Now in development · Tacoma, Washington
Echo of the Jade Lion
An ethereal and glamorous puzzle-like neo-noir set in contemporary times with classic sensibilities, imbued with magical realism.
Written, directed and produced by Donovan Wilson
01 The film
“A daydreaming musician inherits a priceless artifact, triggering a series of surreal and haunting experiences. Guided by her intuition, she must break the curse and reclaim her future.”
Fiction set against real history
The jade lion is invented for the film. In the story it is rumored to have come from Tacoma’s Chinese neighborhood, destroyed by a racist mob in 1885.
Themes
Dream vs. reality · Betrayal and deception · Curses to blessings
02 The filmmaker
A Tacoma filmmaker who finishes films
Body of work
- Penny2026 · 18 min
- Destiny City2025 · 11 min
- Jacob’s Ladder2024 · 11 min
- Aidan2021 · 11 min
Proof of delivery: Jacob’s Ladder (2024)
- $10,200 cash budget, plus $6,000 in-kind
- Funded by Seed & Spark ($5,500), a City of Tacoma TAIP grant ($4,000) and personal funds ($700)
- Final report filed with the City of Tacoma
03 The production
A lean, Washington-crewed film
~42
minutes runtime, over the 40-minute feature line used by the Academy and SXSW
10+1
shoot days plus one contingency day
37
scenes over 33⅝ pages
100%
filmed in Tacoma and Washington State
Core team: director/producer, cinematographer, camera assistant, boom operator, makeup artist, up to five PAs, cast, editor and composer. The money stays with Washington crew and Washington businesses.
04 The budget
Total budget
$50,000
To make the ~42-minute film, from prep through delivery
Track record
Donovan’s past films have cost about $1,000 per finished minute, and every one was delivered.
Jacob’s Ladder was finished on a $10,200 cash budget, with its final report filed with the City of Tacoma.
Your gift goes further in Washington
Up to 30%
of Washington spending can come back through Washington Filmworks’ small-budget program, if awarded
0%
sales tax on production equipment rentals and production services
$4,000
City of Tacoma artist grant program, which funded Jacob’s Ladder
05 Timeline
From your gift to the screen
- 1 · Now
Raising the $50,000 budget
- 2 · Prep
Casting, locations and crew in Tacoma
- 3 · Shoot
10 days in Tacoma, plus one contingency day
- 4 · Post
Edit, color, sound and original score
- 5 · Premiere
Free public screening in Tacoma, then festivals
06 Become a patron
Help make a film in Tacoma
How it works
- Gifts will go through Northwest Film Forum, a Seattle nonprofit (fiscal sponsorship pending)
- Once approved, gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law
- Every gift goes to making the film in Washington
Your thanks
- Any giftUpdates from set and post
- $250+Name in the credits and a premiere invite
- $1,000+Special thanks in the end credits
- $2,500+Associate Producer
- $5,000+Co-Executive Producer
- $10,000+Executive Producer
Become a patron and help bring a new film, and the work that goes with it, to Tacoma cast, crew and businesses.
Patron gifts are donations, not investments: they carry no repayment or ownership. Fiscal sponsorship with Northwest Film Forum pending. Tax-deductibility is as allowed by law; not tax advice.