Something is happening in the desert. The epicenter is a strange box – hastily nailed together, covered by a heavy tarp, resting in the bed of an abandoned truck. What’s inside is incomprehensible.

Our lead characters, Dylan and Cameron, are first met as they unknowingly barrel right towards it. On a road trip fueled by snacks, sarcasm, and adrenaline, they traverse a landscape that feels more like Mars than Earth – the California Desert.

A story of rebirth, recovery, and closure, propelled forward by an esoteric conduit, this women-led narrative follows the tectonic shift of a friendship over one fateful day. In the face of the unexplained, they lean into their truest selves and confront an unnerving new reality.

THE BUILDOUT is a meditation taken from behind the handlebars of a speeding motorcycle. It aims to bridge the gap between found footage and traditional cinematic storytelling while leaning into strong, capable, and unapologetic characters.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FIRST 5 PAGES OF THE BUILDOUT

EMILY BENNETT AS ‘CAMERON’

Emily Bennett is a multi-award winning actress known for her recurring work on the Showtime series “City on a Hill” and several NBC series, including, “The Blacklist,” “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago PD,” and “Chicago Justice.” She has also starred in the following indie feature films: KING OF KNIVES, THE GROUNDSKEEPER, and RESURRECTING MCGINN(S).

Emily is known for her feature screenplays: ACHE, SHE CAME BACK, THE BENDS, and AWFUL PRETTY. Her recent writing / directing work includes the award-winning feature film ALONE WITH YOU, which she also stars in, and short films such as BED, LVRS, CHAT ROOM, and SMILE FOR ME. Her films have played such festivals as Fantastic Fest, Fantasia, Sitges, Screamfest, and Telluride Horror Show.

Bennett studied at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London where she was instructed by a wide-range of beloved actors such as Alan Rickman and Sean Bean. Bennett is repped by Adréana Robbins, Bohemia Group (LA), and Professional Artists (NYC).

HANNAH ALLINE AS ‘DYLAN’

Hannah Alline is an actor and director born and raised in Arkansas. She is best known for her roles on HBO’s DOOM PATROL, THE HUNT, and THE MISEDUCATION OF BINDU. She has also appeared on FX’s THE PURGE and AMC’s THE WALKING DEAD. In addition to her work on-screen, Hannah is the co-founder of Juice Box Films. When not performing, Hannah works behind the scenes, where she continues to develop her skills in writing, directing, and producing. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.

RHIAN REES AS ‘CLERIC KANNER’

Rhian Rees is a Los Angeles-based actor best known for her work in the infamous Blumhouse staple, HALLOWEEN (2018), directed by David Gordon Green and starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Her work earned the “Most Frightened Performance” nomination at the 2019 MTV Movie Awards. Rhian has a BA in Playwriting from the University of Surrey, UK. Her thesis play was awarded with First Class Honours, leading to a placement on the Young Writers Program at the Royal Court Theatre.

NICHOLAS THURKETTLE AS ‘CLERIC BARROW’

Nicholas Thurkettle is a writer, actor, and filmmaker. His films have played festivals around the world, winning awards such as Best Director, Best Short Film, and Best Comedy Short. He wrote the anime pilot, CHILDREN OF ETHER, for Crunchyroll, which debuted on over 300 U.S. movie screens. 

Nicholas is also a prolific voice actor, specializing in animation, video games, audiobooks, and corporate commercial work. Additionally, he has performed for five seasons with the heralded Shakespeare Orange County, serving as not only their Artistic Associate but also their Casting Director. 

Thurkettle spent five years in Short Film Programming for the Newport Beach Film Festival. He graduated Bradley University with degrees in Theatre Performance and Music and a Global Scholar option from a semester of study at Hull University in the U.K., and is a proud member of the Writers Guild of America, the Orange County Playwrights Alliance, and the O.C. Theatre Guild. 

In addition to his acting role in THE BUILDOUT, Nicholas will also be serving as a producer.

THE BUILDOUT is a genre film that will shift seamlessly between multiple points of view. Our goal is to take you from behind the lens of a shaky handheld camera, to the seat of a dusty dirt bike, then to a wide dramatic view of the world we have built. Below are a few on location snapshots and illustrated storyboards we’ve created to share a bit of that vision. 

