SHORT FILM --->  https://vimeo.com/42403708  

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"Our apocalypse is not caused by the "what if"s, its caused by the "what if we don't"s "

What would you sacrifice to survive?  Who would you give up?  Would you give up your humanity?

This Is Why We Fight is a post apocalypse film exploring concepts such as love, compassion, and human decency in a world where such ideas are relics of the past. A dog eat dog world.

 What We Plan On Doing:

 This Is Why We Fight is a feature film, based on and expanded from a short film made in the Winter of 2011/12.  The feature film will have expanded characters and story. There will be higher production value, with more attention to the detail, themes, and story.  We are hoping to begin production this Winter of 2012/13.

Synopsis:

 The year is 2042; years of economic breakdown, government turmoil and anarchy have left a cold, desolate Winnipeg--barely standing. Trash litters the streets, electricity is limited by rolling blackouts and the sound of gunfire has become all too common. The only ones left alive in this harsh world are those who dominate the weak, and the ones smart enough to stay out of their way. Caleb Jacobs is such a man.  Producing moonshine and drugs out of his garage, Caleb survives and keeps the gang lords happy. Yet, despite his profession, Caleb believes himself to be a decent human being and lives by a strong set of morals. 

One day Caleb finds a refugee named Naomi passed out from the cold in his driveway. Naomi is in search of a “better place”; a place Caleb gave up on long ago. Caleb lets her stay with him on the condition she helps him sell. On a sale to the local drug lord Davies Naomi tricks him into selling her a small boy, who she sees being passed around in the sex trade. Caleb names the seemingly mute boy “Pero”, and now has two people to care for. As for Davies? After being fooled in front of his crew, he is determined to regain his property and reputation. Will Caleb turn back to his survivalist ways? Or will he realize that just surviving is not truly living? 

 Why this film, at this time?

 This Is Why We Fight has a strong message that relates to today’s society. It's not a nuclear war, and it's not aliens that cause this dystopian world. It's us. Societies greed. It's the casting aside of community and empathy which creates the desolate future shown in this film. This is Why We Fight is relevant today because the world portrayed could happen so easily. It could happen tomorrow. The film serves as two things; a cautionary tale for what could happen if society continues down the road it’s on; and a testament to people caring about each other despite their situation. 

How we plan on making this movie

 When we finished the short film and saw the final product, we were so thrilled with how well it turned out for a movie filmed for $140 on borrowed equipment in only five days.

 For the feature, we want to continue that energy, dedication and ideology that we had for the short film. We plan on using mostly the same cast and crew, emphasizing a small and efficient production.  Likewise, our planned budget is still restrictive, but allows us to expand in the areas we feel need to be developed.  We are confident we can produce an entertaining, meaningful, high-quality film with limited resources - a true indie film.

How we are using the money

 Our highest priority is for production: costumes, props, visual effects and makeup.  Costumes and makeup played such a huge roll in the "look" of the TIWWF short film, and we want to expand that into the other areas of the art department.  Because of how the short film was made, visual effects and set decoration suffered.  In the feature film, we want to enhance this world with improved sets, costumes and set decoration and design.  Additionally, we see this as the opportunity to employ the use of proper blood effects and stunts to add to the action elements of the film.

 The harsh reality of filmmaking is that it is a time-consuming process; many of us have rent to pay, so a portion of the budget will be for a "living wage" to support the artists who are taking time off work to be in our film.

 Finally, there are the other costs.  Food, insurance, film festival fees, taxes, legal fees, and all those other fun costs that must be considered to make a film of professional visual and production quality.

Short video on what we are doing visually: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ggFOF3A7M

Rough Budget:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=1tAnUQJJiDfAGGsS4DhvfMflVdF81lt5hK7AIOs-JdG38hY_ncjRStYSjgiB5 

Arn't able to donate by credit card or paypal? No problem.

We will gladly accept cheques or cash sent to 98 Larch Bay, Oakbank Manitoba, ROE 1J1 (payable to Luczenczyn Productions)  and post your donation online with your name. Any cards, notes or pictures that accompany your donation will also find their way into the set decoration of the film! 

You help us, we help you - Indiegogo giveback

 Ten percent of our profits will get reinvested back into the crowd funding system.

In the event of our film becoming a success, we will be giving back to the community that made our film possible. We just felt this was the right thing to do.

Incentives Images:

Dogtags: 

FX'd Graffiti: 

Artists Bios 

 Madison Thomas 

Director/ Writer/ Co-Producer 

 Madison Thomas is a Metis filmmaker from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her passion for storytelling and art began at an early age and hasn’t wavered since. Starting her career working for companies like Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and on various independent films has helped Madison strengthen her own skill set and has expanded the scale of her own work. Madison has studied film at both the University of Winnipeg and Prague Film School. Her first short film “Worlds on Fire” premiered to great reception at the Winnipeg Aboriginal Film Festival, and her short film “Bound” premiered at Prague Film School’s festival. She began writing “This Is Why We Fight” on trains while backpacking in Europe after finishing film school. Madison also teaches film to a variety of youth from all walks of life. 

 Film portfolio: https://vimeo.com/user7105101/videos

Twitter @MadisonFThomas

Erin Kiazyk 

Head of Makeup

 Erin Kiazyk knew at a young age that she wanted to be involved in the film and theatre industry. As a kid, she often spent most of her time writing or dressing up, and she was dubbed “the Drama Queen” by her mother. Fast forward to the present, and Erin has done the makeup for several wedding shows, a web series pilot, and the short film’s  “This is Why We Fight” & “Contemptuous”. Her skill has developed greatly over the last year, and she has been in correspondence with Winnipeg’s Doug Morrow, who is helping her fine tune her aesthetics and helping her enter in to the prosthetic area of film and television makeup. This is Why We Fight the feature will be an exciting new challenge for Erin.

 Makeup portfolio: http://s1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh541/Erynn933/

Twitter: @ErinKiazyk

 Andrew Luczenczyn

Cinematographer/ Co-Producer

 Andrew Luczenczyn is a cinematographer from the country town of Oakbank, Manitoba.  Inspired by films like Jurassic Park and The Lord of the rings, and armed with a Hi-8 camera, he began shooting movies.  While attending the University of Winnipeg Film program, he fell in love with cinematography.  Now, he has workshopped with other cinematographers like Mark Irwin, and been nominated “best cinematography” at the U of W film festival.  Andrew has also recently gotten into the business of production, opening his own freelance company.

Twitter: @AndrewtheDOP

 Justin Otto

Actor, Caleb Jacobs 

 Currently completing his Honors Theatre Acting degree at The University of Winnipeg, Justin’s first love remains film and screen-acting. This spring he was cast as the lead character in “Juliet”, an eerie love story (Koj-B Films & Wrecktangle Films) and at this summer’s Winnipeg Fringe festival he will be playing the lead role in a production of Linda Griffiths, “The Darling Family”. He looks forward to reprising his role as the shut-in Caleb Jacobs, a role which felt unresolved following the short film. Theatre credits: Hamlet (UofW), The Possibilities (UofW), Our Country’s Good (UofW). Film credits: Juliet (Koj-B Films, WreckTangle films), This Is Why We Fight – the short (Caffeinated Chaos Films) 

 Juliet trailer (c) wrecktangle films: https://vimeo.com/41825301

Twitter: @justinjonotto