WHAT IS LOEV?
Three friends on a roadtrip, 48 hours in Mumbai.
LOEV is about JAI, this financial analyst from Manhattan, on a business trip to Mumbai where he has to close this deal. And it's about his friends SAHIL and ALEX who love it when he visits because they always end up having a good time.
In the tone of BEFORE SUNRISE, AFTER SUNSET, ONCE and even DIL CHAHTA HAI, this film is a slice of life dramedy about the laughs and the conversations, the fights and the silences between friends.
Take a moment to LIKE us on facebook.com/LOEVfilm and follow us on Twitter to get all our updates and follow the making-of process. And if you need to reach us, you could contact us directly or mail loevfilm@gmail.com.
TIMELINE
- PRE-PRODUCTION: Feb 1 - May 15, 2014
- PRODUCTION: May 25 - June 15, 2014
- EDITING, SOUND, MUSIC: June 15 - September 15, 2014
- FESTIVAL SUBMISSIONS: Starting September 15, 2014
As the festival submissions happen, we'll commence our sales process by engaging a terrific third party distributor who is going to take the film to markets like Cannes and AFM. Some of us have experience doing this for other films already so we're confident our prospects on that end.
WHO ARE WE?
I'm Suds. Born near Darjeeling, got my degree in Film from Ithaca College in New York and have been working in the film industry in Los Angeles ever since. HIS NEW HANDS, my most recent short-film (also crowd-funded on indieGoGo!) just won the Golden Remi prize for Best Dramatic Short at the 47th WorldFest Houston and had its world premiere in Competition at the Hong Kong International Film Festival.
In the past, I've worked as an executive in film companies developing, acquiring and distributing content so that business experience should prove handy.
Then there's BOMBAY BERLIN FILM PRODUCTION! They are my producing partners and the ones that are making all of this happen!
There's ARFI -- he's a friend, producer AND an actor (you can see him this summer on the big screen in the highly anticipated Bollywood film FUGLY). There's JASLEEN -- heavy duty resume full of production credits on international films that were shot in India and there's KATHARINA -- Arfi's partner in Bombay Berlin, German, and very experienced in international production, distribution and sales.
The rest of the team is killer too. We've been talking to (and stalking!) the best talent in the Indian film industry for the various department heads and we can't wait to announce their involvement in the coming days. Scroll to the bottom to find our bios, and we'll keep adding as we announce.
WHAT DO WE WANT?
Short films cost money, feature films cost a lot more money and we want to make a WORLD CLASS feature film. Which requires a WORLD CLASS team so we're doing that. The team is talented and they are passionate about the material so they are working hard and for next to nothing to make this happen.
Finding the best locations, sifting through the community for the best actors, putting together this perfect team with the right chemistry and doing it all for a low, low budget. Phew. We've been at it since January and we're thrilled with the results, no compromises and top quality. BUT WE STILL NEED HELP.
This campaign is NOT our full budget -- the film will cost a lot more and we are already investing our own finances to achieve that but there are some very real costs.
Location permits. Travel for crew. Camera rental. Food during the shoot. Props. Film Festival Applications. Post-production expenses -- there are things we just can't negotiate down to zero.
You should know that your contributions will go STRAIGHT TO THE SCREEN. If you're interested in funding a specific area, we can even send you separate requirements and discuss the budget with you. It's your film -- tell us what you want to know and we'll be happy to revert.
HOW exactly CAN YOU HELP?
We need money.
1$ = 60 Rupees = 0.7 Euros. It's all the same to us :) We've set up the campaign in US Dollars because that opens up more methods-of-contribution to you.
The campaign now accept credit cards, debit cards, a paypal account -- hell, you could just call us and we'll drive over with a piggy bank! Instead of money, you may be able to arrange for equipment or props or something else we need so. If you want to be involved -- JUST GET IN TOUCH and we will find a way!
And finally...
THANK YOU!
Thank you for the clicking on our campaign page. Over the coming days, we'll keep updating this and our facebook page. Reach out, ask your questions, we would love to hear from you! If you can contribute, we'd love the help. If not, please do share the campaign and help us take this idea to the widest possible audience.
We are suited up and ready to go into battle -- we truly want to make something you can be proud of for the next 200 years.
BIOS
sudhanshu SARIA (Writer/Dir/Prod)
Suds has worked as an entertainment executive
in Los Angeles for the past seven years. In his various positions
handling acquisitions, development and distribution, he has helped
bring various film and television projects like THE TUDORS (Johnathon Rhys Myers, Showtime/BBC2), WINGED CREATURES (Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Guy Pearce), THE DEAL (Meg Ryan, Bill Macy) and CHAPTER 27 (Jared Leto) to audiences.
Suds received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Film and
Photography from Ithaca College. His previous work has premiered
at film festivals like Hollyshorts and the Oscar qualifying Rio De
Janeiro International, taken him to the Berlinale Talent Campus and
gotten him featured on shows on NPR and Good Morning America.
HIS NEW HANDS, his most recent short, had its World Premiere in
Competition at the 38th Hong Kong International Film Festival 2014
and most recently was awarded the prestigious Remi Gold prize for
Best Dramatic Short at the 47th WorldFest-Houston festival. It has
screened at Sarasota, Omaha, Chennai and Johns Hopkins Film
Festivals, was selected by the makers of the RED camera for their
annual showcase of the best films shot on their camera, and was
awarded the Best Cinematography prize at the Kala Ghoda Arts
Festival in Mumbai.
I AM HERE, a feature-length screenplay he wrote, was selected for
the International Finance Forum at the 2013 Toronto International
Film Festival and LOEV will be his feature writing and directing debut.
arfi LAMBA (Producer)
Ever since arriving in Bombay in 2008, Arfi has been deftly switching between his careers as an actor, producer and CEO attending sales markets, courting production duties for international productions and performing in films.