THE BADLANDS (ON LOCATION)

GOPRO EQUIPMENT TEST (ON LOCATION)

DYLAN AND CAMERON BLAZE ACROSS THE DESERT

THE TWO WOMEN EXPLORE THE BUILDOUT

A FLAT TIRE, A STRANGE BOX, AND A LONELY SILHOUETTE

CLERIC BARROW HAS A VISION, SOMETHING CALLS TO HIM

DYLAN AND CAMERON REALIZE THEY ARE NOT ALONE IN THE DESERT

RIDE LIKE LIGHTNING, CRASH LIKE THUNDER

THE BUILDOUT is a $600,000 film that we are making on a $60,000 budget. Though our production will be agile and mobile, we are cutting absolutely zero corners on the comfort and safety of our team. 

The $60,000 will be primarily split into 3 major buckets (roughly estimated below in the order of their financial significance):

1: Cast & Crew – payroll for each and every person on-set, from the Director of Photography to the Production Assistants ($30,000). 

2: Equipment & Materials – the cost of camera rentals, grip & electric, production design purchases, props, food / housing for our production team, and so much more ($20,000).

3: Operations, Legal, & Permitting – the logistical infrastructure required to ensure a safe, legal, and compliant feature filmmaking process ($10,000). 

ZESHAAN YOUNUS – WRITER / DIRECTOR / PRODUCER

Zeshaan Younus is an award-winning writer, director, and producer based in Southern California. He aims to work collaboratively with cast and crew to create esoteric and thought-provoking narratives. Zeshaan prioritizes strong visual framing as a primary storytelling mechanism. His life-long passion for the occult, science fiction, and black metal drive his artistic choices and serve as a unique personal lens. His latest short film, PREFIGURED, was acquired by DUST, the sci-fi division of independent studio Gunpowder & Sky. 

Outside of his work in film, Zeshaan has an established career in government relations and serves in multiple leadership roles for select local non-profit organizations. Additionally, he is a musician, photographer, and motorcycle enthusiast. 

THE BUILDOUT will be his debut feature film. 

GREG NEWKIRK – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

Greg Newkirk is an award-winning producer, full-time paranormal investigator, and founder of the world’s only Mobile Museum of the Unexplained. For the last two and a half decades, Newkirk has been tracking down and investigating cases of high strangeness ranging from flying saucer crashes to cursed artifacts and everything in between. Whether he’s guiding beloved actor Jeff Goldblum on a Bigfoot hunt for Disney+ or building ancient spirit communication devices on the Travel Channel, Greg has become the go-to source for new and exciting adventures into the unknown. When the going gets weird, the weird call Greg Newkirk.

Greg is co-creator and Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary series HELLIER, which delves into unsettling occurrences in the Appalachian mountains. The series has been streamed more than 3 million times since its release. In addition to his leadership role on THE BUILDOUT, Greg is also currently producing a new feature-length documentary which will follow one of his strangest cases. 

Greg currently resides in Cincinnati with his wife Dana, their three feline familiars, and plenty of friendly phantoms.

TREVOR DILLON – PRODUCER

Trevor Dillon is a filmmaker born and raised in Southern California. Having grown up on a steady diet of genre films, Trevor always had dreams of making them himself. His last two short films, FOXWOOD and THE VICIOUS, were acquired by ALTER, the renowned horror division of independent studio Gunpowder & Sky.

When Trevor isn’t writing, directing, and producing, he serves as the Programming Director for Orange County’s only non-profit arthouse, The Frida Cinema. He’s often been described as “cold” and “awkward” but he’s actually pretty cool once you get to know him. He has never won an award in his life. 

THE BUILDOUT will be his debut feature film. 

SAILOR LAROCQUE – PRODUCER

Sailor Larocque is a producer, writer, and actor primarily based in the Southeast. She is a proud co-founder of Juice Box Films, a female-run production company dedicated to developing content by women for women. Throughout the years Sailor has produced, written, and directed multiple short films, pilots and sketches, many of which have received critical and community acclaim.

JUSTIN MOORE – DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Justin Moore is a cinematographer based in Los Angeles. He is an avid film fan that has spent the last several years honing his skills shooting music videos and making striking images with few resources on rushed schedules. It has been several years since his last feature and he’s eager to return to the narrative space and aid a friend with his knowledge of emotive lighting and visual storytelling. Justin is naturally a collaborative and creative force and plays a pivotal role in bringing projects to life.

We are putting faith into building a community. This is NOT about deep pockets, it’s about tossing in a few dollars to help make a dream come true. It’s about sharing THE BUILDOUT with your friends and family, hoping that they will be as excited as we are.