09/04/2026
Last month, a couple beloved members of Austin’s film community and Paper Street’s extended family were dealt some absolutely devastating news. Our pal, Ben — also known as “Ben E-F”, “Bucket Ben”, and/or “Gaffer Extraordinaire” — was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He and his wife, Michelle Millette, have worked with us going back to our early short films and very first feature, with Ben serving as gaffer on movies including SCARE PACKAGE and SHELBY OAKS, so we aren’t kidding when we say we consider them part of our family.
His situation is not curable, nor is it operable, but Ben has started chemotherapy and they are fighting this as best they can with the treatments available. The diagnosis blindsided the two of them and upended their whole world, with neither able to take on any extended work at this time. So please, if you are able, consider donating to their GoFundMe (*the link is in our profile bio*). If you would like to help out in other ways — be it food delivery, gift cards, donations, or similar — don’t hesitate to reach out to us, or contact if you know them personally.
We love you dearly, Ben and Michelle.
And we’re here if you need anything at all.
💔🖤💔