The company's most recent projects include JUDITH GOES TO BOLLYWOOD and SLUMS AND DREAMS, produced for ZDF and Pro7
“Gallileo” respectively. The company also executive
produced PRAGUE, a Indo-Swiss-Czech co-production that
opened theatrically in India to rave reviews and critical acclaim. Their upcoming projects include SANDS, a Indo-UK-French co-
production, and THE SHADOW LINES based on the highly
acclaimed novel by Man Booker Prize winning author Amitav Ghosh.
You can also see Arfi on the big screen this summer when the hotly anticipated FUGLY hits theaters around the world. He was previously part of the cast of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.
katharina SUCKALE (Producer)
Katharina started her career as a film distributor for worldsales company MK2 - Marin Karmitz in Paris. She then moved to handling film production in Toronto, Canada where she also got to know the North-American film business and has since worked in various positions on and off the film set in national and international productions for over 16 years.
She founded Suckale Film Produktion in 2003, directing documentaries, short and experimental films in Germany, Africa and India, which is also how she discovered her love for India. As a consultant she worked for Wüste Film on a French-German coproduction, for WestEast Films on European-Indian co-productions as well as for Yash Raj Films India in World Sales.
Katharina got her MBA in International Economics from the University Paris-XI Dauphine in Paris and Berlin.
jasleen MARWAH (Producer)
Jasleen started her career under the guidance of famed artist Muzaffar Ali in Lucknow where she learnt production and operations by working on various documentaries and short films produced by Muzaffar Sahab.
Since moving to Mumbai, she has held key creative positions on various television shows and handled the local production in India for films like BRIDE AND PREJUDICE (Dir. Gurinder Chaddha), THE THREAD (Dir. Mahesh Mathai), THE MISTRESS OF SPICES (Dir. Paul Berges) and comedy legend ALBERT BROOKS' film LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD.
sanjay CHATURVEDI (Sound)
Sanjay’s journey began years ago at the Satyajit Ray Film
and Television Institute in Kolkata from where he received his degree in sound
design. Since then, he has contributed his skills to the biggest films that
have come out of the Mumbai film industry including OM SHANTI OM, TAARE ZAMEEN PAR and DILLI-6. His work on Dibakar
Bannerjee’s SHANGHAI was recognized at the Apsaras, the Indian Producer’s Guild
Association annual awards ceremony, and by the Sound Association of India. His
latest projects as Sound Designer include PRAGUE, TUKKA FIT, 3G and SAAT UCHAKKEY (in Production).
Sanjay is also a guest lecturer at the Satyajit Ray Film and
Television Institute and at Balaji’s Imagine Institute.
navit DUTT (Line Producer)
Navit got his start in the
film business in the offices of INDIA TAKE ONE PRODUCTIONS as a production
assistant on BRIDE AND PREJUDICE (Aishwarya Rai, Martin Henderson) and then
LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD (Albert Brooks) and MISTRESS OF SPICES
(Aishwarya Rai, Dylan McDermott). His first project as Location Manager was
Danny Boyle’s worldwide smash SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE which went on to win the Best
Picture prize at the Academy Awards. His most recent films include MISSION IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL (Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner) and Anurag Kashyap’s
BOMBAY VELVET (Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma).
rohit CHATURVEDI (Costume Designer)
Rohit's costumes for the pop
music-video “Leja Leja Re” caught the eye of maverick filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma
who launched Rohit by entrusting him with the costumes for his horror anthology
DARNA ZAROORI HAI.
Since then, Rohit has shown the kind of
rare versatility that seems to attract filmmakers across genres and
generations. His projects include Rohit
Shetty’s blockbuster hit GOLMAAL, Aneez Bazmee’s
THANK YOU, Sanjay Chauhan’s National Award
winning LAHORE and the critically acclaimed PANKH.
jitendra RAI (Casting Director)
Given his
decade of work with local theatre legend Makarand Deshpande, Jitu has built quite
a reputation in the acting community in Mumbai. He has assisted casting
director Honey Trehaan on some seventeen films including internationally
celebrated films like BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG and CHITTAGONG and the recent box
office hit DEDH ISHQIYA.
HAWA HAWAII,
his most recent project as Casting Director was also his most challenging
project, requiring a principal cast composed entirely of children that had to
be picked and trained from the streets of Mumbai. HAWA HAWAII releases
nationwide on May 9th.
sweta GUPTA (Art Director)
From Google and Vodafone to Duracell, Standard Chartered and McDonalds, Sweta has worked on commercials for world renowned brands as well as television shows for Viacom, VH1 and MTV.
She has worked as an Assistant Art Director on feature films
like Remo D’Souza’s dance extravaganza ABCD and Yash Raj
Films’ MUJHSE FRAANDSHIP KAROGE. She just wrapped the Punjabi caper RONDE SAARE VIAH PICHON as Art Director and we can't wait to see what she does with teamLOEV.
sidharth MEER (Colorist, Workflow)
Sidharth is a post production supervisor, colorist and digital
cinema workflow designer. He has designed workflows for
Dibakar Banerjee's SHANGHAI, Anand Gandhi's SHIP OF
THESEUS and Ritesh Batra's the LUNCHBOX among other
award winning films. His last collaboration with our director, HIS NEW HANDS, netted that film several awards for Best Cinematography as well as a spot on the Red Camera's annual showcase of the best films shot on that platform.
He is CEO at The Bridge a post production services company
which was formed in 2009 to fill the gap in the digital
cinema world when digital cameras became the new
acquisition choice for major feature films.
