About this project
Mahogany Sunrise - Feature Film - Neo-Noir Romance Action
$27,480
92
Brief Synopsis
Mahogany Sunrise is a romantic, action drama about a downhearted IT guy named Jackson who longs to be a musician. After being sent to a border town for work Jackson stumbles upon a duffel bag full of money. Thinking he’s hit the jackpot he takes the money. He later meets and falls for a charismatic burlesque dancer named Mercedes. But Jackson quickly learns that this new found fortune comes with a price as he finds himself on the run from her ex and his gangbanger crew along with two hitmen who want the money back.
Mahogany Sunrise is a hip, lovers on the run story with themes of greed, arrogance, chance encounters, finding love, taking chances and following your heart to do what you're meant to in life. Jackson and Mercedes are two star-crossed strangers that happen to meet, inspire each other and fall in love. In the end their love must survive greed and the relentless pursuit of those that want to kill them.
Last August we shot promotional trailers as proof of concept. The crew was comprised of experienced filmmakers and actors from the Austin film scene many of which will be returning for the feature. We shot with the state of the art RED Epic digital camera. These trailers debuted last November at The American Film Market (AFM). Exhibited to foreign and domestic film executives and distributors the trailers were highly praised assuring us that the film we are trying to make will be a marketable commodity.
What would you do if you found a bag full of money?
I started writing Mahogany Sunrise 5 years ago based on the premise of the moral dilemma of someone finding a bag full of money. Take it or leave it? The chance to change your life in an instant or turn it in? Jack Kerouac once said “What’s in store for me in the direction I don’t take?" Pledge $50 or more and send us a 1 minute or less video answering these questions:
1) If you found a bag full of money, what you would do with the money?
2) Why did you donate to Mahogany Sunrise?
Email the video to mahoganysunrisefilm@gmail.com OR post it on Youtube and send us a downloadable link (video may have to be edited). We'll post the video in the updates on here as well as on our website, Facebook and Youtube channels.
Just Released Scenes:
Inspiration for writing the story
This is a project I’ve been writing for many years. They always say write what you know and I can really relate to the main character Jackson and his desire to be a musician but feeling that his creativity is being stifled by working in the IT field. A struggle many creative types find themselves in when trying to balance their passions with their necessary day jobs.
Another motivation for writing the story stems from my love of music and wondering what inspires an artist or musician. Also I’ve always been fascinated by fate and chance especially how lovers meet. Jackson and Mercedes are two people from very different lives that meet by chance, inspire each other and fall in love.
The story is loosely inspired by the Mexican Girl chapters of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road'. In these chapters of the book Sal Paradise meets a Mexican girl named Terry at a bus station in Los Angeles and for the next fifteen days they are "together for better or worse". For those of you that have read 'On the Road' what if Sal had stayed with Terry and they made a life together? Either way their lives were forever changed as their souls collided in this all too big world.
Mahogany Sunrise features lowriders, shoot-outs, burlesque, gangs, hitmen, chase scenes and a much sought after bag of loot. But there’s more to it, ultimately it’s about falling in love, taking chances, realizing your dreams and following your heart to do what you’re meant to in life.
What are we raising funds for?
With our previous campaign we had hoped to raise all the funds necessary to make an indie film from production to post production. Crowd funding is a difficult task and we just did not have the outreach exposure necessary to have a successful large crowd funding campaign despite having behind the scenes footage and promotional proof of concept trailers.
So we decided to regroup and plan a new strategy with a smaller more attainable funding goal affording us different options. One option is to continue looking for private investors to match funds raised on Kickstarter. Another option is applying for grants like the San Antonio Film Commission filmmaker’s grant which awards $25,000 matching grant to local filmmakers who have at least $25,000 in funding commitments in place. We will also be applying to the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund (TFPF) grant program.
The money raised will go directly toward the production costs to make a full feature film to include insurance, permits, paying actors and crew, lodging, travel, craft services, props, costumes/wardrobe, editing, music rights, marketing materials and securing locations. We have set our funding goal at the minimal amount to meet the grant guidelines and get the project into production. Obviously any additional money raised would greatly enhance the quality of the final film.
Production would begin late this summer shooting either in the Austin and San Antonio area depending on whether we were awarded the San Antonio grant which requires films to be shot 50% in San Antonio. We will be shooting with the RED Epic and we have a fully loaded grip truck with all the required camera gear and lights at our disposal.
Below is some behind the scenes action from the promo shoot. This was day 7 a stunt heavy day. In this scene Jackson boldly confronts Chato at his hideout.
Promo Shoot Production Stills
The duffel bag and the Lowrider:
T-shirt Designs
Here are some of the ideas for t-shirt designs. These can be on white or colored t-shirts. Let us know what you think!
1. "Take the leap. Find the muse. And run."
2. "Mahogany Sunrise" - The Gun
3. "All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl." Girl/sun silohuette
4. "Take the leap. Find the muse. And run." Guitar silohuette
Original Music By
Austin musician Nano Whitman is featured in the film as the singing voice behind the lead character Jackson. His songs 'Wedding Prayer' and 'Arms By My Side' will be showcased in the film.
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Funding period
- (27 days)