An American Nightmare

When a desperate diabetic mother and her devoted husband pull off a night of small-scale robberies to afford the soaring cost of insulin for her and their son, they must confront the consequences of their actions while fighting to survive.

The Cost pulls from the personal experience of director and co-writer Mike Hogan, to explore the economic, physical, and emotional realities of being a type 1 diabetic in a country where healthcare is a ruthless business, and it’s hard to tell who the criminals are.

The film leans into genre filmmaking to explore all too contemporary problems with American healthcare, taking it a step further as a character study that delves brutally into the human side of a political issue, examining the lengths people will go to provide for their family.

It’s John Cassavetes meets Breaking Bad with a female lead. It’s a down and dirty indie with nuanced characters at its heart. It’s a cinematic shout about an issue affecting millions. 

Liquid Gold

Our protagonists are after something far simpler than riches and an extravagant lifestyle-they’re after basic survival. And in America, it comes at a cost.

Approximately 8.3 million Americans rely on insulin to survive. From 2002 to 2013, the price of insulin nearly tripled, and in 2016, when our story takes place, insulin was at its highest cost ever, averaging $450 per month.

As recently as 2021, more than 1.3 million American adults with diabetes skipped doses, delayed buying or otherwise rationed doses of insulin due to escalating cost of the life-saving medication.

For type 1 diabetics like our characters Penny and Patrick, and director/co-writer Mike Hogan, you can go about 3 days without insulin before you die, America’s answer? F*ck you, pay me.

The situation our characters find themselves in, the impossible decisions they are forced to make, and the endless cycles of unnecessary death are the result of the systems in place, and what the film uses the crime genre to articulate cinematically.

A Family In Need 

Penny (Sophie Howell, Synchronic): Criminal. Diabetic. Wife. Mother. Penny is many things at the same time, and constantly feels that pressure. Behind her pragmatism and cynicism, she is someone desperately trying to get what she and her son need to survive. But she isn’t prepared for what the price will ultimately do to her as a person.

Pete (to be cast): A loyal husband, a loving father, and a reluctant wheelman, Pete is caught in an unenviable position. Too poor to support his wife and son’s medical needs, he goes along on robberies, but knows they are always one step away from things spiraling out of control.

Patrick (to be cast): Penny and Pete’s son who is too young to understand the full extent of his chronic illness, but knows he isn’t a fan of feeling like a pin cushion. His need for insulin drives the story, and his innocence and purity anchor our characters to a moral center.

The Team

Mike Hogan—Director, Co-writer, & Producer

Mike Hogan approaches his films with an eye for intimate, character-focused storytelling, utilizing genre and dark comedy as a way into character studies around highly personal themes. The Cost is his most personal film yet, focusing on the experiences of type 1 diabetes in a way other films have not. With it he aims to articulate those experiences while still crafting something that is purely cinematic and does not shy away from complex, flawed characters in its depiction of an underrepresented chronic illness that affects so many, himself included.

He has written and directed several shorts, and produced over half a dozen, in addition to producing feature documentaries, commercials, and music videos. A member of the Producers Guild of America, he can’t help but bring his producing brain along when directing, ensuring his productions are planned efficiently and brought in under budget. Recent films he produced have screened at festivals such as Raindance Film Festival and Outfest Los Angeles Film Festival, and been featured on Short of the Week.

Jerome C. Keith—Co-writer & Producer

Jerome C. Keith is a writer focused on the under-told stories of characters who have
survived the worst that the systems around them have offered only to find themselves
struggling again to discover a way to thrive. In addition to his solo writing, Keith
collaborates regularly with Hogan, including on the feature version of The Cost, and two
other films focusing on type 1. Having received his MFA in writing and producing for
television from Long Island Brooklyn’s TV Writers Studio he now resides in Los Angeles.

Mitchell Orcino—Producer
Mitchell Orcino is a producer with extensive experience on episodic television shows,
feature films, and commercial productions as a member of ICG Local 600. His camera
department experience imbues him with a deep understanding of crew and
production needs, which he brings to his producing efforts.

Orcino is a lover of dramatic stories, those that make the viewer question their place
in the world and what we are doing to better it, making The Cost a perfect fit. He has
been a producer on a number of other short films which have screened at festivals
such as Louisiana Film Prize and The New Orleans Film Festival.

Edward Salerno Jr.—Director of Photography

Edward Salerno Jr. is an award-winning cinematographer who likes to get into the nitty-gritty of the psychological and emotional experience of a story and its characters. He brings over 14 years of experience as a cinematographer, camera operator, and gaffer, along with an intense focus and attention to detail in capturing the moments that make a film resonate personally with an audience.

He has been director of photography on several projects with director Mike Hogan, and their past collaborations and shorthand combined with Salerno’s documentary photography make him a perfect fit for the visceral style of The Cost. For his work on the web series Rumors, he won the Best Cinematography award at the Indie Series Awards 2021. He holds an MFA in cinematography from the prestigious American Film Institute, and a BA in Film & Video Production from FDU.

Matt Rahn—Editor
Matt Rahn is a graduate of the Newhouse School TV & Film Master’s program at
Syracuse University. While there he worked as editor on a student Emmy-nominated
web series. He has been working in post-production in LA for the last 9 years during
which time he has worked as an editor on many web series, feature, and short film
projects, including several collaborations with Hogan on which they’ve developed a
shorthand and shared sensibility.

A Path Forward 

We have partnered with T1International, a non-profit on the front lines of the fight for insulin affordability. Their goal is to create a world in which our story would not need to be told. Help us make that a reality. 

20% of the funds raised for the film will go towards T1International and helping it in its efforts to make insulin affordable and accessible to all. 

The Cost

The budget for the film is set at $41,000 for a four day shoot. This will be needed to pull off the shoot in a professional, safe manner that ensures insurance and permitting requirements are met, that the cast and crew are paid well, and that the quality filmmaking that we are known for is upheld. 

With this film, our main risks come from the need for multiple locations, picture cars, insurance, and permits to make sure that everything we plan is by the books. We will be shooting the film in Los Angeles this upcoming winter and as most people are aware, L.A. is not the cheapest city to do anything in. 

But with multiple decades of film production experience between us, and a plethora of film festival acceptances, our team brings together a level of skill that is more than qualified to make this film the best it can be. 

Festivals our teams’ works have previously screened at:

• Outfest Los Angeles
• LA Shorts Film Festival
• Hollyshorts Film Fest
• New Orleans Film Festival
• Toronto Black Film Festival
• And more

We have a powerful story written, and a precise plan in place to execute it. All we need now is a little bit of help from YOU!

Whether through backing us, sharing the campaign on social media, or even discussing it with friends and family, any help you can offer goes a long way!

THANK YOU!

– The Cost Team