Swipe

A Short film by Niels Bourgonje

Crowdfunding teaser:

310

90%

€6.335

donated of €7.000

hours to go

106

supporters

Project Information

About the project

LOCKLINEA girl finds out that she has a match on a dating app with a guy despite never liking him. She starts to fear that the guy is dangerously close to her

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever used a dating app? Don't lie. If your answer is no, your loved ones probably have. These apps give you the control over who you let into your life, just by swiping left or right. What if you lose this control?

On her way home from school, Lisa is swiping on her dating app, when all of a sudden she has a match with a creepy looking stranger. Eventhough she never liked him in the first place. When she is on the subway, she finds out that the stranger uploaded a new picture of himself; also riding the subway. Is this a coincindence or is the stranger slowly getting closer and closer?

ONLINE HARASSMENT

Swipe is going to be a scary short film, dealing with subject matter that is a little too close for comfort. A majority of women experience harassment in their lives. And eventhough it is getting a lot of media attention, women still don't feel safe. Especially online, where the perpatrayors can stay anonymous while stalking their prey.

HORROR

The best examples of horror films have always been about social issues. Whether it's racism (Get Out), bullying (Carrie) or sexual assault (Rosemary's Baby). Because isn't a nightmare much scarier when you feel it isn't too far off from reality? With Swipe we want to give the viewer a chilling reminder of real threats people face every single day.

NEW YORK

The location of a film is an essential way of emphasizing the core themes of the story, while also transporting the viewer to an unique world. That's why we decided to shoot this film here in New York, where it is easy to be overwhelmed by the millions of people. Urban isolation is a big problem. And eventhough New York is a lot safer, it can still be a scary place. Especially when you're a woman walking the streets alone at night.

AMERICAN CAST & CREW

We'll be working with a talented American cast and crew, who have worked on well known productions. We are extremely excited about this ambitious film. But because we are this ambitious, we need your help to get this movie up and running. We already have the Dutch broadcaster on board BNNVARA and 3LAB as a supporter. Now all we need is your support, because we'll get their funding after succesfully finishing this crowdfunding campaign. Help us tell this important story. And we'll see you at the premiere. If you dare to come that is.

*please be advised that donations are in euros, so amounts might differ in your country's currency*

PARTNERS

Quote that inspired the maker

A man's greatest fear from a woman is she will laugh at him, a woman's fear is that a man will kill her.

Margaret Drabble

Cast & crew

CAST

Ebony Obsidian (If Beale Street Could Talk)

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6372377/?ref_=tt_cl_t2

Jefferson White (How To Get Away With Murder)

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6366417/?ref_=rvi_nm

CREW

Director / Storywriter - NIELS BOURGONJE

SWIPE will be Niels' (lucky) thirteenth short film. His previous shorts were screened all over the world, winning numerous awards. BUDDY was selected by sixty-five festivals, including Palm Springs International ShortFest and the Seattle International Film Festival, BRIDGE' has won ten awards, TURN IT AROUND has fifty selections and counting and his latest SKOGAFOSS has been selected for forty film festivals and has won eight awards. Not bad for a DIY filmmaker who never went to filmschool. He often shoots outside of his home country The Netherlands. 'Skogafoss' was shot in Iceland and Deserted in Los Angeles. He is very fortunate to have worked with the very best actors in the Netherlands, like Golden Calf winners Anneke Blok, Martijn Lakemeier, Catherine ten Bruggencate and Issaka Sawadogo.

Teaser 'Skogafoss'

Producer - STEFFIE VAN RHEE

Steffie is a Dutch documentary filmmaker and producer located in New York, where she earned a graduate degree in Documentary Media Studies at The New School. Dedicated to amplifying female narratives she is often found working on projects focusing on women’s issues or driven by a strong female creative team. She’s one of the producers of Emmy-nominated filmmaker Cynthia Lowen’s NETIZENS (Tribeca 2018), a documentary about online harassment & women. Before that, Steffie worked for various Dutch production companies including De Familie Film & TV and ROSE stories. Currently, she is a member of New York Women in Film & Television and one of the co-founders of #girlcrew collective, an internationally based all female artist collective. Her newest production AT ALL COSTS, directed by Juul Op Den Kamp, will be broadcast by the Dutch broadcaster VPRO on the 26th of March.

Intro 'At All Costs'

Screenwriter - PAUL BONTENBAL

Paul Bontenbal graduated the Dutch Film Academy and has since written numerous short films. His graduation film CAVITIES won the Pathé Tuschinski Award and was shown all around the world.

He has worked with Niels on several projects like ORDER, PEACE & QUIET and DESERTED, which was filmed in California. Their latest short film TURN IT AROUND is a positive coming out story that has been selected by 50 festivals and won 3 prizes.

His most known achievements are BALLS, the Shortcutz best film winner of 2016, and the film SOMETHING ABOUT ALEX, which was shown at more than 90 festivals and has accumulated around 35 prizes. Once again this is a story surrounding the LGBTI+ theme.

Trailer: 'Something About Alex'