CARGO is a New York University Thesis Short Film, about a cargo truck driver father who must struggle to control his 12 year old problem child son, after the son encounters a dark force which rests within the contents of the cargo he is transporting.

The heart of a father is a masterpiece of nature, and sometimes it takes a long time for a son growing up to truly understand that. 

His goal is to make them better than he is. Being their friend is a distant second to this.

It's a journey unlike any other and that relationship sometimes hits a lot of brick walls. I myself have hit a lot of brick walls to understand my father, as I grew up; but as I made so many mistakes and failed and failed again, suddenly there comes a state of mind where a voice rings in my head that whispers "hey, maybe your dad was right all this while?... naaah..." and I proceed to make the same mistakes again. 

Sometimes I was right, most of the time he was, but it was as if life threw me at him and the relationship we had was a collaboration of trust, fear, anger and love. Lots of love. The intentions beyond everything else was earnest, and nothing in the world could replace that sense of warmth and protection he would give. 

Now at NYU, we are always advised, write true to who you are. Make films about what you know. Always be personal. I can safely say, this is the most personal story I'd have to express so far through my work.

As much as this film is close to me, it's definitely NOT a film that's just about me. It's a film which deals with themes that are very universal, and I know a lot of people would be able to relate to these themes of family, trust and hope. 

I didn't make this film to be about Malaysian Indians growing up on a palm oil plantation (which is what my family was). I made this film to be about a Malay man and his Malay son going through a plantation struggling to find solace in each other. The ideas are relatable to me, and the beauty of film is, we are able to take any form of idea and theme that is personal to us, and express it through other characters. 

I hope with this film, people would feel something real, something they see in their own lives, and maybe we can understand, that we are not so different after all. 

M O O D   V I D E O 

The above is a mood reference video to reveal the tone and atmosphere of the film. 

I usually get thrown the following questions whenever people generally find out I'm making a horror.

1. Is this gonna be bloody? 
2. Is this gonna have a ghost woman in white with long black hair?
3. Is this gonna be full of jump scares?
   
4. Is this gonna be a film where the father kills the boy?
   
5. Are you gonna have a demon posses the boy and a priest comes and exorcises the boy?

The answer to all these questions is, no, no, no, no. and no. 

Horror films are more than just the expected generics we watch in films today.

Since the beginning of the early days of cinema, audiences have always pursued the thrills from the triggering rush of adrenaline which fear brings. 

Horror films have always served as a staple to an audience to inform the legends of myth and otherworldliness that surround our world. 

But on the flip side, I feel we human beings, are drawn to the strong notion of being able to feel fear and terror, in the comfort and safety of our homes with our loved ones. It's a certain pleasure we cannot ignore. 

In South East Asia, the idea of myth and legend is deeply rooted in our culture. It's not just a superstition, it's a way of life. 

Now, as much as horror has been done to death in Asian cinema, I wanted to bring forth these myths but take my own spin on it, with my own personal relationships from life. 

I'm particularly inspired by the classic films like THE EXORCIST or ROSEMARY'S BABY, where family relationships played crucial roles to influence the fabrics of the horror.

The horror we want to explore in my film, stems from the idea of being alone.

We would need 15 000 USD to realise this film to it's full potential. 

We already have some money through loans but it's still not enough to make the film, so the next USD 10, 000 has to come from you generous, kind folk. 

Here's a list of where the money  will go into :

• paying professional actors
• transportation
• lodging 
• production design
• grip and electric gear rentals
• Harddrives
• prop building
• securing locations 
• wardrobe 
• hair and make up 
• special effects
• food ( a hungry crew is a sad crew). 
  

On top of that we also have a lot of night driving with a cargo truck so we would need to shoot this safely since there is a child in the truck as well. All of this would require professional help so the shoot will be ensured a safe and well maintained one. 

We also need generators on a truck to power all the lights so we won't be shrouded in complete darkness, and trust me, this isn't cheap at all. If I could work with one light source I would, but it would put our poor crew in extreme jeopardy. 

We are getting some favours pulled in from all sides but that doesn't mean everything is free. We hope you would help us by putting in however much you can give to help make this film happen. 

If we do this right, we will have a great film in our hands. 

Here's a taste of some of their creations. 

Cargo will feature some prominent visual effects shots that are key moments in our story. The post production of the film will be handled by our professional team currently working at one of the best visual effects studios in the world; Industrial Light & Magic, who are responsible for some of the most memorable films out there including Star Wars, The Avengers, Pirates of the Caribbean, and many more.

 WRITER // DIRECTOR

Abhilash Chandra

After completing  law school, ABHILASH CHANDRA pursued his Masters in Fine Arts at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, which he now aims to complete with the short film, CARGO, his graduating thesis film. 

To date, Abhilash has worked on over 30 short film productions, which has taken him to countries all across Asia. The last short film he directed and produced, THE HARVESTER, premiered in competition at the Busan International Film Festival while PIGS, a film he produced during that same time, premiered in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Upon the completion of CARGO, Abhilash will be developing a science fiction feature film with his frequent collaborator Jorik Dozy, aimed to be set in the jungles of Indonesia. 

PRODUCER

Joel Soh