Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- A local filmmaker needs your help to make his vision come alive in Central New York.
An Onondaga Community College (OCC) student wrote a feature length film, but needs thousands of dollars to kick start the project and keep it here in Syracuse.
OCC freshman Chris Steinberger dedicated a month to writing the script for his film titled: Iris.
“My goal in life is to be a writer, producer and director and what better way to do that than do that right now,” Steinberger told NewsChannel 9.
“Iris” is the story of a genius engineer who enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend, a thief, to steal back an important piece of technology taken from him.
But, rather than attempt to sell that vision to a big studio, he wants to do it here in Central New York.
“I want to write something and I want to make a story that people are really going to enjoy, and then I actually want to produce that and direct it and make sure when people watch it, it's exactly as I made it in my head,” Steinberger continued. "You know, not a lot of movies are made in Syracuse. I don't know why. Syracuse is honestly one of the best places to make a movie. Everyone is so happy to help out and that's what you need to make a movie.”
Last year, Syracuse was happy to help with the shooting of the independent film “Adult World” starring John Cusack.
Steinberger was lucky enough to work on the set as a production assistant. Making plenty of contacts, he says some plan to return to help him with “Iris” if he can raise the $6,000 needed.
"We just really want to see if the community can, you know, pitch in and help out and see if we can make something happen,” Steinberger said.
If you would like to help make Steinberger’s vision a reality, you can donate online at
KickStarter.com. It’s a site designed specifically to help budding filmmakers and artists.
41 people have already backed Steinberger’s project. He’s already raised nearly $2,000, but he still needs $4,000 more and he needs it in the next eight days or all the money already raised goes back to whoever donated it.
