Support our animated short film, "Matty Cat"!

Support our Animated Short Film, Based on the Real Matty Cat

Who was your first best friend?

For many of us, our first friend was a four-legged animal. In this upcoming animation project, Matty Cat, a kitten learns the meaning of home, friendship, and hope after getting lost on a night walk. Matty Cat will soon feel at home and never be alone again!

WATCH THE TRAILER:https://youtu.be/9Rt34Bi_Elo?si=4Zj76YxeoZpqqD8U

The Story of Matty Cat “Matty Cat'' is an upcoming animated short film that was written by director and executive producer, Natalie Rodriguez. The story is based on her children’s story. The first edition of the story was published in 2015 on Short Kids Story. You can read the first edition at the following link: Short Kid Stories Matty Cat.

The story of Matty Cat follows the journey of a five-week-old kitten, referred to as the Nameless Cat, and his journey to find his way back home after getting lost on a night walk. Born to a family of two brothers, three sisters, and a restless single mom, the Nameless Cat immediately recognizes how different he really is. His siblings either have a solid gray or white coating, but not the Nameless Cat: he has both colors in his fur. Left out of all activities by his siblings, including mealtime, Momma Cat is no use to lean on for comfort because she is exhausted from her recent childbirth. Unwanted. Unloved. A burden, the Nameless Cat runs away one night to prove that he will be missed. But when a rainstorm hits, he gets lost and not only struggles to find his way back home but find shelter.

ABOUT US

As an independent production company, and like many, Extraordinary Pictures was deeply affected by the Covid-19 pandemic as many lost their jobs in the industry. In an effort to get things moving again, Extraordinary Pictures first partnered with Minion of the Arts and Ceroase Productions and put together “Young Dario,” which successfully reached its target funding goal last year. Extraordinary Pictures is a production company that continues to produce both creative and inspiring stories for the world! Established in 2017, founder and filmmaker, Natalie Rodriguez, has brought a diverse range of projects.

This includes, but is not limited to, comedies, dramas, thrillers, and animation!

WATCH the official campaign video for Matty Cat: https://youtu.be/dq8ODrMgdwE

Extraordinary Pictures' goal is to bring stories that shed light on various topics from mental health, and recovery, and how it IS possible to overcome hardships no matter what. Our goal with “Matty Cat” the short film is not to deliver our second family-friendly project but, to hopefully send a message to others that no one is ever truly alone in this world as we see with the main character of this project.

WHAT WE NEED AND WHY

Like any art form, it takes a village to complete a project and YOU can be part of this wonderful process! Funding will not only help cover the cost of crew, such as an animator and editor, but it will allow Production to showcase the final product to an audience and potentially partner with schools and other communities. AND funding will also cover film festival submissions which can get costly but, these festivals not only give filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their work to the public but, also the POTENTIAL opportunity for distribution.

The Matty Cat team truly believes this project can be a fun and inspiring watch for both children and adults! The ultimate goal after production is completed is to submit the final product of “Matty Cat” to film festivals all over the world, in hopes of gaining distribution!

Donations of any size are welcomed and are extremely appreciated! With YOUR help, you can be a part of bringing “Matty Cat” to life!

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO?

Around 40% will go towards production.

This gives Production the opportunity to hire and pay the crew and a recording room for talent to record their dialogue with crisp and quality sound.

Around 50% will go towards post-production which consists of an editor, sound designer, and colorist who are also passionate about this project.

This post-production process will consist of animation, editing from assembling video and audio files, special effects, sound mixing, and color correction.

Around 10% will go towards marketing and publicity such as film festivals' submission fees like purchasing tickets and placing ads in newsletters and magazines of the festivals. We would also like to create some merch, including posters and stickers!

Meet Alexandra Almendarez, the Star of Matty Cat

Meet our leading lady: https://youtu.be/RILaPRKoYdU?si=NtdqB-Q4l5gQrbjf

Behind-the-scenes voiceover recording. Courtesy of United Broadcasting Network.

