SAG-AFTRA Indie Feature 'Heaven, Probably' Sets NYC Shoot for Summer 2026 With Golden Globe-Nominated Lead

A scrappy, darkly comic indie feature with a Golden Globe-nominated lead actor attached is heading to New York City this summer, and crew looking for a tight, creatively alive four-week shoot should be paying close attention right now. Heaven, Probably, a SAG-AFTRA Low Budget Indie Feature Film currently in pre-production, is scheduled to begin principal photography on July 13, 2026, wrapping around August 9. With a confirmed $1 million budget, a cast-locked lead, and a casting director already in place, this one is moving with purpose.

The film is written and directed by Oliver Shahery, who is also producing alongside Christopher Dagostino and Benjamin Cohen, with Roger Mancusi serving as executive producer. Shahery is pulling double duty as writer-director, which on a project this size typically signals a closely held creative vision and a set culture where the director has significant authorial control over tone and execution. The logline alone makes clear what kind of film this is aiming to be: an absurdist dark romantic comedy following an ashamed man with a foot fetish who is searching for a date to bring to his mother's memorial. It is weird, specific, emotionally grounded in grief and shame, and has the DNA of the kind of NYC indie that punches well above its budget when the right team is assembled around it.

Casting is being handled by Ivy Pham, whose involvement is a meaningful signal for talent representatives and actors tracking the project. The production has confirmed that a Golden Globe-nominated lead male actor is already attached, though the name has not been publicly released. For crew, that casting pedigree and the attached lead suggest the production is aiming for a level of craft and performance that elevates it beyond a bare-bones micro-budget shoot, even within the SAG-AFTRA Low Budget Agreement framework.

On the producing side, executive producer Roger Mancusi brings experience navigating the independent film space, and the combination of Dagostino and Cohen as producers alongside a writer-director suggests the kind of lean but committed producing team that typifies quality New York indie features. The SAG-AFTRA Low Budget Agreement (covering features with budgets under approximately $2.5 million at the modified low budget tier) gives this production flexibility in casting while maintaining union protections for performers, which tends to attract strong acting talent at every level of the call sheet.

New York City as the filming location is both creatively apt for this kind of urban absurdist dark comedy and practically straightforward for local crew. The city's below-the-line talent pool is deep and experienced, with strong local unions across every department. The New York State Film Tax Credit program, which offers a 25 percent transferable credit on qualified production costs, is almost certainly a factor in keeping this shoot in the five boroughs, and at a $1 million budget the production will be working carefully to maximize every incentive dollar. A four-week shoot in New York at this budget level means a lean crew, streamlined department sizes, and a fast-moving schedule. Expect a tightly run set with minimal fat in any department. Locations work in NYC on an indie budget requires a skilled locations manager who knows how to navigate the city's permitting landscape efficiently, and that role is likely among the first being staffed right now.

Given the absurdist, character-driven nature of the material and the dark romantic comedy genre, this production will likely lean heavily on its costume and production design departments to establish a heightened visual world without a massive budget to do it. A strong costume designer with a sense of character-driven work and a production designer comfortable building atmosphere on a shoestring are both essential hires for a film like this. The intimate scale and comedic-dramatic tone also suggest that the director of photography will need to bring both technical versatility and a strong sense of visual comedy, since absurdist material lives or dies by how the camera treats its characters.

With principal photography still roughly six months out, Heaven, Probably is sitting in exactly the right window for department heads and key crew to get in front of the producers. Pre-production on a four-week NYC indie of this scope typically accelerates quickly once the schedule firms up, and the first wave of department head hires often happens well in advance of the cameras-up date. If this project fits your reel and your sensibility, now is the time to reach out. The full production listing on ProductionList.com includes contact information, production office details, and crew list updates as they become available. Bookmark it, check back regularly, and make your move early.

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