In the early 1980s, during the height of the AIDS epidemic, Katherine, a compassionate palliative nurse, works tirelessly to care for patients suffering from the devastating disease. Meanwhile, her only son, Daniel, leaves home for the summer to work as a camp counselor, unaware of the societal norms that will soon threaten his own happiness.

When Katherine receives a distressing phone call, she rushes to the camp to find that Daniel has been caught with another male counselor, Andrew. The revelation sparks a mix of emotions within Katherine: fear of AIDS spreading within her own family and concern for her son's well-being. As she struggles to reconcile her feelings, she begins to question her own biases and prejudices.

Through her interactions with Vincent, one of her HIV-positive patients, Katherine starts to see beyond the stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding the disease. Vincent's openness and humanity humanize him in her eyes, and she begins to form an unexpected bond with him. As she learns more about his story and struggles, Katherine's fears slowly dissipate, replaced by empathy and compassion.

Meanwhile, Daniel's relationship with Andrew blossoms, and Katherine is faced with a decision: should she intervene or allow her son to experience true happiness?

Ripple started from my intent to tell a story about a mother's unconditional love. From the beginning, I knew this was a story to be told from the perspective of a mother. A driving force in telling this was my own coming out experience with my mother and her unscathed attempts to understand me even when she was completely out of her element or didn’t fully understand what things meant. Yet, she kept trying and her love for me was never once doubted. I took all of these attributes and plugged them into my main character, Katherine, who I quickly fell in love with.

I knew from the start I didn’t want to tell this story through the lens of religion (we’ve seen that story before), leading me to searching for another reason someone might be skeptical of their child coming out. This led me to a time when the queer community was drowning in misinformation, fear, and hate. The 80s AIDs crisis. 

I am writing Ripple at a time where misinformation, hate, and fear still has an impact on marginalized groups. The context of being hurt by these “stereotypes” has changed, the principles of it have not. I aim to show that sometimes all it takes is the desire to understand the unfamiliar. For Katherine her love drives her to take that step towards truly seeing her son. For others a different force might help make that change. 

I truly believe that Ripple carries its own unique approach that will resonate in one way or another with everyone who comes across it. I am passionate about telling stories that make audiences feel something. I wholeheartedly believe that there are so many people that Ripple will touch and have that same effect on them that made me fall in love with film; with storytelling.

-Jacob Norris

Growing up in Ephraim, Utah Jacob Norris has been making films for as long as he can remember. All it took was an iPad mini and iMovie to get started. He has always had an awe for the way that movies can so strongly make a person feel a wide range of emotions. Now studying filmmaking at Southern Utah University he hopes to do just that. Going into his senior year, Jacob has been working on his thesis film “Ripple”, a short he hopes grabs viewers and helps them feel what made him fall in love with film in the first place.

Katherine: Ivey Lloyd Mitchell

Daniel: Isaac Chock

Vincent: Josh Fish

Cynthia: Denali Baker

Sean: TBD

Nurse: Molly Pearson

Andrew: TBD

Reward tiers stack. i.e. if you purchase special thanks in credits you will also receive the camp t-shirt, photos, poster, and copies of the film.