My name is Alexandra Almendarez and I’m an L.A.-based actress, singer, and salsa dancer. I’m currently represented by JVC Talent Agency (L.A.) and Roger Paul Inc. (L.A./N.Y.).Some of my credits include recently wrapping a feature film (lead) starring Udo Kier, booking a recurring role on CoComelon as Nina’s Mom (Netflix – Season 5), National bookings for Uber, Starbucks, Bearpaw, Best Friends Animal Society, and Eighth Day Skin; booking as a model on The Real Daytime Talk Show (FOX), modeling an outfit inspired by JLo; booking as the lead dancer in a music video for the Grammy-nominated Mariachi Sol de Mexico for their track, “Por Una Cabeza,” and several short films, feature films, and a web series. Additional credits include session-singing for the Grammy Award-winning Melissa Manchester on her track, “You Gotta Love the Life,” Hodel (Fiddler on the Roof), Rosalía (West Side Story), Crystal (Little Shop of Horrors), and Sweetheart (Dreamgirls). I’ve also written, cast, produced, and starred in my own projects and am a professional singer and vocal coach for kids and teens. I’m currently preparing for two short films and a feature film that is in pre-production! 2023 has been full of abundance. Looking forward to working on Matty Cat!

Meet Natalie Rodriguez, the Director, Writer & Producer of Matty Cat

Behind-the-scenes voiceover recording. Courtesy of United Broadcasting Network.

Natalie Rodriguez is an award-winning director, screenwriter, and author. She is also an advocate for mental health and recovery awareness and has worked with organizations like The Mighty, Anxiety Resources Center, and OC87 Recovery Diaries. Some of her articles and blogs have been published in Hello Giggles, HuffPost Blog, Thrive Global, and more. Her novels, “Elephant,” “Skeletons,” and “The Extraordinary Ordinary” book adaptation have established a following and gained positive reviews from around the world. Her short and feature films have won and screened in the U.S. and internationally, including at film festivals such as Culver City Film Festival, HollyShorts Film Festival, NALIP: Latino Lens, Stage 32 Screenwriting, and others. She also spoke at events, sharing her experience of being a Latina filmmaker, at Hispanicize, Google, and YouTube. In 2017, she founded Extraordinary Pictures, a production company focusing on films, television shows, digital series, and social issue projects ranging from diversity and wellness. The company has produced a variety of short films and feature films of different genres, including comedies and dramas. Natalie's first directorial feature films, “The Extraordinary Ordinary” and "Howard Original” were independently received well and distributed by Indie Rights. Her latest project, “Young Dario,” a twelve-episode television / web-series show is making its way through the film festival circuit. The show is narrated by Netflix’s On My Block, Julio Macias. So far, the project won some awards, including Best Actor, Best Pilot / TV Show, and Best Female Filmmaker. In addition, Natalie is in early pre-production on her third directorial feature film, “Inner Child,” a horror thriller that she also wrote. She is producing the project with Divergent Mind Productions.

For details on previous and upcoming projects, be sure to check out her social media pages and visit her website: Extraordinary Pictures site -Extraordinary Pictures LLC

Meet Peter M. Olsen, the Executive Producer of Matty Cat

Peter M. Olsen is a Pacific Northwest-based co-producer for the upcoming thriller/horror movie Inner Child, written and directed by Natalie Rodriguez. Inner Child is the first feature-length movie Peter has co-produced.

Peter started acting/working behind the scenes (lights, sound) in plays such as Our Town, The Revenge of the Space Pandas or Binky Radish and the Two-Speed Clock, and Glimpses at Cascade High School in Everett, WA.

Peter graduated from Washington State University with a B.A. in Humanities (Journalism concentration). While at WSU, Peter was involved in KUGR radio (student-run online radio) and Cable 8 Productions, a student-run TV station on campus. Peter wrote and produced his own radio show, The Razors Edge, and co-produced the noon hour 80's music radio show. At Cable 8, Peter also co-produced the political panel discussion show Pullmanitically Incorrect, and co-wrote/co-produced two episodes for the sketch comedy show You're In College.

Peter is also a writer and blogger. Peter has written a few essays about mental health for The Mighty and RachelInTheOC. He has also written a few reality-based fictions for Feminine Collective and Hasty Words.

In his free time, Peter is in search of the greatest taco trucks in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Peter is a gamer, raver, coffee snob, and all-around pretty cool cat. Trance, house, and techno music keep Peter a very happy guy.

Peter lives in the greatest city on Planet Earth. The Emerald City...Seattle, Washington.

HOW CAN YOU STAY CONNECTED?

To follow our journey, including some behind-the-scenes of the making of “Matty Cat,” be sure to follow maty-cat-2012 and extraordpictures via Instagram and matty_cat_2012 and extraordpicturesllc via FaceBook.

All the best, Extraordinary Productions and... (Matty Cat)

**Disclaimer: No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe**