The Film

SACRAMENT follows five individuals who are dragged into a cult ritual surrounding the birth and destruction of a mysterious god. The five newcomers find themselves enthralled by the strange deity, but violence and conflict break out after one of them is anointed as the cult's priestess, driving some members to rebellion and thoughts of escape.

A unique aspect of SACRAMENT is that there is no dialogue. The story is told completely through movement and music.

“Rite of Spring meets Alien in Night of the Living Dead”                                                                         -Glen Eddy (former soloist with Nederlands Dans Theater)

Background

Conceived by award-winning choreographer Natalie Metzger and critically-acclaimed composer Robert Allaire, SACRAMENT was first created as a live dance theater show which premiered at CalArts in 2011. It went on to win Natalie the HARC Foundation’s 2011 Award for Emerging Choreographer. As part of that award, the HARC Foundation produced the stage work again at Highways Performance Space in March 2012, where it sold out every night and received standing ovations. 

While it has had particular success as a stage work and is unique for a stage performance, we know that film is where SACRAMENT will really come to life and be accessible to a wider audience. Because the strong narrative is told completely through movement and music, we feel that we have an opportunity to bridge the gap between dance film and narrative film.

Film Adaptation

Shortly after the first performance of SACRAMENT, we began development of the film adaptation of the work. It was a natural evolution for us, since we’ve created several dance films that have had great success in the dance film world. Our films, For Water and Surgeon General’s Warning, have received awards and/or official selections from more than 20 different festivals around the world.

Sacrament will be a much larger endeavor than our previous films, with a larger cast and an extremely detailed set. That’s why we've partnered with KNR Productions, a Los Angeles-based film production company, to help us bring SACRAMENT to the screen. KNR (knr-productions.com) is headed by Kevin and Rich Ragsdale, who together have made many successful award-winning shorts, music videos, and features, including The Curse of El Charro (Paramount). We know that their strong, dark aesthetic is a perfect match for our vision.

WHY WE ARE FUNDRAISING

We have already raised half of our total production budget, and now, all we need is the rest to make this film possible. 

Your pledges will pay for:

• performers
• crew
• camera (the RED)
• artistic/design team
• set/production design
• costumes
• makeup
• sound crew
• music mix/master
• lighting equipment
• location
• transportation
• and more

One of the key elements that the funding will go towards is the construction of the central deity figure around which the film revolves. We’ll be working with experienced production designers and creature designers to bring this crucial element to life on screen.

We definitely cannot do this without you. Everyone who pledges is essential in the making of this film. We really believe in this project, and any support you can give will be extremely appreciated. If you can't give anything, we would love it if you could "like" our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/sacramentthefilm

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

Natalie Metzger, Creator/Choreographer                                               metzart.org

Robert Allaire,  Co-creator/Composer                                          allairemusic.com

www.SACRAMENTthefilm.com