Introduction
In a world where it seems to be so difficult to live it fully, a young man obcessed with freedom has to choose between keep fighting to live it the way he's used to and accepting a form he (and all of us) is (are) unconsciously familiarized with.
Summary
Freedom River is a ficcional drama short around the topic of freedom, and different approaches to that concept.
Two obvious inspirations to the movie are Shawshank Redemption and Papillon. But although those are movies I cherish a lot, there are not a whole lot more who talk about this tematic, so I felt I had some sort of responsability to do this short film. I don't plan to put such a serious tone in it as the movies I refered but for me it's an extremely serious matter. I am a freedom freak too.
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The Team
I'm the Writer, Director and for now the Producer. This is my, and most of my teammates, first film excluding the ones made in film school. I will count though with some professional colaboration in the photography department, such as:
Miguel Robalo - Director of photography of several award winning projects, including Best Direction of Photography for Short Films 2020 - PRÉMIOS AIP - Portuguese Image Associaton
His official Website: http://www.miguelrobalo.com/
Marcel Favery - Camera Operator of the short film Seiva Bruta (Under the Heavens), selected for Telluride Film Festival 47th and Rhode Island International Film Festival; and winner of the 2020 NBR Student Grant and 2019 Director's Guild of America for Best Short Film
His official website - https://www.marcelfavery.com/
And also in the make-up department with Inês Santana, who worked in a project with the portuguese brand, Wetheknot; and made two editorials, one to Parq Magazine and another to Fila
The Funding
We aim to help generate these funds as we don't have the traditional backing of normal productions. In addition to this, COVID-19 has also had a great impact on the film industry (and on companies in general, wich makes it hard to stablish some partnership). This is where we reach out for the help from all of you, whom without, this would not be possible.
In order for us to make this short, we are looking to raise 600 Euros! The significance of your donations and pledges are imperative to the end product of the film.
With your kind donations, this will go towards:
Covid Precautions
As we are making a film during Covid Pandemic, our main aim is to keep everyone safe, and as a result of the climate we are in, it has become even more serious for us to put specific measures in place to mitigate any health issues in place. The whole crew have already been certified in their Covid awareness in regards to Film Production and have all been adhering to social distancing and wearing their face masks! To further crack down on this, we would need extra funds items such as thermometers and sanitizers to ensure that everything is clean!
Film Material
Most of the equippment will be borrowed, but there are still some especific equipment we must rent, such as generator to shoot at night, for example. And above that we must have an insurance for all the material.
Location Fees
The perfect location is key for a film and as a result it can come at a premium. This means that a good portion of our budget will be set aside to acquire our location. Plus, the script doesn't make it easy for us in that matter because it Police Stations and Prisons, which are not that numerous in Portugal or easy to get access. But we have already scouted out a lot of potential locations and they are looking promising!
Festival Fees
We have high hopes for the end product and as a result we want to submit the finished product into as many film festivals as possible in order for the word to be spread.
Travel Expenses
To help ensure that we get our cast and crew to the different locations it doesn't come without travel! As there are multiple locations within the film, the travel expenses will have to transport the relevant cast and crew to all of these locations.
Catering
The most important part of Production, is to ensure that the cast and crew are happy, the big contributor to that is for them to be fed and hydrated. Ensuring that everyone has access to food and water can only improve the quality of the film as they will all be content and happy to continue working!
Risks and Challenges
If that goal is not reached, the production will not be as decent and the quality of the movie will obviously be lower. In any case the show must go on...
What you Receive
By generously donating to our campaign, you will receive special thank you from all of us and your name will be in the credits!
Impact
The project will try to make a statement about freedom, a statement that will try to change the way people see it. There's a lot of people suffering because of how freedom is seen, especially nowadays. I think it's not seen as something important, but for me it's a basic value. And I don't mean only to humans. I advise you to read the script. The main goal is to start a debate about the topic of freedom. It is necessary to have a conversation in this tumultuous times. Thank you for the atention.