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Fear.
It's what unites the spiritually-disturbed inhabitants of Val Jalbert, a dark, claustrophobic village in rural Canada. Enraptured by superstition. Polluted with dark energy. Filled with village-people whose lives are governed by the belief that everything can be attributed to spirits, good or evil; that nothing is in anyone's control.
We follow Francoise, a wife and mother who suffers nightly terrors. Her marriage has fallen apart, and she's continually haunted by a presence in her bedroom. It's driving her insane ... To the point that she breaks into her neighbour's house to try to find it.
The Fantome short is a story of a woman navigating her personal demons and discovering that maybe ... it's easier to confront the physical monster than to face what she's done.
This is the short film that started it all. From this short came the feature-length film, which we took all the way to the top 15 in Cinecoup in 2015. We couldn't be more excited to take it to production. And now, we're reaching out to you guys to help us make it happen.
Read on to meet the team, get acquainted with some of our home-made, carefully cultivated (and sometimes outright crazy) perks, and find out how you can help us take this project to fruition!
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Erica Orofino Jonathan Elliott Abdul Malik
Writer/Director Cinematographer Gaffer
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Shant Joshi Aaron DiMaria Shane R. Preston
Producer 1st AC Editor
We're the founding members of Paper Frame Pictures, a Toronto-based production company we started up last year. We've been the team behind Fantome since its inception and we're so excited to be bringing the short into production. If those faces up there don't instil confidence, read a bit about our keys.
ERICA OROFINO is a writer/director and producer from Montreal, QC. While working toward her BFA from York University’s selective Screenwriting program, she co-founded Paper Frame Pictures Inc. Through Paper Frame, Erica wrote Fantome, a feature-length horror film, which landed her the Top 15 in the Cinecoup Film Accelerator in 2015. She directed Another Reflection which premiered through Exclaim! magazine in Fall 2015, and co-wrote and produced Two Wolves (horror short) which has screened at festivals internationally. Erica has written numerous genre films, including several produced shorts and a number of feature-lengths. She also works in Toronto as a producer in advertising.
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JONATHAN ELLIOTT is a first nations cinematographer/director from the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. Since receiving his BFA from York University’s film production program, he has worked as a cinematographer on a variety of projects including documentary series' for television, Fantome (Cinecoup Film Accelerator Top 15 project), When I Look At You (award-winning music video), Another Reflection (music video premiered through Exclaim! magazine) and Lie to Layla (feature.) Jonathan’s most recent short film, Two Wolves, has screened at film festivals internationally.
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SHANT JOSHI is a producer/production manager and co-founder of Paper Frame Pictures Inc. He's currently in his 3rd year at York University pursuing his Bachelor's in fine arts in film production. In addition to managing Paper Frame Pictures, Shant also is the Artistic Director of an upstart film festival in Toronto, the Future of Film Showcase. After finishing his first year at YorkU, Shant directed/produced a comedy television pilot called Warden Boys, and produced five 4th year and Graduate films at York U. Shant is always looking for the next big challenge and currently, that is making Fantome a reality.
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$5000.
It might seem like a lot, but we want to do this one right.
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We've got some things covered, like food, transportation, promotion, location, and other amenities. We're not asking for a penny more than we need, to make this a polished, slick, and highbrow production. A good chunk of this goes to creating the world, including art, props, and makeup. Another good chunk goes to gear. Camera, lighting, grip equipment. There's a ton that goes into making a well oiled production run, but the end result is seeing the result of your investment in the finished project. Every dollar you guys contribute will make the end result that much stronger, and that much scarier. Contribute enough dollars, and you're eligible for our perks!
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Our perks are something to get excited about.
Throughout our journey with Fantome, we've collaborated with some of the freshest talent in design, musical composition, narrative storytelling, painting and illustration. With our perks, we've handpicked a few of our favourites and we're giving them back to you. Whether it's beautiful poster artwork from Erika Madsen and Alexia Boucher, stunning concept art from Diego De la Rosa and Leanna Teneycke, music by Toronto composer Spencer Creaghan or Montreal musicians Luna Lufa, or -- my personal favourite -- a carefully curated book of short "bedtime stories for adults" written by 8 talented up-and-coming young writers and illustrated by Aaron DiMaria; we've certainly compiled a cornucopia of home-grown art for you to enjoy.
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On the flip-side, we're sharing meaningful moments with you. We want to invite you on set with us for a day. We want you to die in the movie. We want you at the Future of Film Showcase, a Toronto film festival founded by our producer Shant Joshi, and Eric Bizarri.
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We're even taking one deep-pocketed (or two,) individual(s) with us to the ghost town of Val Jalbert in Quebec, where the world of Fantome was conceptualized. We want you at our wrap party.
... and we throw a mean wrap party.
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We're hoping that we can share not only our finished film with the world, but the community with which the project was developed.
Even if your contribution doesn't get us to $5000, you can be assured we're going to make this film. $5000 is just the number we need to make it as uncompromisingly and comfortably as we can.
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We have a story we want to share with the world. A story that is not only scary, but emotionally compelling. A story that is not only made by a Canadian team, but doesn't purport to be from anywhere else. Our film is steeped in Canadian folklore, history, myth and fear. The same way films like The Exorcist prey upon the nightmares of the culturally Catholic, or The Babadook remains uniquely Australian in its sentiments and locales.
By contributing to our film, you are actively funding the future of horror in Canada.
Are there any risks?
Probably.
We're young, just out of school, and making genre films in Canada can be a scary thing.
But we know there's an audience for it. And if our experience at Cinecoup taught us two things, they are 1) that we're a powerful team, and 2) that people want to see Fantome.
We know this could sound a little grand, but our team has proven itself, time and time again on features, shorts, ads and music videos. We've honed our skills, together and apart, and now we want to create our strongest, most poignant project yet. We know exactly what we're capable of, and how far we can push ourselves out of our comfort zones, and we're going to do exactly that - and well.
We hope that at this point, we've seen a few of your dollars if you have the means.
But if you don't, and you still want to help? Help us get the word out. Please share our IndieGoGo page on social media, using this link:
http://igg.me/at/fantome
The more people who see this, the more contributions we get. The more contributions we get, the closer you are to getting your first crack into this ghostly, terrifying world we've dreamt up.
Thanks so much everyone.
- The Team
