This summer, students from across the Upper Valley will join professional filmmakers to bring Valley Transit, JAM’s first-ever feature film, to life. But first, we need your help.

About the Film

It’s never too late to come of age.

When an elderly man and teenage girl find camaraderie on public transit, the unlikely friendship that sparks leads to a summer discovering the world through new eyes, enabling each to mend bonds with loved ones at home and prepare for their next life transitions.

With the Upper Valley as a setting and character, Valley Transit will capture the places and rituals that connect us, from summertime tubing on the White River to the Norwich Fair to mile-high cones at Fore-U, and tell the story of intergenerational friendships and the chance encounters that transform us along the way.

New Model for Filmmaking

Valley Transit is also the launch of a different kind of model for independent filmmaking. As the vehicle for JAM's first Summer Feature Film Intensive, the production doubles as a unique learning opportunity for aspiring student filmmakers in the Upper Valley. High school and college students from the region will work alongside a professional crew throughout production, gaining real-life experience and professional screen credits on a film bound for festivals and theatrical release. This project will pilot a nonprofit filmmaking model intended to seed future Upper Valley filmmaking.

How YOU can help

Your gift will help us reach two critical milestones:

Milestone 1: Roll Camera
Raise $235,000 by July 1 to begin production on schedule.

Milestone 2: The Final Cut
Reach our total goal by Sept. 1 to carry Valley Transit through post-production and into festivals, theaters, and streaming platforms.

Thanks to the generosity of early supporters, we’re already halfway towards our $299,858 goal.

Your tax-deductible gift to JAM, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, will give Upper Valley students a one-of-a-kind experience and bring the film to wider audiences.

Giving tiers and what they fund:

$1,000 Fund craft services on set for one week

$2,500 Fund a day on set for 15 interns

$5,000 Fund Art Department set dressing, props, and materials

$10,000 Fund professional sound recording and music licensing

$20,000 Fund post-production editing, confirm, and color timing

$50,000 Fund Cinematography department crew and equipment rentals

Thank you for making the JAM Movie Valley Transit and JAM’s first Summer Feature Film Intensive possible!

For more information on the project and/or how to get involved, please contact:

Producer Wei Dai at wei@uvjam.org or Samantha Davidson Green at samantha@uvjam.org

Featured Creatives:

Crew

Screenplay by writer/director Samantha Davidson Green (UCLA MFA, Film Directing; Plainfield, NH)
Director of Photography Quinn Thomashow (AFI MFA, Cinematography; Strafford, VT native)
Producer Wei Dai (USC Stark Producing Program, MFA; Orford, NH)
Unit Prod. Manager Phil Noble (Emerson '24; Thetford, VT)
1st Assistant Director Anna Flaherty (Skidmore '27; Hartford, VT)
2nd AD Liam Kelly-Thompson (Bowdoin '28; Hanover, NH)
Soundtrack featuring UV musicians, including Phin Choukas, Hans Williams, Allison Fay Brown, Sir BabyGirl, and more!

Cast

Alicia Sanyal (Hanover High '22, UCLA '26; "Lizzie")
Richard Noble (Parish Players, Thetford, VT; "George")
Noah Schutzius (Ithaca College '29, Claremont, NH; "Woody")
Reeve Green (Northwestern '29, Plainfield, NH; "Drew")
Robyn Noble (Parish Players, Thetford, VT; "Mary")
Paul Ashton (Boston Univ. '28, Lyme, NH; "Leo")
With more than 35 more local and regional actors and background players!

Valley Transit: The JAM Movie

Support JAM's first feature film and launch a new generation of filmmakers

Team Members