About this project
WORLD PREMIERE AT SXSW
We’re LOLA BESSIS and RUBEN AMAR, the writers, directors and producers of SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM. We are extremely (really extremely) thrilled to announce that SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM will have its WORLD PREMIERE at the SXSW FILM FESTIVAL as part of the very selective NARRATIVE COMPETITION. SXSW is an extremely renowned festival celebrating both music and independent cinema that takes place in March in Austin, Texas.
That means a lot to us, we thus want to present the best film possible at SXSW and that’s why we’re launching this kickstarter campaign. But before I explain you more in details why we really need your help, let me introduce the movie.
WHAT IS IT ?
SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM was shot over the 2 last years between New York and Paris on a shoe-string budget. It is our feature film debut following the huge success of our last short film, CHECKPOINT, which was selected at over 100 film festivals (including Slamdance, Palm Springs, San Diego, Clermont-Ferrand, Leeds, Sarasota, Newport Beach, Montreal world film festival among many others), got a dozen of awards and was broadcast on several prestigious TV channels around the world (PBS, BBC, RTBF, CANAL +, France3, Itunes).
SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM is a typical New York story set in the world of music and contemporary art, with just the right amount of distance and derision. The three major characters are each at a turning point in their lives, they have decisions to make and although these choices may seem insignificant, each one is essential in allowing the characters to evolve and fulfill themselves.
We wished to avoid at any cost giving in to “sensationalism” and strove instead to realistically depict snapshots from the unembellished lives of these lost souls.
The main idea was to get the 3 main characters to live together in order to observe them closely, using the camera as a microscope. We wished to create a situation that would favor experiment: the moment when the lives of these characters would finally fall into place. We wanted to work on their proximity and see how this could trigger a synchronized epiphany that would enable them to go forward.
SYNOPSIS
Swim Little Fish Swim is a comedy-drama depicting three intertwined storylines. Maggie? Rainbow? Leeward and Mary – a thirty something New York couple - cannot even agree on their three year old daughter’s name anymore. Mary is a hardworking nurse who dreams of only one thing : changing her life around. She resents her husband for being an irresponsible, overgrown adolescent incapable of holding down a job. Leeward is an atypical, idealistic musician who fancies himself a misunderstood artist and a New Age visionary. Enter Lilas, a 19-year-old French artist and daughter of a world famous painter, who's trying to make it in New York and get away from her overbearing mother. When the bubbly young woman moves into the couple’s tiny Chinatown apartment, their already fragile balance is upset even further. Between surrealism, unusual characters, art and magic tricks, Swim Little Fish Swim is a dreamlike journey from childhood to adulthood.
CAST & CREW
SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM is a thrilling result for all of the hard work and collaboration put forth by a great group of artists and friends. With the lush cinematography of BRETT JUTKIEWICZ (who worked with Lena Dunham and the Safdie Brothers), the stylized editing of THOMAS MARCHAND (an emblematic figure in contemporary French ‘auteur’ cinema), amazingly color grading by NAT JENCKS (who worked with Michel Gondry, Steven Soderbergh and Spike Jonze), the crazy design of YVETTE GRANATA (Martha Marcy May Marlene; Please Give; Newlyweeds) and wonderful bubbly tunes from PENN SULTAN, TOYS AND TINY INSTRUMENTS and CANDACE LEE (listen to their songs by clicking on the links at the bottom of this page!).
SWIM LITTLE FISH SWIM gathers together some of the best talents of independent cinema. It stars ANNE CONSIGNY (Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell and The Butterfly; Arnaud Desplechin's A Christmas Tale; Alain Resnais's You haven't seen anything yet; Manoel de Olivera's The Satin Sleeper), BROOKE BLOOM (Ceremony, Gaby On The Roof In July, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), DUSTIN GUY DEFA (Bad Fever, Family Nightmare, Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess, Alex Karpovsky’s Red Flag, Kentucker Audley’s Open Five 2) who, according to Hammer to Nail, is "one of the American Independent cinema's strongest voices" and director LOLA BESSIS.
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP
We believe in this film but we still have a long way to go in order to get through a final push so that we can present the best possible film at SXSW. And that’s why we’re asking for your help! With this Kickstarter Campaign, we hope to raise A MINIMUM OF $15,000 to help us finish the movie for our premiere. This will include:
1- CONSIDERABLE POST-PRODUCTION EXPENSES:
- Color-correction;
- Sound-mixing;
- Outputting the movie to an HDCam Master for exhibition.
- Hiring a publicist;
- Printing promotional materials;
- Finishing our website;
- Making our posters.
- Airfare (for us and hopefully for the cast & crew too)
- Hotels (for us and hopefully for the cast & crew too)
You’ll get more info about this great movie by looking to our WEBSITE (swimlittlefishswim.com) and to our FACEBOOK PAGE (facebook.com/SwimLittleFishSwim) and if you like what you see, please donate what you can and spread the word by posting on social networks or simply talking to your friends the old-fashioned way!
The minimum donation is only one dollar and every donation counts! You’ll get great rewards!
As independent filmmakers, we truly cannot do it without your help.
We truly appreciate your support, and we look forward to sharing the movie with you!
Thank you very much!
Sincerely, Ruben Amar & Lola Bessis
To learn more and check out our progress, you can visit:
- swimlittlefishswim.com
- facebook.com/SwimLittleFishSwim
- http://schedule.sxsw.com/2013/events/event_FS13809
- imdb.com/title/tt2416376
- facebook.com/lesfilmsdelafusee
Listen to our uber-talented music composers’ tunes by clicking on the links below:
- Toys and Tiny Instruments:
- Candace Lee:- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy9VAgSF6-Q&feature=youtu.be
- http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/candace%20lee%20camacho
- Penn Sultan (Last Good Tooth):
Also please feel free to email us at contact@lesfilmsdelafusee.com
Risks and challenges
The film is going to premiere at SXSW no matter what!
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Funding period
- (30 days)