With HARSH REALITY, we want to tell an interesting story, explore the promises and pitfalls of new technologies, and make a strong statement about empathy and taking responsibility for one's actions and beliefs.

Our film takes place "five minutes into the future" but its subject is the present and its real-world challenges: an increasingly computerized world struggling with the tangible dilemmas of migrant rights, unregulated capitalism, class inequality, police violence, and racism. 

HARSH REALITY is also about resisting concretized myths and transcending prejudice, no matter what the cost. It's the struggle for cyberculture's utopian ideal: a world without concepts of race, religion, or gender... Where the only thing that matters is what you believe.

HARSH REALITY is set in Central City, a teeming metropolis that was on the verge of bankruptcy until a cartel of banks and multinational conglomerates stepped in to take control of its sagging infrastructure. Known as the Central Provisional Authority Corporation, they've created a utilities monopoly, replaced the police with a private security force, shuttered the public University, and begun mass deportations. Meanwhile, the citizens of Central City have begun to organize and resist the hostile takeover.

This is not a future that will be, but one that might be.

Our influences range from RoboCop, The Twilight Zone, and Max Headroom, to the work of Philip K. Dick, Douglas Rushkoff, and Harlan Ellison -- but HARSH REALITY is part of a larger original narrative that includes two feature films, one of which -- ZERO SUM -- has  already been written and is in development, to be followed byTHE TRANSIT OF VENUS.

An industry professional with more than a decade of experience ranging from cinematography and postproduction to producing and directing, Iain has a deep-understanding of the complex world of filmmaking. His films have appeared on Fandor and ShortsTV and for the past ten years, his articles and interviews have appeared in American Cinematographer Magazine. 

His work is available to watch at energeiafilms.com, and you can see his short film HUM  right here! 

A festivals coordinator and strategic planner for independent cinema at the worldwide sales company Visit Films, Yanick is also an editor for Cineaste, and a contributing writer for various publications including Vice, ScreenAnarchy, and Complex.

A cinematographer with credits that include From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series (El Rey) and Stitchers (ABC Family), and Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street (Amazon), for which he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination. Mayen's other work includes feature films such as The Outsider, Out of the Furnace (second unit, for Masanobu Takayanagi), and We Bought A Zoo (second unit, for Rodrigo Prieto), as well as music videos for Moby and Sleigh Bells.

A DJ and composer whose synth pop and horror soundtracks take cues from John Carpenter, Goblin, Italian Electro, San Francisco Hi-NRG, and Krautrock, Maiovvi has remixed for DFA Records, and written film scores for neo-giallo short film Yellow, as well as the upcoming sci-fi feature Fonotune: An Electric Fairytale, and Can Evrenol's The Housewife.

A professional gamer who spends his days humiliating anyone who challenges his skills or opinions. JEFF SEAL is a Brooklyn-based comedian and filmmaker. His films and documentaries have been shown on HBO, The Discovery Channel, AJ+, and Gothamist.

Lane’s sister, and a former journalism grad student at the Central University.  SHAINA FEINBERG is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker who has directed for RIOT, Shatterbox, IFC and Refinery29. As a performer she has contributed on This American Life, WFMU's The Goddamn Dave Hill Show, and NPR’s All Things Considered.

A video hacker in the underground imaging community. CHRIS MANLEY has performed with Cirque du Soleil and appears in the feature films Breakup at a Wedding, Holidaysburg, and with Shaina Feinberg in their award-winning feature The Babymooners. 

A portion of our funding is already in place, and your donations will help us cover the remaining amount needed for principal photography, cast and crew salaries, insurance and permits, equipment rentals, props and wardrobe, food and transportation, perk fulfillment, and the IndieGoGo fee.  

As campaign contributors you are taking an active part in the creation of a narrative that will continue to grow and evolve, and as it does, we will continue to find new ways to include our backers in the creative process.

We're planning some great rewards for our backers, including DRM-free digital HD downloads and Blu-rays of the film, Maiovvi's original score in a DRM-free high-quality uncompressed download or on audiocassette tape, plus...

Backers at the SUPERHOT perk level will receive a Steam key for the super rad, super addictive FPS SUPERHOT! Lane Cooper holds the world record speedrun, can you beat it? Remember, time only moves when you do! 

Backers at the American Cinematographer level will receive their choice of an issue of American Cinematographer Magazine taken from Iain Marcks's personal collection, and signed with a "thank you" to the backers by the author and the cinematographer! 

Experience the world of HARSH REALITY! Backers at the SIMuCART level will receive their very own Stage One simulation program. (NSYS-EX control unit and VEIL peripheral required.)

Backers at the Program or Be Programmed level may choose any one of author, filmmaker, and journalist Douglas Rushkoff's best-selling in-print books or graphic novels to be signed and personalized, including: 

• Aleister and Adolf
• Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus
• Present Shock
• Program Or Be Programmed
• Life, Inc.
• And more...

Backers at the RESIST Level will receive a set of 4 black-and-white film prints from either the 2013 Occupy Wall Street movement in NYC or the 2011 Anti-Fascist Action in Dresden, shot by Iain Marcks and hand-printed exclusively for this campaign. Each photo bears the the Energeia Films stamp, series number, and comes packaged in a handsome, handmade paper folder. 

Backers at the Supersphere level will spend an afternoon with commercial directors Josh and Jason Diamond (plus special guests TBA) in NYC as they share the latest tips and techniques of VR production and design, and go hands-on with the latest in 360° image capture technology.

Why 18K for a short film? That seems like a lot of money.

We agree, but when you're paying and feeding a professional crew, purchasing insurance for the gear you're renting, and getting permits for (most of) your locations, even 18K for a 22-minute film like this can feel like very little.

How do we know you're going to actually make the film?

Collectively, our crew represents decades of top notch experience across all aspects of production and post. Making movies is what we do. It's in our blood. We can't not make this film!

Okay, I'm convinced. But what's going to happen with the film once it's done?

First and foremost, all of our backers will get to see it. After that, we'll submit to festivals and film markets to promote the feature films that branch off this story, the first of which is ZERO SUM, an action thriller set in Central City about three stranded private security contractors. The second is THE TRANSIT OF VENUS, a psychological thriller set in Berlin about a traumatized actress who becomes involved with a murder. We already have some really exciting actors and directors on board for those projects, and we can't wait to share them with you!

This project seems really cool, but I don't have any money to donate right now. How else can I help?

Great question. If you can't assist financially there are other ways you can still help.  You can "like" the Energeia Films Facebook Page, where you'll find regular HARSH REALITY updates. And  you can share our campaign link with the hashtag #harshrealityfilm across your social media platforms. We promise, your assistance won't go unnoticed!