Story

Inspired by Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. An ineffectual young man sends an ambitious text to his dream girl, who he just met the night prior. After getting an ambiguous response, he’s visited by his three closest friends, who act as the ghosts of his romantic past, present, and future.

Synopsis

Dashiell seems to always come up short when he’s met with relationships. After hitting it off with a girl named Beth at a Christmas party, he’s determined not to blow it. He sends her a text message suggesting they get together soon, but things get messy after she responds to his forward text by simply ‘liking’ the message. As he begins to spiral, Dashiell is visited by three friends who have varying opinions on his past failures, present day overthinking, and future relationships, as they help him decide what to do about Beth’s response.

He’s first visited by Marcus, who urges Dashiell not to give up on Beth so quickly. His next visitor is Pete, who brings up his self-sabotaging pattern in relationships. Finally, Dashiell is visited by Carmen, who snaps him out of his rut by making him imagine a grim future where he lets Beth slip away.

Inspired by Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and intercut with interactions with Beth at the Christmas party, Pink Heart explores modern dating anxiety and the fine line between overthinking and self-sabotage. Ultimately, Dashiell must make a decision that could change his romantic future forever.

Director’s Statement

Heavily inspired by the snappy, naturalistic dialogue of filmmakers like Richard Linklater and Noah Baumbach, Pink Heart uses humour and realistic dialogue to capture the anxiety and emotional toll of modern romance. The story is based on my own experiences as well as the experiences of others in modern dating.

Pink Heart is important to today’s day and age because it shows the ways in which romance has devolved over the past few decades. Where it was once about spontaneity and striking up a conversation in-person, it has now become a breeding ground for long wait times and overthinking every response. The story that Pink Heart follows is one that is all too real for many people, especially a Gen-Z audience.

I believe that the message of this film is so poignant, and it is delivered in a way that is both comedic and realistic. The film combines the magic of a first interaction with the fear of that spark fizzling over time in a way that I believe audiences will find deeply impactful and relatable. The film shows that while technology has changed how we communicate, our fundamental desire to be loved remains the same.

Donation Impact & Budget Breakdown

Every contribution, no matter the amount, will help bring Pink Heart to life. As a student production, our goal is to make the most out of every dollar we spend and keep our production costs as practical as possible. Your support will go directly to essential expenses such as securing locations, transportation, props, costumes, catering for our cast and crew, creating the nostalgic holiday feeling through our production design, and other basic on-set necessities. Our team has already taken steps to reduce costs by using pre-owned decorations and sourcing items from second-hand stores. Every donation will allow us to bring this story to the big screen in the best way possible, creating a professional production environment that will support our very hardworking team. Most importantly, your generosity will give a passionate group of filmmakers the opportunity to share a heartfelt story with audiences and gain valuable industry experience.