Thank you so much for finding your way here! 

We’re seeking donations for "It’s Not About the Hat," an independent feature film set to begin production in April 2026. With 80% of our principal photography funds already raised, we need your help to get us over the finish line. We have an incredible team lined up, and your support could be the difference in bringing this film to life.

When Cleo, a burgeoning filmmaker, makes a personal film about trying to retrieve her Yankees hat from her ex, she believes she’s making a principled point about reclaiming what’s hers. But once the film screens, it sparks real-world consequences. Confronted with the fallout of her autofiction, Cleo must grapple with how her compulsion to control the narrative has blurred the lines between art and life, desire and self-sabotage—and decide whether she can allow herself to write a new one.

“It’s Not About the Hat" is a not-so-romantic comedy and a natural extension of my previous film work. On the surface, it’s about a woman trying to get her hat back from her ex. However, simmering just below is a far more complicated story about the meager ways we create, or rather attempt to create, intimacy in the rubble of a past relationship while attempting to take control over what happened and why.

This film draws from a deeply personal and somewhat embarrassing chapter of my life, coinciding with my MFA studies at NYU Tisch. Although I was never reunited with my hat, I began work on this film—a frenzied yet heartfelt exploration of using creative expression to navigate the confusion of heartbreak. While deeply personal, I believe the seemingly trivial quest for a lost hat will resonate universally with those who have lost themselves after losing love.

This is a film for those who, like me, would rather live in the movies than accept that love isn’t enough.

- MC Harvey

The film will be shot in New York City. Your support directly funds the people and resources that make this project possible, including:

MC Harvey is a British-American filmmaker with an MFA from NYU Tisch. She was a 2024 - 2025 Marcie Bloom Fellow and the recipient of the Black Family Feature Prize. Her feature, “It’s Not About the Hat,” was selected for Piccolo America’s Inaugural “La Residenza” in July 2025. Her most recent short film, “Let’s Not Suffer At The End of The World,” won the Suffolk County Next Exposure Grant at the 2025 Hamptons International Film Festival. With humor, her films seek to flaunt the lives of complicated women growing up and getting it wrong. 

Theo Gray is an NYC-based cinematographer. He graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2019, where he studied film with a focus on multimedia video installations. He later completed his MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a concentration in cinematography and directing. Since he joined NYU, he has served as the cinematographer on numerous films that have premiered at Palm Springs, Nashville Film Festival, and Moscow International Film Festival. Towards the end of his studies, Gray received the 2024 Arri Volker Bahnemann award for outstanding cinematography and is now serving as the cinematographer for the feature documentary, “Closed for Funeral,” which explores the stories behind New York City’s renowned restaurant, Balthazar.

Devin Carey is a New York-based producer currently pursuing her MFA in Film Producing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, having earned her MBA from the Stern School of Business in 2025 through the university’s dual-degree program. She is the 2025 recipient of the Media Services Award for excellence in Producing and currently serves as a Creative Development Fellow at NYU’s Production Lab. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Southern California.

Rachael Sonnenberg is a filmmaker and producer and the co-founder of Winsome Films, a production company dedicated to telling intimate, character-driven stories that blend comedy with authenticity. Her work has screened internationally at over thirty-five festivals, including her most recent film, "Le Parrot," which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. She earned an MFA in Writing and Directing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in Film Studies from Wesleyan University. Rachael is currently developing two feature films and a new television series.

We would really appreciate it if you could get the word out. Share it with your friends and family who might be interested and able to support our mission to make this film a reality. Please reach out to our team if you are interested in learning more about the project or our fiscal sponsorship.