The Film
THE KATAN VALLEY is a family-driven drama about a small town mayor's ultimately hopeless fight to save his town from being turned into a reservoir by the state, as told years later by his daughter who witnessed her father's descent into obsession. It's an exciting project that explores the implications of a legacy, framed around an inevitable event that threatens to tear apart an entire community.
Who Am I?
Hello! My name is Ben Friedman-Hibbs, and I am a cinema major in my final year at San Francisco State University, sharing my thesis film which was filmed this November and is currently in post-production. Some prior projects of mine can be found at bfriedmanhibbs.myportfolio.com.
I was born and raised in San Francisco, and have spent the last few years building up and refining my skills as a filmmaker with projects ranging from narrative shorts to music videos and more. The Katan Valley feels like the culmination of all I have learned about myself as a filmmaker and experienced in the past few years, and this specific crew helping to bring this project to life is undoubtedly an irreplaceable element of that, having guided me toward finding confident footing as a director on previous projects along the way.
This film is an opportunity to explore an avenue of filmmaking that I am increasingly passionate about pursuing, bridging the gap between true historical events and a compelling fictionalized narrative. The story I am telling is based on the demise of the town of Monticello, California, a real-life community that was populated and thriving, which was demolished and flooded to make way for a reservoir back in the late 1950’s. While my story is set in the fictional ‘Katan Valley,’ we filmed part of the story at Lake Berryessa, where the old building frames of Monticello still remain underwater to this day. This film is a chance to explore an all-too-familiar story of the US government carelessly uprooting the lives of a community and leaving it forgotten to history, based on a real piece of little-known California history.
What We Need
This production is in search of post-production funds in order to be able to submit to film festivals, as well as acquire a score, poster, and post-production sound mix and master. We are also seeking to reimburse our initial expenditures regarding crew day rates, location rentals, transport and food costs, and more. All of the initial money this campaign raises will be going directly into these post-production needs, and will shift to a reimbursement of the initial cost of production once the post process is fully complete.
Perks
We want to be able to give back some pieces of the film as a reward for supporting this campaign, so access to the final cut of the film, the incredible soundtrack by Polish music collective How To Disappear Completely (htdc.bandcamp.com,) a printable download of the original hand-painted poster, and even tangible props used on-screen are available as rewards for supporting. Custom donations are also very welcome, and contributions of any size are massively appreciated!
Other Ways You Can Support!
Sharing the link to this campaign helps tremendously!
Follow us on Instagram for more! : @thekatanvalley