Kickstarter

*** WE MADE IT! PLEASE STILL CONTRIBUTE, AS EVERY PENNY ADDITIONAL WILL HELP US BRING THIS MOVIE TO EVEN MORE KIDS IN RURAL COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE STATES! ****

           "This is a stellar nursery. This is where the sky is born."

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Where the Sky is Born is a short fantasy-adventure film about Hugo, a precocious 11 year old who is caught between the traditional culture of his abuela and his father, Vicente, a stern and disapproving man, and the western world of science and astronomy that he is being raised in. After spoiling a remembrance ceremony for his mother and twin sister, who died in childbirth seconds after Hugo was born, Hugo accidentally loses a precious locket entrusted to him by his father. Rather than risk his father's wrath, Hugo sneaks out late at night to find the locket, and stumbles into the magical Mayan underworld of Xibalba. What ensues is a thrilling action adventure as Hugo and a mysterious heroine must defeat the dark lord of the underworld, Hun Came, and rescue the locket, as well as the mother he never knew.

WHERE DID THE PROJECT COME FROM?

We wanted to tell a story that is universal but also specifically reflects a region that is underserved and under represented. The writer-director, Freddy Gaitan, was born in the Salinas Valley and raised by migrant farm workers, and as one of the first to go to college, he feels that we have a commitment as filmmakers to tell stories that can inspire younger generations towards education and science. Each of the producers, Gil Marsden, Christina Granados and Arturo Diaz, committed to the project because of this unique combination of an amazing story, a great team and a unique commitment to making the world a better place.

The story itself is inspired by two old Mayan mythological figures, the Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque. All of the characters in the underworld are true to Mayan mythology as well (but we don't want to give too much of it away!) and the story includes a climactic ball game based on the traditional pitz ball game played in rituals throughout Mesoamerica. 

Finally, the main character of Hugo, and his yearning towards the stars, is inspired by the life of Jose Hernandez, the first Mexican-American astronaut to ever reach the stars. His story is an inspiration to residents of the Central Valley, and to us as filmmakers, reaching for our own stars.

WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS DONE SO FAR?

We have been awarded several grants, including  Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant for Production, which provides funding for student films that depict science in interesting ways. With our stated goal of using the film to inspire younger generations towards astronomy, particularly in low income regions, the foundation awarded us the grant, which set us on this whole journey. You can read more about us and the grant here.

We were also lucky enough to have the incredible cinematographer, Haskell Wexler (who won the academy award TWICE for Bound for Glory and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) agree to be our mentor. When he read the script, he even offered to shoot a day of the film for us! Everyone, including our student cinematographer, is so excited about the opportunity to learn from this master.

Finally, we were recently awarded the Panavision Emerging Filmmaker's Grant, which is a great program that helps support student filmmakers by assisting them with equipment and camera rentals.

SO, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM KICKSTARTER?

We want your help! The successes we've had so far have allowed us to attract an amazing crew who are going to create an amazing world for us. You've seen in the video a couple of the incredible characters we want to create as well as an incredible Mayan ball court set that we want to build entirely practically. This is where your support will go, directly piece-by-piece, steel-panel-by-steel-panel into our production design. With your help we will be able to create the death gods and the court so that they are safe, exciting and realistic.

As we've said before, it's our goal that this film plays not only in festivals, but also in the local communities which we are hoping to inspire, all across the dustbowl and potentially beyond. This is a passion project for everyone, and almost every single person in the film is working for free. Nada. Zilch! 

In order for it to truly excite and inspire kids, we need this movie to look like it an epic fantasy movie at a 1000th of the cost! We can only raise that with your help. We are currently seeking only a portion of our costs, and we're having to trim corners and cut certain sequences out of the film. If we do go over our fundraising limit, which would be AMAZING, we would first insert a scene we cut straight back in, where the two main characters ascend to the top of an amazing "Kukulkan Pyramid" - shown below - and ascend into the heavens. 

In addition to that scene, we'll also be able to add detail in places we never hoped for: torches and "human" hearts for the underworld, and a variety of other small facets along the way. With your help, we can make an amazing movie that will both excite and inspire younger generations to look to the stars - to look where the sky is born.

WHO ARE YOU? 

Freddy Gaitan, Director: Was raised in the Salinas Valley in Central California. The son of migrant farm workers, he was the first of his family to go to college, and received his BFA with honors from UC Santa Barbara. He has taught playwriting for the East LA Classic Theater Company working with acclaimed director Nancy Keystone. He has also worked at  the International Festival Cervantino in Guanajuato Mexico. Freddy is pursuing an MFA in Film & TV Production at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. He is the proud recipient of the Rudolfo Montes Scholarship, which honors academic achievement and community leadership, and the Alfred P. Sloan Award. Freddy currently works at Sony’s 3D Technology Center. 

Christina Granados, Producer: Currently an MFA Film and Television Production candidate at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.  Christina has a B.A. in English from UCLA in 2007, and is co-founder of SoapBoxPoets. Her past work experience includes journalist-promoted-editor at “The Salinas Californian”. She produced spot campaign ads for Chris Kelly for CA State Attorney General and co-wrote for the preservation of the IOKA theater. 

Gil Marsden, Producer: In 2008 Gil cofounded New Beat Theatre Company, a non-profit theatre company based out of Melbourne, Australia, with which he directed two award-winning productions. Since moving to LA in 2009, Gil has produced and directed several short films, including Blackbird which is premiering at the Athens International Film Festival. Gil has a passion  to development work and social justice.

Arturo Diaz, Producer: A native from Madrid, Spain, Arturo started as a journalist for the Spanish Public Radio, and then transitioned into television. In 2009 Arturo won a Fulbright Scholarship and was admitted at the Peter Stark Producing Program. Arturo currently works as development analyst at mun2, a network part of NBCUniversal. 

Thank you! 

Freddy, Christina, Gil & Arturo