARKER — picture vehicle, paid actor
Never late, never complained. Carried the cast, the crew, the camera, and half of New Mexico on her back. 10/10, would hire again.

👑 REBEKAH — director & "Ronnie"
That's me — last on purpose. I had the story and the nerve. They had the talent, the muscle, and the faith.

---

8 people said yes to 7 days in the desert for a story most of them had just heard.

That's the whole story. 🎬

THE ROAD THAT HOLDS US — coming soon.

Tag someone who'd say yes to your crazy idea 👇

#indiefilm #filmcrew #womeninfilm #setlife #femaledirector #indiefilmmaking

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Everyone told me to pick one: actress OR director.

So I wrote a feature film, directed it — and I'm in it.

You don't need permission. You need a story you can't not tell, and the guts to start before you're ready.

What's the project you're not making yet? Tell me 👇

🎬 THE ROAD THAT HOLDS US — coming soon

#actress #filmmaker #femaledirector #indiefilm

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POV: you make your first feature film for $25K. The whole film. 🎬

September 2025: I'd left film for a stable tech job, and I was miserable. So I promised myself I would make a feature that same year. The story came from the grief I'd carried since I was sixteen — and from my aunt, who I lost.

December 2025: script locked. Storyboards on the hood of a car. (I wrote the story in 5 days.)

Then I sent it out — and people didn't just like it, they were moved. Some cried. That's when I knew.

The first $10K came from one donor who believed in the story. Then I put $15K of my own money in. $25K total. No studio, no permission slip.

April 2026: 8 of us hit the road for 7 days — two cars, one of them our picture vehicle — then 4 more days in CA. We built the visual world location by location — neon motels, desert at dusk, Americana that feels like a memory. We survived turbulent weather, secured locations as we went, and shot run-and-gun because that's what $25K demands.

Two nights in, we realized we didn’t give ourselves enough time to get a full nights sleep — driving and filming at the same time was ambitious and we all deserved to be as well rested as possible. So we stopped, rebuilt the whole schedule around 8 hours of rest, and added four stationary days in CA to do it right. Best producing decision I made.

Nobody hands you a feature film. You problem-solve your way into one.

🎞️ THE ROAD THAT HOLDS US: After the death of her best friend Charlotte, a guarded young woman sets out on a dusty road trip through the American Southwest to fulfill the travel journal they made together — a bittersweet journey of grief, humor, and self-acceptance.

Save this if you're making yours. What's the film you're not making yet? 👇

Follow @theroadthatholdsusfilm for the journey 🤍

#femaledirector #indiefilm #filmmaking #behindthescenes #featurefilm #womeninfilm #directorlife #indiefilmmaking #setlife #filmmaker

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Alex Ferrufino • David Mansanalez 📸 @primegod87

@splashcitythemovie w @alex.ferrufino @oh_davy • New Episode Out Now
@cult.media.podcast • Link in bio

co-Hosts: @primegod87 @flyestwhenitcomestothis @scla.clips
🎥 @cult.media.tv #bayarea #berner Latino Films Makers

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Splash City showing Cerritos

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Why we Do what we Do — because we love it ❤️ Splash City was built on love, passion, dedication, and perseverance. It’s not about the size or kind of camera, the amount of lights you have, or the budget — it’s about the people who put forth their creativity to make something that transcends something that cannot be quantified. We all are about making something we are proud of — to share with others, the tell our kids about, other students of film, or just leave with amazing memories for a work of sweat and passion — FILM IS FOREVER! So we wake up and go at it again into ANOTHER 12HR DAY of work we ❤️ — LFG🔥🔥🔥 // @splashcitythemovie is avail to rent or own on AppleTV, AmazonPrime, YouTube and will be avail to stream on @starz on 11/17 👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽❤️🎥 Fill the comments if you’ve seen SPLASH CITY and Repost #splashcity #another12hrday #feature #independentfilm #sffilm

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@splashcitythemovie screening
@lionsgate
@johnnylmurillo @chicanohollywoodfilmfestival @chicanohollywood

Great panel discussion!

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Is FRIDAY a Drama and NOT A COMEDY? • New Episode w/ @alex.ferrufino @oh_davy Out Now @cult.media.podcast • Link in bio

co-Hosts: @primegod87 @flyestwhenitcomestothis @scla.clips
🎥 @cult.media.tv #bayarea #berner Latino Films Makers

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