We have relaunched this campaign - please have a look:
igg.me/at/the-dreamlands

 

The first ever film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle
from the makers of the movie „Die Farbe“.

Watch our three teaser trailers
for a glimpse beyond the Wall of Sleep:

 

THE DREAMLANDS is a dark fantasy film based on H.P. Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle, destined to become one of the most ambitious and lavish independent films ever made – but we need your help to embark on this epic journey. Here are the key facts:

Principle filming will be done entirely in English with an international cast who will be cast as the production process progresses. Afterwards, the completed film will also be dubbed in German using a renowned cast of voice actors. Subtitles in many other languages will be provided.

Around the half of the film will be shot in a professional film studio here in Germany, where we have to build sets. The other half will be filmed at the Baltic Coast and other outdoor locations providing the landscapes we seek, e.g. Iceland, Croatia or Turkey.

We are going to use the RED EPIC camera to shoot the film. The camera has been utilized in such films as PROMETHEUS, PACIFIC RIM and THE HOBBIT.

Initial production of the film, with a planned running time of 120 min., is to be completed by the end of 2016. The post-production process could possibly, due to unforeseen delays or necessary re-shoots, last into 2017.

2017, that’s right. We are willing to put three years of our lives into this and work as hard as possible to create a beautiful, unique film experience for us all.  Hope we can count you in!

Why crowdfunding?
We think it is the best way to finance this project since we would never get that amount of creative freedom to make such a special film inside the mainstream industry. They would turn Lovecraft's vision into something completely else.

Why IndieGoGo?
We chose the world's second-largest crowdfunding platform since you can pay with PayPal, which is more comfortable for Europeans than paying by credit card. It was also too difficult for us as non-Americans to set up a campaign on Kickstarter. So if you're here for the first time and are used to Kickstarter: Don't panic, everything here pretty much works the same way. The only difference is that your money is transferred immediately, but rest assured that all your contributions will be transferred at no cost back to you if we cannot reach our goal.

Huan Vu's first foray into making feature length films was DAMNATUS (2007), a non-profit fan film set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Unfortunately the finished film was not allowed to be released due to copyright concerns from Games Workshop, the owner of the Warhammer 40,000 game universe. The film somehow got into filesharing networks, though, and enjoys cult status among fans.

During his studies at the University of Media in Stuttgart-Vaihingen Vu began to work on DIE FARBE. A film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space” that was finally completed in late 2010 after two years of post-production. It has since been published via self-distribution and through retailers in Sweden, Finland and the USA. Despite its small budget the film was praised as “one of the best and most ambitious Lovecraft adaptations ever made” (Twitch) and received very positive reviews by Lovecraft fans and festival audiences alike.

“After that I was considering adapting 'Celephaïs' since it is one of my favorite works by H.P. Lovecraft. It's about a lonely poor man who in his dreams turns out to be a king in the Dreamlands. He lives there forever, loved by his people, but dies in the real world, where no one remembers him. I love the world-weariness, the sadness and escapist hope that is dwelling in there. A human connection that is rare for most of his creations. I couldn't figure out though how to turn it into a feature length movie and so I had a closer look at other Dream Cycle stories.
It took me quite a while to realize that I would have to step back and see the bigger picture - to see the possibility to free myself from the task of adapting one particular story and instead allowing me to merge and create something new. And this has always drawn me: to create something new that hasn't been there before.“

- Huan Vu

If you haven't heard of him yet: Howard Phillips Lovecraft lived in the United States in the first half of the 20th century and is one of the most influential writers in the field of horror, science-fiction and fantasy.

You can find his influence everywhere: in books (Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Michel Houllebecq), comics (Alan Moore, Mike Mignola), games (Call of Cthulhu, Arkham Horror), television (Twilight Zone, Twin Peaks, The X-Files, True Detective) ... and movies (Re-Animator, Alien, The Thing). But unfortunately there aren’t many well-made film adaptations of his very own stories. Most films by the industry try to exploit his name and turn it into something else. Even a famous Hollywood director like Guillermo Del Toro couldn't get his adaptation of Lovecraft's “At the Mountains of Madness” greenlighted.

