DIVINE CHILDREN will shoot in late AUGUST 2017 with plans for a festival release in 2018.
Set in post-apocalyptic America, Divine Children tells the story of Buzz, a teenage boy with a passion for Britney Spears who dreams of becoming an international pop star. When a tough gang of older kids dare him to walk across an active minefield, Buzz agrees. If he makes it, he believes it will ensure his survival in the New World.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, User Apcbg
It takes incredible strength to find light in darkness, and the reminder to put forth that effort is ever so prevalent in today’s society. Divine Children is an homage to the power of young people, who, without fail, are able to look towards the future with unrelenting hope and optimism.
As young artists, we feel called upon to give our contribution to the world, with the hope that it will help and inspire others. Art is, and will remain, an invaluable tool in uniting and empowering the people. The themes behind Divine Children are powerful, and will act as a much needed reminder for us all that there is always hope where there is an opportunity to create and to inspire.
Your support will help us bring this powerful story to life. Not only that, but it will play a vital role in helping us finance the feature version of the film (which is already in development).
Elysium Bandini is the first and only philanthropic film studio. Founded by Jennifer Howell, Elysium Bandini aims to provide young filmmakers with the opportunity to bring their films to life. With the support of artists like John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Floria Sigismondi and Shepard Fairey, Elysium Bandini launched in January 2017, and our film will be one of its first projects.
Our team is lucky to have the support of Elysium Bandini. This means that they will be covering half our costs, as well as bringing an Academy Award-winning Costume Designer and award-winning Choreographers onto our film to take it to the next level. Despite their incredible support however, additional funding is needed to bring this ambitious film to life. We require another $8,000 USD so that we may properly pay our cast and crew, and afford the equipment (an Alexa Mini!!) we need to make the movie look really good.
**Once we reach our Indiegogo goal, we'll combine it with funds already raised ($2000 USD), that Elysium Bandini will match to bring us to our production budget of $20,000 USD. **
If you choose to support our project, your generous donation will go directly towards…..
Not only that, but you will become a part of the incredible team of artists and producers that is Elysium Bandini!
For more info on Elysium Bandini Studios and who’s involved, go here: ebstudios.org
(Buzz's character diary. Part of the "Dedicated Fan" perk)
NINA LJETI (Writer- Director), is an LA-based Canadian filmmaker. A graduate of NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, she began her career by writing and directing her first feature film, Memoria, which screened at festivals around the world. A classically trained pianist, Nina has a deep understanding of rhythm, timing, and the relationship between moving images and music. This translates into her work as a director and editor for artists such as Rey Pila, Soko, Deap Vally, and Collapsing Scenery. Having been recognized as a rising talent, Nina was listed in MovieMaker Magazine as one of the top 25 Screenwriters to Watch. Her work has been featured on Noisey, IndieWire, Dazed, Miami Art Basel, and at MoMA PS1.
KATHLEEN TENEFRANCIA (Producer), is a writer from Los Angeles. In 2013, she received her bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing from UCLA, where she also studied screenwriting under James Franco. Soon after her academic career, she worked for Rabbit Bandini as a freelancer. In 2014, she co-produced Making It, a documentary that followed a band alongside their east coast tour. Divine Children will be her first narrative project.
AUSTIN KOLODNEY (Producer)- Born and raised in Newhall, California, Austin Kolodney transferred to the University of Southern California to study Film Production, with an emphasis in Producing and Directing. Since leaving USC, Austin has worked as a Director’s Assistant for David O. Russell and Shekhar Kapur, directed a web series for the SyFy Channel, started a sketch comedy channel that has been featured on the front page of Funny or Die, and recently produced The Mad Whale, a gothic drama set in an early 1900s mental institution- starring Camilla Belle, Dominic Rains, Summer Phoenix, and James Franco. Austin has a passion for human storytelling and black comedy, and recently wrapped another feature with James Franco’s Rabbit Bandini Productions, a biopic on Corey Feldman and Corey Haim.
DAVID BOLEN (Cinematographer), is an award-winning cinematographer based out of Los Angeles, California. A graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, his main focus has been narrative and documentary storytelling. David was cinematographer for the feature documentary THE DROP BOX (2015) which was released across American theaters and became the highest grossing Fathom event of all-time. His work on the film GIRL BAND was in competition at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Outside of film, David has shot commercials/branded spots for Disney, Subway, Marvel, Walmart, Hasbro, Pandora, Target and Staples. Most recently, David has collaborated with production/management company Psycho Films, shooting music videos and films for artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Puff Daddy, and YG.
DP REEL: https://vimeo.com/86614020
FIELDER THOMAS (Executive Producer). Originally from Florida, Fielder is now based in Los Angeles. He loves dogs and 90s pop. This will be his first narrative project as Producer.
Our team also includes:
Carly Van Skaik (Music Supervisor, Shameless)
Anna Villareal (Producer, Elysium Bandini)
Jennifer Howell (Producer, Elysium Bandini)
We do not have our cast confirmed yet, but will send our supporters an e-mail update once we do!
We are a flexible-funding campaign. Whatever money we raise will still go to the creation of the project- even if we don’t reach our goal. If you are unable to make a donation but want to help, we ask that you share/repost this project on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram. Spread the word!
And if you’d like to make a private donation to the film, or have any production resources you’d like to offer, please e-mail us at divinechildrenfilm@gmail.com
Finally: Every cent will help us in reaching our goal in making Divine Children. We thank you in advance for your generous support, and we can’t wait to start shooting! Yay!
- The Divine Children Team