SOME BACKGROUND TO MY FILM WORK
After studying painting I gradually became involved in experimental film-making and developing platforms for the distribution of non-commercial films. Over the past 2 decades I have brought Irish experimental and non-commercial films to Russia, America, North Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. This international curation work has always fed back into my personal film work, as can be seen in 'Pushtar', my science-fiction film from 2015. 'Pushtar', which was similarly crowdfunded, is set in India in 2365, but was filmed in Dublin, Ireland. The film won the ‘Spirit of the Festival’ Award at the IndieCork Film Festival, as well as various international accolades.
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'Pushtar' (2015)
http://filmireland.net/2016/08/22/irish-film-review-pushtar/
In 'Pushtar' the survivors of climate change have returned to their ancient origins in the Himalayas. Here the memories of all cultures and belief systems exist side by side in the daily lives of children from a mix of backgrounds.
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WHY THIS PROJECT?
After exploring these cultural themes in 'Pushtar', 'The Iron Mountain’ is a logical progression for my work. It merges the representation of global cultures with non-commercial film-making techniques, while also adding a narrative layer that explores important and timeless issues of ownership and identity.
After a work of fiction, a factual story provides a more rigid structure within which to further explore these cultural juxtapositions. Although the Inuit journey to New York has been documented in several forms, documentary and dramatic, and is infamous in Greenland, it still has not permeated international popular culture. This story needs to be told again, even now, as it remains relevant to any society that lives with the memory of imperial and colonial oppression.
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WHY IT NEEDS YOUR HELP
The world of development can be a minefield and many worthy projects flounder during the treacherous early stages, not meeting commercial requirements. But I believe my film work has now reached a stage where it can represent the spirit of another time and place without the expensive procedures employed by commercial studios.
In my previous films I have created large fictional worlds with old practical SFX techniques, such as model-making, forced perspective, back-projection, mattes, and multiple exposures.
Here are a few examples;
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Here is also a short video giving more detail on how the effects in 'The End Of The Earth Is My Home' were achieved:
I have developed ways of achieving these effects relatively inexpensively. But at the same time, they can’t be achieved for nothing! So this is where you, the funder, are crucial!
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What We Need & What You Get
The target of this campaign is 25,000 Euro. This is primarily to cover the services of the key collaborators and the cast, during production, but will also cover a short period of research in Greenland during pre-production. A second budget may be raised separately for post-production. But the exact breakdown of these budgets will have to remain flexible until the final project schedule is developed.
To give you an idea of the work that the key collaborators will be embarking on, here are some more details:
Graphic Designer, Annie Atkins, who rose to prominence with her award-winning work on such films as ‘Grand Budapest Hotel’ and ‘Bridge of Spies’, will provide much of the text and imagery for the media of the day - like signage and other elements of the dioramas involved.
In many cases the dioramas and displays, as well as other objects like the meteorites themselves, will be scaled down and constructed at half or quarter size. These elements will then be shot with forced perspective applied to the shot composition, so they will appear larger in the frame.
Much of the story will also be told with recreations of newspaper and magazine articles of the day.
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American Newspaper Features, 1909
For the dressing of sets and combining of props with larger elements, like display cases, I will be working with art director Neill Treacy, with whom I worked on the Virginia Woolf bio-pic ‘Vita and Virginia’ in 2017. For ‘Vita and Virginia’ we recreated the art collection that Virginia Woolf had assembled around the Bloomsbury Group in the 1920s, which involved the replication of more than 70 paintings, which were then shot in IMMA, the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
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Copy of Duncan Grant’s ‘Swimmers’ (2017)
Working as ‘Actual Size’, Dennis Kenny and Tim Hawkins have provided many computer-generated objects, images and sequences for my previous films. They will work on generating 3D ‘vector’ environments into which filmed elements can be placed, like objects in a display case, or elements in media presentations of the period.
In addition to studio work, locations will be essential. Dublin can provide many of the locations that can serve as the parks of New York city and the interiors of the Museum buildings. I have already been in discussion with the Irish Museum of Natural History itself, who have been very open to the idea of shooting some of the project in the museum building.
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Stephen’s Green, Dublin in 2018
Although I have previously operated camera myself, and worked mostly by available light, in this instance I will also work closely with cinematographer Helio Leon, to create lighting and grading that will integrate into the film the aesthetic of the photography of the day.
As cultural advisor and language consultant, to ensure the accurate translation and authentic delivery of the Inuit language and customs, I have been in discussion with Klaus Kristensen, a Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) speaker of Danish/Greenlandic background, currently based in Ireland.
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What the funder gets
[See the panel on the right for more details and to retrieve the rewards]
Reward 1: For 20 Euro you get a credit in the film and a private link to download the finished film for your personal use. Deliverable on completion of the film - estimated Winter 2020.
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Reward 2: For 50 Euro you get reward 1 and a copy of the original album ‘The Iron Mountain’, which is a musical exploration of the same story and which will provide the basis for the film’s score. Deliverable on completion of this funding campaign - Summer 2019.
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Reward 3: For 100 Euro you get rewards 1 and 2 and an electronic book of all the development concept artwork and storyboards, downloadable as full quality PDF, for your personal use. Deliverable on completion of principle photography - estimated Autumn 2019.
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Reward 4: For 500 Euro you get rewards 1 - 3, plus an original page of your choice from the storyboards included in the electronic book of artwork [ unframed ]. Deliverable on completion of principle photography - estimated Autumn 2019.
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Reward 5: For 1,000 Euro you get rewards 1 - 3, plus an original concept illustration, ink and acrylic on paper [ unframed ]. Deliverable on completion of principle photography - estimated Autumn 2019. ( Note: This reward does not include reward 4 ) See the available drawings on the panel below.
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Reward 6: For 1,500 Euro you get rewards 1 - 3, plus an original concept painting, acrylic on paper [ unframed ]. Deliverable on completion of principle photography - estimated Autumn 2019. ( Note: This reward does not include rewards 4 or 5 ) See the available paintings on the panel below.
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Reward 7: For 2,500 Euro you get rewards 1 - 4, plus one of the original museum dioramas which will be constructed specifically for the film, scaled down to approximately 18 inches in height. Deliverable on completion of the film - estimated Winter 2020. ( Note: This reward does not include rewards 5 or 6 )
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TO SEE THE DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS AVAILABLE CHECK THE PANEL BELOW:
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In terms of the schedule, I would expect to be able to show you all the film in about 18 months to 2 years - sometime in winter 2020.
Other Ways You Can Help
Of course, funding the project is not the only way you can help. Forwarding it on your social network platforms, or even by word of mouth, would help greatly. With the short time frame allocated to this campaign, as much promotion as possible is essential! So please do recommend it to anyone you think would like to see the film emerge.
Many thanks for taking the time to read. I hope you found it interesting and would like to see more!
Alan Lambert, March 2019