What We Need & What You Get
Independent filmmaking is a labor of love, but it often comes with financial challenges. Our pockets aren’t deep, and the current film funding climate can be an especially tough one to navigate, with limited resources available for emerging projects like ours. That’s why we’re launching this campaign to raise $12,000 to help bring this film to life. This funding will supplement our own personal contributions, ensuring that we can pay our collaborators fairly, secure the necessary equipment, and bring our creative vision to the screen without compromise. Every dollar counts, and with your support, we can make something truly special.
As a token of our immense gratitude for your generosity, we’ve put together a selection of exclusive rewards for our supporters. By contributing to our campaign, you’ll have the opportunity to be among the first to experience Accismus through an early-access screener of the film, along with a download code for the official soundtrack - an immersive, hand-crafted score that brings the story to life.
We’re also offering a one-of-a-kind selection of physical 16mm film frames taken directly from our proof-of-concept test shots which are a tangible piece of the filmmaking process, preserved in real emulsion.
Additionally, you’ll receive an invitation to an intimate, private cast and crew screening of the film, where you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the project and have the chance to participate in a special Q&A with the director. And for those who want to be a part of the film in an even bigger way, we’re offering the opportunity to be credited as a producer of Accismus.
Budget Breakdown
The majority of the funds raised will be used to pay a living wage to our cast and crew (28%). The remaining funds will be spent across film stock (19%) and processing (20), equipment rentals (18%), set decoration and wardrobe (5%), and catering (10%).
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The Impact
At its core, Accismus explores themes of restraint, desire, and the tension between what we show the world and what we truly feel. It’s an intimate, visually striking work that dares to be raw and imperfect - qualities that are becoming increasingly rare in an era of hyper-polished, studio-dominated content.
For donors, supporting Accismus isn’t just about backing a film; it’s about investing in independent artistry, championing the voices of passionate filmmakers, and proving that bold, unconventional storytelling still has a place in the world. Your contribution directly helps create something authentic. Shot on real 16mm film, Accismus is crafted with care and made outside of the constraints of traditional funding models.
By supporting this film, you’re not just helping us make a movie; you’re helping keep independent cinema alive, ensuring that audiences continue to have access to art that takes risks and speaks to something real.
This is the kind of project that doesn’t just disappear into the digital void and with your help, we can make sure it reaches the world.
The film is entirely Halifax, Nova Scotia local, from the shooting location, to the cast and crew, catering, creative support, makeup, hair, and everything in between.
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Key Crew
Director | Brandy Marien
Brandy is a trans filmmaker with a background as varied as the stories she tells. Before stepping behind the camera, she navigated careers in the public sector, cosmetics, and beyond - each experience shaping her perspective on identity, survival, and the ways we present ourselves to the world. Her work is driven by a desire to capture the truths often left unspoken. She strives to craft films that feel tactile and lived-in, blending personal history with bold, cinematic storytelling
Director of Photography | Nicole Cecile Holland
Nicole masterfully blends technical expertise with an intuitive understanding of light, composition, and movement. Whether working with the rich textures of film or the precision of digital cinematography, she crafts striking, immersive visuals that enhance narrative depth and emotional resonance. Her approach is deeply collaborative, working closely with directors and production teams to translate vision into evocative, cinematic imagery. Beyond aesthetics, she thrives on the creative problem-solving inherent in cinematography, shaping each frame with intention and purpose to serve the story at hand.
Her work has been featured at film festivals throughout Canada and abroad. Notable festivals include Fantasia, Inside Out, and The Atlantic International Film Festival,
Composer | Anita Chastanet
Blending DJing, music production, sound design, and media arts, Anita constructs deeply immersive sonic landscapes that transcend the ordinary. Her work doesn’t just accompany visuals—it shapes emotions, alters perceptions, and guides audiences through worlds both familiar and surreal. She seamlessly layers rhythm, texture, and atmosphere, creating experiences that resonate long after they end.
Producer | Sean Patterson
Public servant by day and queer film and music nerd by night, Sean is passionate about helping others and ensuring creative projects come to life.
Visual Treatment
ACCISMUS will be shot on 16mm using the Arriflex SR3 and Aaton XTR-Prod cameras, paired with vintage lenses to achieve a timeless, textured aesthetic. Kodak Vision3 stock will provide a rich, organic image with deep contrast and natural grain, while all visual effects will be captured in-camera, embracing the raw, immersive qualities of analog filmmaking. This tactile approach, with its inherent imperfections, mirrors the protagonist’s struggle for authenticity, grounding the film in a physical medium that resists manipulation. The grain and texture of celluloid, much like the protagonist herself, reflect the beauty in flaws and unpredictability.
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In an era dominated by AI-generated content, there is an urgent need to create work that feels deeply human - something raw and tangible. One of the most compelling aspects of shooting Accismus on film is its inherent physicality. Unlike digital imagery, which exists as mere data, film has a presence - it occupies space, it degrades, it carries the weight of time. Every frame is etched onto real-life emulsion, where even a single still isn’t static but alive, shifting and breathing with the organic movement of the grain. This texture, this imperfection, is what makes it authentic - something that can be touched, preserved, and felt in a way that AI simply cannot replicate.
Moodboard
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Sound Design
Sound design will complement this visual landscape, with a nightclub environment pulsing with electronic music - throbbing bass lines, shimmering synths, and hypnotic rhythms that mirror the protagonist’s inner world. The sound will dynamically interact with the space, from muffled beats to distorted echoes, blurring the line between diegetic and non-diegetic sound. This combination of tactile visuals and immersive sound design aims to pull the audience into an experience that is felt as much as it is seen or heard, capturing the raw, unfiltered essence of the protagonist’s journey.
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Process and Schedule
The production of ACCISMUS is planned to ensure a seamless workflow and maintain its artistic vision. Following test shots in early January 2025 to refine the film’s visual language, pre-production continues through April, focusing on casting, production design, choreography, and rehearsals. Principal photography will take place in early May 2025 over three days, followed by two weeks of processing and editing from late May to late June. Picture lock is set for mid-July, with sound design throughout the summer, and final delivery by mid-August. Festival submissions will begin in late August, with backers receiving rewards by September of 2025.
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Distribution
ACCISMUS is far from a conventional genre film. It is an uncompromising, experimental work that challenges traditional narratives and aesthetic norms. Our distribution strategy begins with a curated festival run, targeting bold, experimental platforms that focus on queer and avant-garde filmmaking. We aim to showcase our film in underground festivals specializing in queer and experimental media, ensuring it reaches audiences who embrace unconventional storytelling.
After the festival circuit, we are planning a limited theatrical run in select cinemas, paired with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage to deepen audience connection to the film’s creative process.
