Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program opens the door to nonprofit funding for independent filmmakers and media artists. Donate today and help bring Are We Cool to life.

Logline

Are We Cool is a coming-of-age, coming-out, political, punk rock, romantic, high school hangout movie about finding your people and loving who you love. Set in 1994 Portland, Oregon, at a small alternative high school where the students make the rules, weird is the norm, and education is not one-size-fits-all.

Synopsis

Set in the fall of 1994 in Portland, Oregon, Are We Cool focuses on a small, civically engaged student body at an experimental alternative high school. Internal and external threats emerge to challenge their radical egalitarian ideals, and the students must organize and fight back against their own school’s administration, as well as the cruel anti-LBGTQ+ agenda of Measure 13, headed by The Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA).

The film takes place during the ’94 general election when the vote on Measure 13 (the sequel to the ruthlessly antigay Measure 9) was narrowly defeated. It was a time of harsh discrimination, civil unrest, and courageous protest, which makes the film’s themes powerfully relevant today. That’s why we are filming ARE WE COOL in Portland this November. It will serve as both a protest and an inspiration. Because it’s also an entertaining coming-of-age/coming-out high school hangout movie that will be non-didactic, we’re confident it will cut through the noise and make a positive cultural impact for both this moment and this generation.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Aaron Katz — Writer/Director/Editor
Aaron Katz was born and raised in Portland, OR. After making super 8mm films in high school, he went to the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduating, he returned to Portland to make his first feature, Dance Party, USA (2006), which premiered at SXSW. Since then, Katz has gone on to write and direct four more movies including the Portland-shot mystery Cold Weather (IFC, 2010), the Spirit Award-winning Land Ho! (Sony Pictures Classics, 2014), and Gemini (Neon, 2018), a Los Angeles-set thriller starring Lola Kirke, Zoe Kravitz, John Cho, and Greta Lee.

Kyle Eaton — Producer
Kyle Eaton is an independent film producer based in Portland, Oregon. He is known for Michael Sarnoski’s Pig, Peter Hedges’ The Same Storm, and, most recently, Rachel Lambert’s Sometimes I Think about Dying starring Daisy Ridley, which opened the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Eaton is passionate about filmmaking and storytelling, especially in the Pacific Northwest, and is eager to begin production on Aaron Katz’s Are We Cool with this talented team.

Keegan DeWitt — Composer
Keegan DeWitt is a versatile and exciting composer working in film and TV. Whether bringing a fresh voice to larger projects at HBO, SHOWTIME, and FOX, or collaborating with notable independent filmmakers, his work spans a variety of styles with originality and emotion. Over the past 10 years, Keegan has brought 15 films to the Sundance Film Festival; titles that would go on to garner an Academy Award, multiple Sundance Audience Awards, and an Independent Spirit Award. His work includes Alex Ross Perry’s Her Smell, Chad Hartigan’s Little Fish, HBO’s DIVORCE, and Andrew DeYoung’s Friendship. Alongside his work as a composer, he has performed as a singer-songwriter and was a founding member of the band Wild Cub.

Andrew Reed — Director of Photographer
Andrew Reed was raised in upstate New York, where school was sometimes called off because it was too damn cold. After enduring a few more chilly winters at Amherst College, he found himself wandering south to the calmer climes of the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he specialized in cinematography. Upon graduation, he shot his first movie with a handful of friends, few expectations, and even fewer dollars. That film, the Brooklyn-set romance Quiet City, was named a NY Times Critics’ Pick and Independent Spirit Award nominee. Subsequent features include the genre-bending mystery Cold Weather, Spirit Award-winning comedy Land Ho!, rural drama Abundant Acreageavailable, LA thriller Gemini, and period coming-of-age tale To The Stars.

Simon Max Hill — Casting Director
Simon Max Hill is a prolific casting director who has been a driving force in bringing the heart of Portland to the screen. His Oregon casting has been instrumental in acclaimed films such as Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up, First Cow, Wendy & Lucy, Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, Macon Blair’s I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore, Andrew Haigh’s Lean On Pete, Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, and Michael Sarnoski’s Pig, as well as celebrated television series including Shrill, Portlandia, Documentary Now!, and Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal. Simon’s deep understanding of the city and its unique talent pool has been a key factor in the success of these Oregon-based projects.

Make a donation to Are We Cool.

Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.