'GUION' presents a unique opportunity for you to get behind a team of filmmakers who have been given the incredible opportunity to tell the untold story of Mr. Guion Bluford, the first African American man in space. GUION is a project supported by Mr. Bluford and drawn from his personal, unpublished memoirs as well as hours of interviews with him.

GUION is a 15 minute narrative short film that tells the story of Guion Bluford, as he grapples with the reality that he is to become the first African American man in space. Set in 1960 and 1983, GUION tells the story of a humble, private man, learning to accept his new responsibilities and become a cultural icon.

GUION begins with the initial meeting that launches Guion into the public sphere, when he is selected to be the first African American man in space. Although excited, Guion is hesitant - as an enormously private, humble, and quiet person, flying to space is no small task. It means piloting high tech machinery and constant press outings, and brings a growing lack of privacy. For Guion, being an aerospace engineer is enough - becoming a cultural icon and a hero for African American youth was never his goal. As Guion moves closer to launch, his stress grows, and he finds himself looking back into his past to find the strength, conviction, and grit necessary to help him overcome his humble nature and accept the responsibility of becoming an American icon forever. 

'GUION' is set in two distinct time periods - in the early 1980's, as Guion learns about his selection and prepares to fly, and in 1960, in Guion's memories of his teenage years. We are working closely from archival records and historical imagery to make sure we capture these time periods with perfect accuracy. 

We will be shooting on the Alexa Mini with vintage anamorphic lenses to visually depict the two time periods the film covers.We chose to shoot on a set of decades-old lenses called Kowas because we felt they would lend the film a grittier, characterized feel, while still retaining an appropriate amount of texture and sharpness.  Furthermore, we will be approaching the color grade with the intent of loosely recreating film stocks of the appropriate era to help sell the audience on the time period we are in. Our color palette will be warm, with moody undertones, to help create the intimate scenes that Guion experiences.

SAGI KAHANE-RAPPORT (Director/Co-Creator) - Sagi is a director, editor and animator based in Toronto, Canada. Entering post-production on his first feature film, and with numerous award winning shorts under his belt, Sagi is constantly looking for new creative boundaries to push. Sagi was a recipient of the Norman Jewison Filmmaker Award, as well as the Ryan Churchill Promising Filmmaker award, and is honored to be a part of the DOC Institute of Canada's New Visions Incubator. Sagi relishes the opportunity to continue learning, growing and innovating as a filmmaker.

ADAM MADRZYK (Cinematographer/Co-Creator) - Adam is a cinematographer in Toronto, Canada. His background comes from his work as a DOP on a series of commercials and branded video content – for clients ranging from Mercedes, RBC, Phillips, Puma, Etsy, CNN, Canon Canada to local brands such as the “Toronto vs Everyone” brand Peace Collective. Adam was the inaugural recipient of the William F. White/Vilmos Zsigmond Cinematography Scholarship and the Norman Jewison Filmmaker Award.

RYAN RODRIGUES (Executive Producer) - Ryan has been able to successfully collaborate and create projects ranging from music videos, short films, photoshoots and more. Incorporating his own production company, Lumenville, in 2016 with business partner Nicolas DiStefano, the two have created short films that have screened at local and international film festivals (Toronto Independent Film Festival, Maryland International Film festival) amongst others.  Ryan is excited to be part of the GUION team, and knows that with your help, the project can only live up to all that it is meant to be.

JAKE MANLEY (Executive Producer) - Jake Manley is an actor and producer. Over the past 6 years, Jake has worked on numerous film and TV projects across North America - for networks such as Netflix, CBC, CW, CBS, Lionsgate, Fox, Hulu, Disney and more. Jake's passion lies in meaningful storytelling.

DOMINIK HAAKE  (Producer) - Dominik is an aspiring producer, enabling creatives to tell the best story possible. He has always had a keen interest in finance, communication and logistics but wanted to make sure that skill wasn’t wasted behind a boring desk job. His experience as a producer is primarily through working with exciting clients in his freelance business that he has run since 2013.

