Project Update
We made significant progress on the film, and it started, simple as it sounds, by going back to the award itself. Sometimes, writing dilutes your own vision, you start with a simple idea, but for every question you ask yourself, you come up with at least ten answers. While we're proud with those early results, peeling back and going to the initial concept has made for interesting decisions that we believe broadened our scope while maintaining the spirit of our proposal. The project now has a greater sense of direction, the script nearly complete. We originally planned to shoot in the Philippines, but pivoted to a co-production. Shooting most of the film here in the states, and another part, a sequence we're very excited to integrate into the whole film. The Dominican Republic also works because we have collaborator opportunities there that better fit the original vision and intent of Anemoia. It's an example on how film can be a powerful way to showcase numerous influences at work in the way a person's economic life plays out. That theme is evident in the structure: a film of mostly stills and dialogue as commentary that then morphs into moving imagery that explores the way the photograph came to fruition and the elements outside of that one small snapshot that shaped it.
There was always an element of Sci-fi to Anemoia. But its commentary feels so grounded. We've found an interesting way to tow that balance and showing the very thread of potential in human society everywhere.
Progress on Objectives (KPI’s) (progress on project)
Short video (3-5 minutes) Describing the conceptual thought around the process.
https://vimeo.com/890528649/473daf1be6?share=copy
We are currently building a website that will synthesize the project and host/showcase it (after both a successful film festival run and potential distribution deals) for free. Like many of our projects informed by social commentary, we want to share it in the most accessible way possible and provide additional commentary to the film. That's not always our style, but with this film, we're open to a wider discussion about inclusivity, financial stability, and tangible solutions for the future.
We're also interested in finding spaces that might be interested in doing write-ups for the film, and that will soon be one of our focuses as we move into post-production.
What’s Next?
Now that we're through the development phase, pre-, production, and post- are the next steps.
In pre-, we'll do location scouting, casting, production budgeting, and final selection of all crew. But what's most compelling, and mostly because it's a first for us, working with miniature models to build out this museum-like experience and then comping that in later in post, that's taking a lot of our time. In this particular case, and as you'll see with the images above, much of our research has been in finding other talented photographers that might lend a hand in France, in Tokyo, and here in the US -- really large urban landscape photography that we could use in the very 1st act of the film; in production we'll shoot during February, with much taking place in Los Angeles for the still work/collaborating with selected artists and some, as mentioned above, shooting in the Dominican Republic/Haiti.
Post-production will follow during March and April, with editing, score, VFX, and final format processing occurring in time for our deadline.
Community Support
We appreciate the feedback thus far from Interledger and our fellow grantees. Even if our mediums of creating are different, it's been humbling and inspiring in tangible ways to discuss strengths, challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned.
At the end of the day, that's the takeaway from collaboration: seeing others' experience, listening to their feelings, and better understanding the way our lives impact each other, socially, economically, politically, and so forth.
We look forward to more dialogue, more encouragement, more support from this team and hope to give that back in kind too, even if it's just simply being there to listen.
Though, there are connections we'd love to make. If anybody in the community happens to know anybody that's tied to New Yorker Mag or any other editorial magazines that do write-ups about short films, any writers in general out there, we're very interested in taking them out for coffee!
Additional Comments
Excited for May to deliver the final product. Unlike other mediums, film can be hard to show off until production happens, so having that accomplished in the next few months will be a huge update and way to crystalize what's in our heads/on the page.
Top comments (1)
@blacktokyo2021 Thank you for submitting your report!