The Price

By all logic, this project—a Gothic wartime fairytale with a nine-foot creature, built on spit, glue and stolen lumber—should have collapsed a dozen times over. But when you're given a team this stubborn, miracles happen.

To my cast and crew: you turned "impossible" into a daily challenge accepted. When money vanished, you showed up anyway. When fires destroyed costumes, we printed new fabric. When our creature designer quit, we became monster-makers through YouTube tutorials and pure grit.

Special thanks to my husband Jonathan, my partner in every sense, who wore more hats than I can count: co-star, acting coach, set medic, cheerleader, and the reason I never surrendered. This film is as much his as mine.

To Kachain, our writer, your story and your ability to spin magic has never ceased to amaze me.

Being an independent filmmaker means solving problems with no textbook answers. I learned creature fabrication, VFX, and how to not blow up my DP (most days). But more importantly, I learned how belief can cement a team tighter than any budget. Every drop of sweat, blood, and tears you see onscreen was matched behind the camera by people who cared too much to quit.

This wasn't just a labor of love—it was a baptism by fire. And I'd do it all again with this family. To anyone watching: know that every frame is haunted by the ghosts of our collective stubbornness.

Writers Statement:
THE PRICE by Kachain Thongmanee

At the core, The Price is about love and sacrifice. The love and sacrifice of a mother, a husband, a patriot.

Our main character, Helen, sacrifices the life that she knows to work in a factory to serve her country, help end the way and bring her husband home. Her husband Luke leaves home for his duty to his country. Michael - their son - in a sense sacrifices his childhood to support his mother, while she works in a factory.

I wrote this story as a love letter to, not just my mom, but all parents. It’s about a love that’s so deep that it drives someone to forego their own comfort and, in this case, their very safety to ensure the well-being of their child. It’s the most perfect sacrifice out of the purest love.