After her husband leaves for tour, an independent woman struggles with her rational mind and her emotional needs as she sinks further into isolation in the hours before December 21, 2012 -- the Mayan End of the World.

How Will We Cross the Seas? is a story of love and empathy, the stress put on a relationship during a catastrophe, media scare tactics, and the fear of dying alone.

Inspiration:

Worldwide revolutions. Oppressive governments. The end of the world won’t come about from an asteroid hitting Earth or the Antichrist, but from people turning against each other. The media, for the most part, makes matters worse by instilling fear and paranoia in us. We need compassion and empathy to survive this crazy world. As Kurt Vonnegut said, “Please--a little less love and a little more common decency.”

How You Can Help:
We have made the decision to shoot on beautifully expressive 16mm Fuji film on an Arri SR in Astoria, Queens and scenic Lambertville, NJ. Unfortunately, processing and digitizing costs more than just shooting on a DSLR. In addition, there are many other costs that need to be taken into account: cast and crew compensation, rental gear, transportation, food, etc.

We have some of the funding secured for this micro-budget short, but we’re looking to you -- the Kickstarter community -- to help fill in the gaps! Help fund this timely, intimate short shot on a beautiful format that needs to be kept alive!

Anything extra will go towards post-production costs: coloring, scoring, festival submissions, promotion, and more.

Why I’m Shooting on Film:

16mm is a beautiful format that achieves an organic level of intimacy that can’t be obtained through DSLRs or high-end digital cameras. The experience of shooting film is wholly different than shooting digital. You can’t do numerous takes because the costs of film and processing far exceeds the costs of an SD card. Pre-production is paramount when shooting on film and I believe that limitations and focused, intentional forethought produces a stronger piece.

Folks Involved:

• The film is produced, written, and directed by Shaun Seneviratne, a Sri Lankan-American filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY and Media Studies MA at the New School.
• The film will be beautifully composed and lit by Director of Photography Dan Witrock.
• The talented Annika Franklin and Jason Vance will star as the two leads.
• The paranoia-inducing sound design will be completed by audio engineer Ernie Indradat (you can hear his live sound work when you tune into WNYC and WFMU) and features a score by Aye Aye (ex-members of Glad Hearts, Rapid Cities, Starfish Headquarters, and Purpose), as well as musical contributions from Communipaw, Dark Moses, and Cyphered Threads/H.O.I.S.T.
• Visual effects will be handled by the accomplished compositor/lighting director John Mangia, who has worked on Black Swan, The Limits of Control, and Green Lantern, and more.  
• Jeff Ramirez of The UP Studio, a fantastic design firm based in Long Island, NY, is in charge of the beautiful promotional items including screen-printed posters, postcards, and more.
• Valeria De Felice will be providing art direction and production design. Check out her amazing work here. 
• We also have a great crew of folks including fellow New School filmmakers Denis Deck, Ryan Garretson, Andrew Lewis, Bjorn Floki, Phil Henken, and more!

Look and Feel:
Meditative camera moves and detached compositions will increase the sense of loneliness felt by the characters, a’la Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love and Days of Being Wild. Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine is also heavily influential in regards to the way they handle light and color: overexposed backgrounds with a pastel hue. The film will utilize long takes, deep focus, and a mise-en-scene approach to bring to life the space these characters inhabit, making the locations a character in and of itself.

Time Frame:

Cameras will roll on November 15th for this 3-day shoot. After this we will process the footage and transfer it to a digital format for editing. Post-Production will begin in late December. By the end of January, we will be finalizing the sound mix, color grading the footage, and scoring the film. That’s when you guys will receive your sweet, sweet incentives!