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Need a Dolla

Need a Dolla is a story about Akeem, a promising, young man living in a rough neighborhood with five roommates who finally gets his chance at a big break with an interview for his dream job. He rushes out the door to catch the bus and soon realizes he left his bus money at home. During an encounter with a homeless man at the bus stop, Akeem learns humility and accepts help from this unexpected ally. - The story is based on an actual experience director Quinton Cameron had catching the bus one day in LA. He was so deeply impacted by this man's kindness and selflessness that he decided to make this film to encourage people to ask for help when needed, as well as to create a positive, human narrative of those typically stereotyped in the homeless community.

  • Quinton Cameron
    Director
  • Quinton Cameron
    Writer
  • Dominique Stango
    Producer
  • Chris Rouse
    Key Cast
    "Akeem"
  • Courtney McDonald
    Key Cast
    "Reggie"
  • Kimberly Leath
    Key Cast
    "Mom"
  • Quinton Cameron
    Key Cast
    "Jorden"
  • Joshua Valle
    Director of Photography
  • Alexander Sampson
    Production Designer
  • Kyle Keris
    Editor
  • Kyline Aliotti
    Sound Mixer
  • Jose Maitreya
    Sound Assistant
  • Briel Arias
    Post Production Sound Mixer
  • Munir Griffin
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 11, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    352 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Quinton Cameron

Quinton Cameron is a filmmaker from Los Angeles CA. He began filmmaking at a young age by shooting skateboarding videos from childhood until college. During his time at California State University of Northridge’s (CSUN) Kinesiology program, he dreamt of leaving the science field to make movies. While on a full ride medical research scholarship, he decided to drop the major and scholarship to study TV production at CSUN. This is where he created his first narrative films and eventually found his love for screenwriting. Directly after graduating with a B.A. in TV Production, he wrote, directed, and made a cameo in his debut short film Need a Dolla. He currently works at Townsend Entertainment, a production company run by Robert Townsend as an editor. He plans to continue creating impactful films while pursuing the ultimate goal of showrunning his own comedy TV show.

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Director Statement

My name is Quinton Cameron, and I am the writer and director of Need a Dolla. I made this film out of love, pain, aspiration, and faith with the inspiration of a homeless man offering me help that I truly needed.

I’m a 24 year old filmmaker and recent college graduate living and working in Los Angeles without a car. For the last 3 years, I’ve depended on public transportation to get me to film sets, interviews, meetings, etc. If you know anything about public transportation in LA, you know that these past 3 years haven’t been easy. I often find myself frustrated that I still don’t have a car and my ego causes me to feel like I’m a burden if I ask friends and colleagues for rides. Despite my hard work, financial setbacks always made it difficult for a car of my own becoming a reality, but I keep striving.

One day, I had to catch a bus to Hollywood. I was waiting at a bus stop when a young guy in his late 20’s, who wore dirty clothes with messy hair, approached me mumbling words while holding out his hand. I quickly responded “I’m sorry bro, I don’t have-”, and he looked at me for a moment, took out some change and handed money to me. I genuinely didn’t have money to give to him, but that action struck me immensely.

This was a beautiful demonstration of the amount of humility this individual who’s obviously homeless, possessed. It irks me greatly how homeless folks are painted as dirty, crazy, and dangerous when many are simply humans going through tough times. Being that my kind and loving sister who suffers from a mental illness has been homeless on multiple occasions, I feel a deep sympathy for those without shelter.

Therefore, this film was created as an expressive discourse to illuminate the importance of being willing to ask for help with social commentary to paint a beautiful image of those less fortunate.