This is where we step in as independent filmmakers and fans who stay true to Lovecraft’s vision. With your support, we can bring this vision to fruition.

“some of us awake in the night with strange phantasms of enchanted hills and gardens, of fountains that sing in the sun, of golden cliffs overhanging murmuring seas, of plains that stretch down to sleeping cities of bronze and stone, and of shadowy companies of heroes that ride caparisoned white horses along the edges of thick forests; and then we know that we have looked back through the ivory gates into that world of wonder which was ours before we were wise and unhappy.“

- Celephaïs, H.P. Lovecraft, 1920

Roland, a troubled young orphan, is led by a mysterious old man into another world. This is a world that has been created over thousands of years by Earth’s greatest dreamers while they slept. In this world the old man reigns as king and hopes to train and guide Roland to be his successor.

Unfortunately Roland cannot overcome the dark shadows that weigh upon him and he is forced to decide whether he will use his abilities to keep building the Dreamlands or to destroy what others have already created.

Screenplay is written by Huan Vu and based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories “Celephaïs”, “The White Ship”, “The Strange High House in the Mist” and “The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath” among others. It will build upon the world created by H.P. Lovecraft but also remain faithful to his core concepts of fantastic escapism and cosmic horror. THE DREAMLANDS is a film you are never likely to see produced by the established film industry.

“Lovecraft’s themes are hard to translate to the screen and I guess most [...]  film makers are making their film for another type of audience. Most Lovecraft fans come from the literature, they are not as excited about gore and blood as the typical horror film fan. So that is the decision you have to make: Who and what is more important for you?

[...] Such films usually don’t get made if that audience doesn’t seem to be big enough or as easy to satisfy as others. And sometimes executives and investors don’t understand at all what that particular audience is looking for.”

- Huan Vu, Weird Tales Magazine

Huan Vu (director, writer) and Jan Roth (producer, visual effects supervisor) are excited to work again with many key members of the crew that brought you DIE FARBE, e.g. director of photography Martin Vincent Kolbert and composer Tilman Seege. They’re also proud to have added local professionals like Chris Reinfels (matte painter), who has done work for acclaimed productions like OBLIVION and GAME OF THRONES, and experienced artists from Hollywood like Dave Snyder, whose impressive special makeup effects credits feature big budget productions of the kind of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN or the last two STAR TREK films.

If you would like to know more: Click here for more information about the Dreamlands Crew!

Beyond of the filming crew we also have gathered a group of illustrators who help us to visualize and conceptualize the Dreamlands. Among these visionaries you can find local aspiring artists like FuFu Frauenwahl, Sergej Schell (both images on top by him) and Silke Czarny (all from Germany) as well as international illustrators who are already well known among Lovecraft fans like John Coulthart (UK), Tatsuya Nottsuo (Japan), François ‚Goomi’ Launet (France) or Mike Dubisch and Richard Luong (both USA).
Have a look at our growing gallery to get a glimpse beyond the Wall of Sleep!

If we reach our goal, we will bring you the best possible cast based on our budget to add to this creative and fantastic team.

Around 140,000 € is the absolute minimum that we feel safe with for such a film project. This is a very conservative budget for a feature length movie. We can make THE DREAMLANDS with this amount of money only if we work in a similar way we have worked on DIE FARBE, where everyone participated on provision. We don’t want to handle it like that again, but we also won’t be able to pay a full industry-standard salary. This project is much larger and therefore, if we really want this to happen, there is no way around going an extra mile. And if you’re asking: we can speak for everyone involved - we are ready as can be for this journey.

If we can surpass the initial goal understandably we will feel a lot safer though. Each additional pledge beyond our initial goal will provide us more options and possibilities. More backing means more sets, more locations, more actors, more visual and special effects and more shooting days, freeing us from a super-tight production schedule. And most important of all: We could fully pay our professionals, collaborators and helpers.

Shipping is always included in all prices!

How can I add articles to my existing contribution?
To add one or more of the following rewards just increase your contribution after choosing a perk level by the amount that your chosen item costs. We will notice the surplus and contact you after the campaign to catalogize your exact wishes.