DIALLA KAWAR (Production Designer) - Dialla Kawar is a production designer and art director based in Toronto. She works in all genres and mediums of film including feature and short films, commercials, and music videos. Her work has been featured in TIFF Canada's Top Ten, the Vancouver Film Festival, and the Austin Film Festival. Her films have also been recognized at industry awards events including nominations for the Prism Prize and the Peter Garretsen Award, as well as a win at the MMVAs for Venus Fly.

MERYL ROMO (Props Master) - Meryl Allysa Romo is a Production Designer, Wardrobe Person and Actress based in Toronto, Canada. Working freelance film since 2014, she has built up her resume and networked along the way, gaining long lasting friendships that support her craft. Meryl is always up for a creative task (no matter how bizarre) and is always humbled to work beside such talented artists this industry has to offer. With every film opportunity that comes her way, she looks forward to learning new skills and solve problems.

LAUREN ISHAK (Wardrobe Director) - Lauren is really excited that you're checking out this Indiegogo! She is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto with a dual degree in Theatre and English. She has acted in more plays than she is able to count (because she has an arts degree, not a math one) and made the transition a few years ago to directing and designing for film and theatre. Lauren is incredibly committed to sharing new and powerful stories to as many people as she possibly can and to find innovative and unique ways to tell them. She is very proud and excited to put this film out into the world and hopes you would like to be a part of it!

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So where's the money going? The short answer is that quality filmmaking is expensive, and this film is worth it. The long answer is that a film is like a machine, and money helps the gears get turning. We've been enormously fortunate to receive the benefits of sponsorships from some major industry players like William F. Whites and Apollo Studios, who are helping us with equipment rentals and sound mixing respectively, but there are still an enormous number of costs that a film like this has. We're committed to portraying each historical period of our film with great accuracy, and sourcing costumes, props, and sets to properly achieve that goal is expensive. All of our crew members are working for free, but passion doesn't feed stomachs - and on a day to day basis there will be at least 30 of them waiting to be filled. We need to rent trucks and vans to transport equipment and art supplies, and spend money renting locations to tell our story.

Our key crew members are already making significant financial contributions on their own for the film, but they simply can't afford to do it alone. Here's a breakdown of our costs:

By contributing to this campaign, you will be directly helping bring an untold story to life, and that's a reward in itself! You'll be supporting young artists and students with a dream, and you'll be directly creating something amazing. But we've also got both physical and digital rewards that we want to share with you. These perks will give you insights into our film, ranging from memorabilia from our sets to exclusive behind the scenes (including Q&As with the crew). 

GUION is a historically significant story to tell; it is culturally relevant yet still completely untold. Along with having tremendous impact on those making and learning from this project, this project will be a monument to Guion's achievements, and help cement his place in history. We are reaching out to friends and family, blogs and websites to help promote this film and spread the word within our communities, bringing attention to our project and an event that many can hold as a source of inspiration.

Below are a few stills from a recent project by our cinematographer & co-writer Adam Madrzyk, shot in a similar fashion to the look GUION will be reaching for.

Feel free to checkout more of Adam's work at: https://vimeo.com/adammadrzyk

The Eyeopener - https://theeyeopener.com/2018/01/students-launch-film-about-first-african-american-man-in-space/

If you are not able to financially contribute, that's okay! There are plenty of other ways to help. Above all, we want this film to be seen. Simply sharing this campaign as well as our social media handle, @guionthefilm, with your friends, family and community will help this film reach the next level. We need to continue bringing awareness to this project and this film, and that all starts with you! 

This film is being supported by a huge number of amazing people - including you! We'd also like to extend a huge thank you to William F. Whites International, Canada's premiere motion picture equipment rental company, for backing this project and supporting the film with the generous donation of their production equipment and services. Without their support, we would truly be unable to make this film, and their support of young independent filmmakers is invaluable to us and the industry as a whole.

Making a film, especially on a tight budget, is an ongoing challenge with new hurdles to overcome everyday. We have been training throughout our university & professional careers to identify these obstacles and overcome them in the most efficient method possible. We're also 100% committed to making this film - even if we don't hit our full budget, we'll make this thing to the best of our ability. With that being said, we're confident that whatever obstacle gets thrown our way, our talented team will be able to work through it. Having seasoned experienced crew from the Toronto film industry as our key crew members will help ensure this and help bring our project to the next level.