ROSELAND — Two brothers with a passion for making movies are trying to raise $25,000 to complete their first documentary: a movie, "Bucket," about the "bucket boys" who have set up shop across the city and especially on the South Side.
With nearly 75 percent of the 90-minute documentary finished, Jarrell and Jerome Lucas said they hope to complete the project by September through an online fundraiser. Jarrell said filming began in February, but they had to stop in May when they ran short of money.
The brothers said for now they make their living directing music videos for local artists, but they hope to become full-time movie writers and directors.
The Kickstarter fundraiser ends Aug. 19. As of Monday, more than $1,000 had been raised. In June a group of students from Perspectives Charter Schools used the popular website to raise $35,000 to produce a documentary about youth violence in Chicago.
"The bucket boys have been around for years and are a part of our culture. That's why we chose to do this documentary on them," Jerome said.
The 28-year-old twins live with their grandmother in Roseland on the Far South Side, where they were born and raised and where they also run their home-based production company.
Jerome is an alumnus of Percy Julian High School, while his brother is a Carver high school graduate. Jerome said he plans to attend Columbia College Chicago this fall to study cinematography.
"We've invested $2,000 of our own money into the documentary, but money is now needed to add music and color to it if we want to get on the big screen," said Jerome. "Even if we do not raise enough money online, the documentary will get completed one way or another."
Jarrell said many people have misconceptions about the South Side.
"The documentary shows bucket boys on the South Side, which is mainly where most of them hang out," said Jarrell. "My goal is to show people that these young men are simply trying to make some honest money by entertaining people with their music."
Some bucket boys earn more than a few bucks hitting the bottom of a bucket with drumsticks: D'Quan Jackson, 19, of Washington Park, said he was able to visit Africa in 2012 after raising $17,000 in one year as a ''bucket boy'' at of 87th and State streets.
But other bucket boys have a tougher time.
"One of the bucket boys featured in the documentary performs on 47th Street [at the Red Line station], and at the time we were filming, he was homeless," Jarrell said. "We followed him around for a day to see what life was like for him, and it was interesting to see how he lived day-to-day."
The Lucas brothers said they plan to donate 10 percent of the profit from their film to a charity that provides youth housing.
Working with his brother is something Jerome said he has always wanted to do, and that is what led them both to directing. They look up to the Hughes Brothers, twins from Detroit who directed "Menace II Society" and "Dead Presidents."
"This allows me to work with my brother doing something we both love doing," he said. "I can see us being Hollywood's next Hughes Brothers, only we're here in Chicago."
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