the summary.
Who says you need a big Hollywood team to make a great production? Through drive, dedication, and passion, the end goal is to produce a light-hearted, different kind of movie - the closest to a full-length, feature film as possible!
the creator.
My name is Mia, and believe that when I say I am filled with passion, that I am the walking literal definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. I've always been so incredibly immersed into the art world, but my interest has always strongly gravitated toward the entertainment industry.
The way that I think is very dream-like and ethereal; I've spent a great amount of my life thinking of how I could reflect what happens in my mind to an audience who is able to perceive it the same way as I am. I'd always wanted to make/be involved in a movie, but was in the dark about how to actually make it happen.
And now, everything is coming to light.
the inspiration.
While standing around and talking with a friend, we found ourselves talking about life, which veered into a tangent - "your life is what you make it", they said. "If you dream it, you can achieve it," they said. "When you grow up, you can be whatever you want to be," they said.
I recently had a birthday, and was feeling kind of down on myself as I was another year older, watching people around me getting to do what they love while I was nowhere near living my dream.
Then, those words came back.
Immediately, I suggested to my friend that we should make a movie, and she said, "yes". I then realized that everything that I love to do - photography, directing, writing, acting, cinematography - if I pushed, thought, dreamt, and tried hard enough, I could actually make this happen, and that was extremely rewarding to me. Plus, it was a nice feeling to see someone become equally as excited to create something as I was.
Even though we are still in the beginning stages of this project, I am exceptionally proud of what has been accomplished so far. Every ounce of me is hopeful that we can reach the day where we are able to say, "We did it".
the idea.
This is the story of a girl who creates a separate entity of herself (a tulpa, who emulates the idea of her perfect person) to help her realize she can be happy and comfortable just the way she is.
As an art student, our main character (Mally), spends more time focusing on her work rather than acting as a "normal person" her age; going to parties, going on dates, going to practically any social event. Her best friend is constantly trying to get her more involved in the community, but with varying success (like, maybe once out of every ten times).
The more Mally thinks about how much time she spends alone, the more she starts to realize things about herself; she's insecure, she lacks self confidence, she thinks completely different from the people who surround her daily. She thinks of herself as generally awkward, and the idea of being around those different people is the last situation she'd want to find herself in.
During the period of self-realization, our main character stumbles across a new person who seems to understand her, down to the very last bone. The only problem? No one else can see this person aside from Mally. After a brief conversation with this new person, she learns that she has actually created a tulpa in a positive light, and they aren't leaving until Mally realizes there is more to her as a person, rather than just how she sees herself.
I pitched the idea to my friend, and she loved it. Now, we can bring to light a character based off of real world people and not one who is riddled with unrealistic Hollywood-esque attributes!
what we need & what you'll get.
We are asking for $20,000, which is solely to cover equipment and production costs. As previously stated, it doesn't take a team of 3,000 people to make a great film, but we want to ensure we have the proper filming and editing equipment to bring you the next best thing!
And as a giant thank you for your contributions, a pile of perks has been compiled so that you don't feel as if you're walking away from this film without anything. We want you to have something that reminds you that you helped create something amazing!
the process.
As someone who has created short videos and mini-movies before, I know that the movie process can take quite some time to complete. Between writing the screenplay, shooting, and producing, it seems like it can take years (but this project won't, I promise). The team working on this movie will consist of about 5-7 people who all have a great, great passion for this project as well, which means we'll all be assigned to more than just one crew role.
The screenplay has gone through two drafts, and will need to go through one more extensive, final edit. During the run of this campaign, the team will have had time to finalize everything for the production and will be ready to start shooting! Yes, do not be deterred! If we do not reach our goal, that's okay! We really want to make this project happen, so we will gather all contributions and exhaust outside resources to 100% bring this to life.
Our goal is to start shooting sometime between mid-March to mid-April, and wrap post-production by the end of summer (we've got some school schedules to work around). If everything works out perfectly time-wise, then we'll release the film late July/early August (maybe even sooner!). Around this time, we are also aiming to submit the film to festivals, Netflix, and AMC Independent. If necessary, we will implement a PHASE II to accrue costs for distribution.