How can I upgrade?
If you wish to upgrade to a higher perk level, just transfer the difference. Again we will notice the surplus and contact you after the campaign. If it is a limited perk though, then please contact us so that we can make the change immediately.

Streaming
We will definitely avoid that anyone has to pay or subscribe to anything, we will only partner with a provider that would agree to do that streaming on that basis.

 

Every bit helps! All you have to do to launch this ship is to choose one of our reward levels to the right and tell everybody about this unique project and the chance to be part of something really special. We can only make this happen if enough people find out about this. So please spread the word! If you help us reaching out, you can unlock these additional goals:

We're glad not to be alone and are kindly supported and endorsed by these great people:

“The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival is all about independent Lovecraftian movies! When we have an opportunity like this, a chance to see something completely original, from filmmakers who have already proven themselves by creating an instant classic from one of Lovecraft's stories, we can't let it slip away!“

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival & CthulhuCon
The only film festival that understands

“I am excited about the upcoming 'Dreamlands' movie, which is directed by Huan Vu. 'Die Farbe' was the best rendition of Lovecraft's famous 'The Colour Out of Space' that had ever been done. While I am sure that making a 'Dreamlands' movie is going to be a challenge, I have confidence in the team's success, based on what I've seen of them ere now.“

Sandy Petersen
Game designer of 'Call of Cthulhu'
and 'Cthulhu Wars'

“Huan Vu's DIE FARBE is without question the best Lovecraftian film ever made--at once faithful to the original story and an expression of the filmmaker's skill at rendering the terror and wonder of Lovecraft's prose into vivid and powerful images. His DREAMLANDS movie looks to be an even more impressive achievement--a melding of fantasy and horror fully in the spirit of Lovecraft's own dreamland tales.“

S.T. Joshi
Lovecraft scholar

“Wir glauben ganz fest an 'Die Traumlande'. Dieser Film hat einfach alles, was man sich von einer Lovecraft-Adaption erwarten kann: Wahnsinn, unwirkliche Welten und die Schergen der Alten.“

RPC Köln 2014
Europe's biggest role-play convention

 

Cthulhus Ruf
Cthuloid newspaper from fans for fans

 

Editions Sans Détour
French publisher of 'Call of Cthulhu' role-playing game

“Huan has already proven that he and his team are the ones to take Mr. Lovecraft’s vision to the screen and produce a film that is truer to that Dreamer from Providence’s vision than any other before it. We were with the man himself oh so many years ago and we are more than overjoyed to be assisting his apostles in what is now the middle of the second decade of the 21st Century.“

Weird Tales Magazine
Strange & Dark Fantasy since 1923

 

Red Wasp Design
Game design studio behind 'Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Lands'

 

H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
Creators of excellent Lovecraftian props,
audioplays and movies

 

Stockholm H.P. Lovecraft Festival
 

THE DREAMLANDS is a very ambitious project to say the least. Our greatest worry is the budget. We will apply for local film funding to boost our budget, but you never know how these decisions will turn out.

If things get more expensive than expected we could be forced to shorten the screenplay and cut out scenes and even characters. We are prepared to do this if we have no other options, even if our hearts will bleed. But we will do everything necessary to stay on track, so that we are able to deliver you a film at the end of the process.

Other risks and challenges are the usual ones you have to face when making a film. We will get insurance to protect us from the most crucial risks, but not from everything that could possibly occur (we prefer spending money on the film rather than paying incredibly high insurance fees). So there always will be the risk of failing due to overwhelming circumstances throughout the production. We will do our best to keep these risks as low as possible.

Important information about rewards:

· Travel, lodging and transportation to events and set visits not included in any reward bundle.

· Must be over 18 or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to attend events (premiere, set visit, etc.).

· Some rewards may require additional paperwork (to protect us and you).

· All shooting locations are subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the amount of money we are able to raise and the particular locations giving us the right to shoot. If you are going to visit us on the set or take part as an extra, we will keep you updated so that you can plan ahead.

· All shown rewards are mock-up images and therefore subject to change. Trust us; they will look gorgeous and fantastic, in the truest sense of the word!