The Brothers Grimm have given readers all over the world access to some of the most amazing fairy tales ever written. Many are quite familiar, like "Cinderella", "Rapunzel", and "Snow White". "The Fisherman and his Wife '' however, hasn't received the "Disney '' treatment, and is not as well known. Our group has set out to change that. It's a tale of greed, corruption, and survival that will leave you thinking long after the film has concluded.

The tale was published by the Brothers Grimm in the first edition of Kinder- und Hausmärchen in 1812 as tale no. 19. Their source was the German painter, Philipp Otto Runge (1777–1810), from whom the Grimms obtained a manuscript of the tale in 1809.

The story opens with a poor fisherman who lives with his wife in a hovel by the sea. One day the fisherman catches a fish, who claims to be able to grant wishes and begs to be set free. The fisherman kindly releases it. When his wife hears the story, she insists that he go back and ask the flounder to grant her wish for a nice house.... As the tale goes on, she asks for grander things, even wishing to become God at one point. This is where the fish reverts everything back to the beginning, and leaves the couple in their old shack without anything to claim.

Our take is going to be darker. 

Written by esteemed scriptwriter Josh Hughes and co-writer Cameron Currin, the stage is set for this fable on the icy shores of the Wisconsin. Not only does Wisconsin have a strong German heritage and history, but it is also home to one of the more popular ice-fishing locations in the world. We have finalized planning for several locations around the area that build on our vision of a fairytale told in a gothic horror spin.

Inspiration for this film will be films like Robert Eggers' "The Lighthouse" blended with Kaneto Shindo's "Onibaba".

Several locations have been selected for shooting our tale which have strong ties to German history. One of these is the ancient and mysterious Brumder Mansion of Milwaukee WI.

George Brumder was born in Germany in 1839, moving to Milwaukee sometime in 1857. He founded a German language translation academy, and built this mansion in 1910 for his family. Not only is this a key location for our story, it's rumored to be one of the most haunted buildings in the entire city.

Another location we are excited to utilize is the beautiful winter vistas of Door County, WI. These areas will serve as a stark and chilling contrast to the darkened corners of old barns and candlelit Victorian architecture.

Michael Oilar - Michael has worked in many different areas on a variety of projects, and is always looking for exciting new opportunities that force him to think outside the box. He loves using his creative mind in new ways, and is constantly looking for new sources of inspiration to stay on top of what’s happening. In 2021, Michael received Best Actor for the short film "Machine Learning" from the Golden Reel International Film Festival.

Clarice Lafayette - Primarily known for her extensive theatre arts background, Clarice has been growing increasingly known for her voice acting abilities, while also starring in films such as The Outlaws of Mendocino (2023 est.) and Princess Edith in Honorbound (2021) on PBS.  Her acting experience in period roles will lend a powerful believability to the fisherman's wife in our tale.

This team is shaping up for this project to be their very best, but they are no stranger to big concept short films and projects.

Prior works include the period short horror film "Kushtaka"(2019) as well as the scifi epic "Infinitus"(2020). Cameron Currin has worked with Michael Oilar before in "Machine Learning"(2021) netting him a best actor award.  Cody Kristapovich currently has a film running the festival circuit "The Mitchell's"(2022), and both Cameron and Cody recently worked on a film together called "The Fridge"(2022) which also completed its festival run, netting several awards. Even the sound design is covered with Robert Wozniak, whose skills brought "Kushtaka" to life, taking it from a completely silent film with no sound, to an ambience masterpiece.

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All money donated to our cause will be given to the actors, locations, and crew who make this film happen. You are our food, our warmth, and our motivation to grow and stretch ourselves as filmmakers. Especially in times like today, we need all the help we can muster to make sure we use our passion to motivate and fuel other artists and potential filmmakers around the world.

Without fans, without you... A film is like a tree falling in the forest with no witnesses. 

We are all counting on you to help us live our passion, and create a retelling of this legendary fairy tale in a way no one else can!

With that said, below is a general timeline we hope to meet with our project:

Feb 2023 - Principle shooting begins.

April 2023 - Shooting ends. Editing begins.

June 2023 - Editing/Sound design/Film Complete! 

July 2023 - Festival submissions, final perk distributions completed.

November 2023 - Film released online!!! 

Some people won't have the money to pledge, and we understand. But if you believe in this film, you can still help us out immensely by: 

- Sharing our content on social media
- post to a community of film/Grimm lovers
- if you have a connection to a film festival or press/news association 

You can spread the word. Thank you for your support! We hope to bring you more news as time continues.