Film lovers and filmmakers, join us in the making of The Awakening, a short film to be presented by A-BitterSweet-Life, the creative engine that seeks to spark your artistic passion. Mentioned by the likes of Cinephilia & Beyond, Filmmaker Magazine, Mentorless, and No Film School, the mission behind A-BitterSweet-Life has always been to share in the captivating and engaging world of cinema as a true art form with its very own unique and artistic language.
With The Awakening, we hope to add to the conversation that films can be more than entertainment, that they can engage audiences in the powerful relationship between spectator and film. We ask for your help to make this vision a reality.
What's It About?
The Awakening presents a story about the triumph of the human spirit through a nameless survivor in a post-apocalyptic world searching for her missing loved one. The Awakening blends elements of the testing plot (The Revenant, All Is Lost)--that showcases the dynamic of willpower versus giving up--with the lone wolf story (Le Samouraï, Drive), and the qualities of pure cinema (A Man Escaped, Mirror).
How You Can Help
To help with production, we hope to raise $3,000 through Indiegogo. As seen in our video, we started shooting and plan to continue shooting in New York and in Peru to capture a variety of landscapes and climates. The money raised in this Indiegogo campaign will help with our costs in Peru, the purchase of a real samurai tanto sword, assist with our choreographed action sequence, and back the post-production process.
All contributions to The Awakening's Indiegogo campaign will be appreciated and reciprocated with special perks that include a list of 100 films you must see, HQ download of the finished film, various credit attributions, and even the opportunity to get your own project edited! If you are not able to give a monetary contribution but would still like to help out the project, you can support it by spreading awareness of the film and campaign. Sharing our page with family, friends, and social media connections greatly adds to making The Awakening the best possible film.
Risks & Challenges
The father of American Independent Cinema John Cassavetes confessed, "The most difficult thing in the world is to reveal yourself, to express what you have to. As an artist, I feel that we must try many things—but above all we must dare to fail. You must be willing to risk everything to really express it all."
The director of timeless films like A Woman Under the Influence, Opening Night, and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie risked financial stability and his career while challenging the film industry with works that questioned what a film can be and addressed what a film can mean. We want to bring the same ferocious indie filmmaking spirit to the screen with The Awakening and share in the vision that the cinematic experience rests in the emotional relationship between audience member and film rather than simply the allure of the technical. We are up to the challenge of creating a film that exemplifies the power of pure cinema and audience engagement.
Spark Your Filmmaking Passion
Join us in the making of The Awakening and be inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky, Martin Scorsese, and countless legendary filmmakers of both past and present by visiting the A-BitterSweet-Life Archive and get a sense of what filmmaking means to A-BitterSweet-Life with Art of Cinema: What Is Cinema?.
A-BitterSweet-Life presents The Gift and In the Name of the Father
Watch our past productions: The Gift and In the Name of the Father.
Jean-Pierre Melville once said, I believe you must be madly in love with cinema to create films. You also need a huge cinematic baggage. Whether you are a self-taught filmmaker or a filmmaker with a film school background, an awareness of film history further enriches your understanding of filmmaking and your visionary style and approach to the art.
Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï, Euzhan Palcy’s La Rue Cases Nègres, Robert Bresson’s Au Hasard Balthazar, Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers, John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under the Influence, Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves, Victor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive, and Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey are certainly among the greatest examples of the power and influence of masterly crafted films that in themselves are moving cinematic experiences. A-BitterSweet-Life presents these films with 90 other great ones to form a list of 100 Must-See Films. You receive the list by contributing to our campaign!