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The Allowance
TYPE: Narrative Short
GENRE: Drama
STATUS: Pre-Production
LOGLINE
A Boy who aspired to be just like his Father gets a new perspective on his role model after a July Fourth barbecue goes awry.
SYNOPSIS
JONAH idolizes his father, TRAVIS. However, after Travis privately asks his brother-in-law, RYAN, for financial help, Jonah notices his Dad acting strangely deferential. Jonah is frustrated by Travis’ behavior but does not know the cause until his Cousin teases him about being poor. Jonah is left to confront this new image of his Father.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
The first movie that made me want to be a filmmaker was Ozu’s I Was Born, But… (1932). In the film, two young brothers discover that their father is subordinate to their friend’s father. The boys are forced to reckon with the reality of their place in the social stratum. This moment of realization, when expectations forcibly crash into reality, struck a chord with me.
Young boys carefully observe the behavior of their fathers. When our protagonist, a ten-year-old boy named Jonah, witnesses his father showing deference to his wealthy uncle, one evening is all it takes for Jonah’s perception of his father to change forever. Jonah is made acutely aware of his father’s, and consequently his own, lot in life.
The Allowance is a film about class, masculinity, and expectations. I aim to contextualize these themes within today’s modern, capitalist society, where the wealth gap is as pronounced as ever. The film switches between the perspectives of a father trying to procure a financial life raft for his family, and a son, as he watches his father roll over, realizing for the first time that growing up to be just like his Dad might come with a harsher reality than he previously imagined.
Taking this kind of narrative and holding it up against the blue-sky ambition encouraged by the American Dream feels incredibly worthwhile to me. We wouldn’t be able to do this without your support. Thank you so much for helping us tell this story.
KEY CREW
Andrew Howell - Writer/Director
Andrew Howell is a Writer/Director from Ypsilanti, MI. He currently lives in Brooklyn and is pursuing a Film MFA at Columbia University. Andrew’s first short film, Walk Off, premiered at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles and won best student film awards at Oneota Film Festival and River Bend Film Festival. Andrew was also awarded the Howard Hawks Filmmaking Award at the latter. His subsequent work has played at Fargo Film Festival, Columbus International Film and Animation Festival, and Phoenix Film Festival. Andrew works primarily in dramatic narrative, his stories often dealing with familial conflicts.
Jeff Lichtenstein - Producer
Jeff Lichtenstein is a producer, editor, writer, and director from Columbia, Maryland. After receiving his undergraduate degree in Marketing and Finance, Jeff shot and edited documentaries and commercial videos for companies like Capital One and Google while working at Martini Media Solutions in Washington, DC. Now, he is pursuing his MFA in Creative Producing at Columbia University where he recently won the prestigious Arthur Krim Memorial Award for excellence in producing. His short films, Violet (2023) and Hollow Ground (2024), are currently touring the festival circuit and he is in development and pre-production for four Columbia short films. As a creative producer, Jeff hopes to support filmmakers who want to generate positive change in society.
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