The Empire of Shit is a grotesque comedy short film in pure ero-guro style directed by Alessio Martino with artistic supervision by Shintaro Kago. Immerse yourself in a world where people are excited to buy and consume shit.

In this world, there is a company that produces perfumed shit. The substance is defecated by Paola, a young teenager. Marco, her boyfriend, and Mauro, his twin brother, are in charge of the company. Marco has to deal with the Japanese shareholders who are demanding more and more products. So Marco starts the production of shit-based cosmetics and food products. Will Paola be able to handle all this stress?

When I proposed to Shintaro Kago the idea of making a film together, the first point we focused on was the world in which we wanted to set the story. This is because he, like all oriental masters, uses the Kishotenketsu narrative technique where the heart of the story is the narrative world itself. And at that point we unleashed all our creativity.

Our goal is to build the central section of the factory entirely in a stage. This is because I believe it is essential for a project like this to have as much of a physical set as possible to frame and show in all the spectacularity of its colors and the grotesque nature of its organic forms. The set design department is made up of the best set designers who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, and for months they have been location scouting and creating endless quantities of sketches for the various scenes. They are supported by an entire prop-making department that will have to create tons of excrement and liquid shit.

This film will be shot entirely on the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

When I started this project, I knew it would be a titanic endeavor, especially due to the amount of materials to purchase and transform. But with all the enthusiasm of the professionals around me and the genius of Master Shintaro Kago, I know we can succeed!

Where will the money go?

The money will mainly go into production costs such as set rental, equipment rental, creation of the sets, costumes, makeup, props, and practical special effects. Additionally, it will be invested in paying the crew, actors, administration, catering, and transportation. Funds will also be invested in post-production to ensure the highest quality editing, sound design, and visual effects. Along with all this, we must not forget the distribution to get the film to festivals and streaming platforms. Costs will also go to the rewards, such as printing costs for posters and stickers, t-shirts, blu-rays etc.

The Goal

If this indiegogo campain is successful, we will release the 20 minute film. If we reach 120,000 euros, we will give all backers two preview scenes and we will unlock other exclusive gadgets. If we reach 150,000 euros, we will give all backers an unpublished 15-page story by Shintaro Kago that serves as a prequel to The Empire of Shit. If we reach 200,000 euros, we will extend the short film by 10 minutes (for a total of 30 minutes). If we reach 250,000 euros, we will make a 50-minute medium-length film. And finally, if we reach 300,000 euros, we will produce a feature film!

Cast & Crew

Alessio Martino is a movie director from Salerno who graduated with top marks from the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. He has been making Live Action, Stop Motion and Cut Out short films since 2017. In 2021 he partecipated in the 11th edition of the Unco Film Festival organized by Shintaro Kago with the short “Brief Clisterization of Ideology” and placed second. In the meantime he shot the short film "A Family", selected for the David di Donatello 2021. In 2022 he presented a new project for the Unco Film Festival and won the first prize with "The Formidable Wave that destroyed and recreated the World". In 2022-2023 he shot a feature film entitled "The Antefact of Pandora" as a thesis project inspired by the cinema of Carmelo Bene.

Fabio Niro (https://m.imdb.com/name/nm10687108/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk) is an expert Director of Photography with over fifteen years of experience on sets. In the past years he has already collaborated with Alessio Martino and the two are on the same page about recreating the stunning aesthetics of a real live action anime.

Fiorenzo Fierro is the chief set designer. Over the years he has gained a lot of experience on sets but above all from masters with Renato Lori (assistant set designer on The Goodfather), Cesare Accetta and Arcangela di Lorenzo. The set design departmant is made up of a team of over ten people, all expert workers in the world of cinema and theatre.

Sabrina Bastone is the costume designer of the project. She has been working for two years at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples and graduated in fashion and design from Accademy of Fine Arts in Naples.

Raffaele Esposito is an expert cosplayer and creator of special costumes. He will assist the costume department, creating the kaiju and mecha suits (this is a big spoiler indeed…)

Flavia Chianese is our VFX director. She graduated with full marks from the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples in scenography and then followed various VFX master throught Italy. Today she works for Disney + america and Warner Bros Studios as a vfx artist.

Mario Avallone is our sound engineer. Over the years he has specialized in sound mixing and has worked on many sets throughout Europe.

Sofia Kalucka is the production director. She has worked for years with Bronks Production in Naples and followed the production of countless sets as general coordinator.

Elettra Blandini is our translator and interpreter. She has helped manage, translate, and mediate communications with Kago Sensei. She is majoring in Japanese studies at the University of Naples “L’Orientale

Starring: Christian Sabino as "Marco/Mauro", Marta Apicella as "Paola", Roberto Mascia as "Luigi Trani", Giuseppe Guastaferro as “Chef Antonino Parrucchieri” and Mr. Unkoman as "Himself".

Risks & Challenges

The Empire of Shit is a very ambitious project to say the least. The good news is that we've already prepared many of the materials that we wiill need when shooting. Many costumes, props and the definitive version of the sketches of the scenography are already done so that eliminates a degree of worry right away. The crew spent a lot of time into creating and thinking this project, that it is just not an option to give up at this point. All we need now is the founds to be able to purchase the materials and rent the locations. Finding money for a film is very hard, especially for a crazy and totally out of mind project like this. We can only hope that you feel as excited about this project as we do and join us to create the most grotesque and innovative project that this world has ever seen. We have also already teamed up with a qualified partner to print and handle the reward products.

Other Ways You Can Help

If you want to help us, spread the word about this campaign as much as possible  all over the Web! We need many people to discover this project and talk about it.