Highlights

• In 2004 Pastor Roger Huang decided to set up a folding chair, put his life on the line, and wait outside San Francisco City Hall until the city leaders took action to intervene on behalf of the Tenderloin community

• A film with an Asian actor lead — seeing more  AAPI representation in Hollywood

• Emily Rose (SyFy’s Haven & Original Voice Cast Sony’s Uncharted adventure game series) attached as the female lead

• An active mission where 10,000 volunteers a year are trained to serve in the Tenderloin neighborhood.

• Focused audiences: faith-based, justice-oriented, action/political change, and Asian communities.

• Working with a co-producer Salt Media whose team is based in Singapore. Need to raise 125K more to complete our 2 million dollar budget and green light the picture

• From the producer of ‘Ragamuffin’ and the screenwriter of ‘I Can Only Imagine’

• Based on the book Chasing God: One Man’s Miraculous Journey in the Heart of The City published by David C. Cook

Story Synopsis

The true story of Pastor Roger Huang during his 33-day hunger strike outside of San Francisco City Hall.

“33 DAYS” is a feature-length narrative film geared for a general audience that takes place in San Francisco, California. Much like the critically-acclaimed “Fruitvale Station” by director Ryan Coogler this film will highlight the beauty and grittiness of San Francisco while telling the story of Pastor Roger Huang during his 33-day hunger strike outside of San Francisco City Hall.

Using the hunger strike as a backdrop and narrative backbone, the film will depict Pastor Roger’s life story and the dramatic events that have led him to this desperate act of defiance. From a painful and abusive childhood to a youth spent on the streets, finding love in his wife Maite, and discovering the catalyst for the rest of his life: Jesus. Roger’s character arc follows a man who is at first pensive and overwhelmed with the problems of the Tenderloin, to a strong leader who is unwavering and courageous in his advocacy for the people he loves so deeply. All because of his unwavering faith in God.

The film opens with Pastor Roger setting up a folding chair outside of the San Francisco City Hall steps. He sits, thinks, and prays. This image jumps us back three decades in the past as we explore his early years and the motivations and barriers he will have to overcome as an adult. As the story moves forward, we move back and forth from Roger’s past to the hunger strike of the present, using it as a source of intrigue: what is he doing, why is he doing it?

We see the early years of the ministry and Pastor Roger’s passion to protect the children of the Tenderloin – visually juxtaposing his own troubled childhood with the children he meets on the streets. The film will chronicle his growing ministry and the miracles that take place that demonstrate the amazing transformative power that faith can have.

Eventually, the past and present meet – we understand what’s at stake and why Pastor Roger has made his demands of the city. The last act of the film plays out as one man’s faith takes on the large, powerful, slow-moving establishment. We will see inside of the chambers of City Hall. Mayor Gavin Newsom and his staff will play a role in giving the perspective of how Pastor Roger’s hunger strike is perceived through the eyes of the governing class. For a new mayor, who may have presidential aspirations, the prospect of having a prominent figure in the community go without food, indefinitely, in front of his office does not bode well for him.

After unsuccessfully trying to convince Pastor Roger to end his strike, it becomes clear to the Mayor that he is not dealing with a fair-weather protestor, but rather an agent of change. We will examine how this protest changed the course of history for the Tenderloin neighborhood by changing the hearts of city officials.

Filmmaking Team & Approach

The filmmaking team is made up of diverse, experienced filmmakers with the range of talent and industry knowledge needed to bring this story to a wide audience. The team has combined to produce or direct 6 feature films and over 25 short films that have received worldwide distribution as well as screening and winning awards at major film festivals around the globe such as SXSW, Slamdance, Heartland Film Festival, and the Maui International Film Festival. 

Style and Mood
We are big believers in obtaining, before anything else, authenticity in our telling of this story. From the production design to the dialogue to the casting, we strive to be as accurate to Pastor Roger’s story as we can be. Along with that will come a “gritty” realness. We want to make the Tenderloin a character and to be true to its likeness – showing both the good and the bad. This will be a film that should challenge its audience with the realities of what goes into intervening in the lives of the desperate and hopeless.

The script makes great use of stories and moments pulled directly from the books and from our ongoing research process. Creative license has been taken mostly in the compression of events – linking stories from the novel closer together to maximize the dramatic plot elements and to make it more practical to capture. 

For more analysis on the successful faith-based film check out this AFM article “What Types of Low Budget Films Break out?”