About BENT TREE
BENT TREE is a short horror film about an alien abductee who must decide to overcome her fear of her husband and the paranormal creature that haunts her.
About the Director
Hi there, I'm Ivan Rubanenko. I've been a story teller all of my life. I've been so lucky to hone and study this passion, to work on it and make it an achievable career, and not an idealistic dream. As I've grown as a person over the past four years, I was often obsessed with film and television relating to "horror," and it's because I've been controlled by fear all my life. Making this film -- making any film for that matter -- is frightening, but with your help, I can face my fears knowing that I'm not alone.
What We Need
It's important we raise enough funds to meet our goal before principal photography. We have an alien in our film, which will require convincing practical effects. There will also be a stunt coordinator for the climactic ending we have designed for the film. Renting out a location will be vital for our film to be successful, but we are lucky in some regards.
Thankfully SCAD has camera, lighting, and sound equipment that is professional grade and is offered with our tuition. However, making sure we can rent transportation for this equipment, as well as making sure that we purchase expendables equipment not provided by our university.
We will also have an amazing cast and crew that will need to be well fed for their hard work, as well as when funds to submit this film to as many festivals as we can! This is a flexible goal, which means that no matter what we raise we can still use those funds to get us to principal photography.
The Impact
This film is a cautionary tale about what it means to let fear control your very way of life. What it ultimately means for those to suffer in silence. The film has much more to say than just "fear," but I've also found that the interpretive film is the timeless film. I want this to stay with you for the rest of your life, I want you to think of a time before you saw this film, and how you've changed after seeing it.
Risks & Challenges
Every film has their challenges. I can tell you that I have seen quite a few, but a level head has always kept me going. I have had a location drop on me last minute, I have had crew or cast members not show up to set, I have even had a camera equipment that would not turn on.
Murphy's Law is the law of the filmmaker, but it is up to the filmmaker to stand up when he's knocked down. No location? Rewrite your film to be set in a forest or even your own home. No crew? Grab the boom, check the levels, press record on the camera, and call action. No cast? Prepare to learn some lines fast. The camera won't work? There's a camera on your phone.
These fixes are not ideal, they may even lead to more problems on the way, but when we have asked for your help in raising funds to make this film, not making it is no longer an option. We're making this movie, and no one, and I mean no one, is going to stop us.
Other Ways You Can Help
You may not have the ability to help this film financially, however, you can always help by promoting this site. If you are excited to help Ivan or just love the idea of this film, letting others know about this campaign is the best way you can help support us. We know with your help, we can make this goal a reality!
