Psychotropic Sunrise

Started by Alexandro, May 05, 2013, 07:43:55 PM

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Alexandro

So, the other thing I've been busy on is struggling like hell to make a second feature called "Psychotropic Sunrise". As the title suggests, there are drugs in this film, used by young people. And in the midst of the drug war in Mexico the usual routes for funding films (via the government) have been impossible. The team behind me is pretty solid this time, particularly regarding the involvement of my producer-photographer and his company, who is also a director and a very celebrated one among the european festivals including venice. Yet after applying to a couple of those funds it became obvious (and we heard some comments regarding that subject unoficially) that any film dealing with drugs in the fashion of my movie was a no-go...

So now we are crowdfunding it on the mexican equivalent of kickstarter. We are asking for very little, really...roughly 14, 000 dlls. But in Mexico that kind of money is not that easy to come by, and it actually makes a production possible, with every restraint. No one involved is receiving salary, and we are a lot of people so far. But the money of course is to pay for the most urgent needs that appear during shooting, like food, gasoline, locations, permits, etcetera...

So anyway, please take a look, and if someone somewhere feels compelled to contribute with anything I will be eternally grateful. Any questions, pm or email me.

Thanks guys.
Here is the link:
http://fondeadora.mx/projects/manana-psicotropica-psychotropic-sunrise

the info is in english too.

Alexandro

just to let you know. we finished shooting last week. :)

Reel

CONGRATULATIONS!!!


That's an irresistible title. I have to see it.

Alexandro


Alexandro

this is our facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/mananapsicotropica

Our kickstarter like campaign was a real nightmare and we ended up having a budget way lower than we wanted. I won't say the amount because that trivializes everything but it was really an absurd amount.

we shot for 19 days and it was a painful and exhausting experience for me. a crazy, crazy, insane shooting. many setbacks and unforeseen events. cars broke down at crucial moments, actors left at the last moment and had to be replaced instantly (I was at some point shooting a scene and doing a casting session between breaks), we fought the weather like mad, plenty of burning sun, winds, mud, rain, 16 hour days, night shootings, not enough extras and picking people on the street, on the spot. really an amazing experience all the way. I ended up every day thinking if I actually wanted to do this again. I went from "ok we're getting this done fine" to "ok, let's finish this day, let's get through the day and we'll be ok" to "let's do this shot, let's just do this shot so I can move on, if I can just get this shot done I will be on the other side"...

now we are working on making a first cut, very rough, for a deadline concerning a work in progress calling in some festival. the deadline is august 30...don't know if we will make it. but as soon as I have something to show I will...

jenkins

Quote from: Alexandro on August 18, 2013, 01:27:52 PMI ended up every day thinking if I actually wanted to do this again. I went from "ok we're getting this done fine" to "ok, let's finish this day, let's get through the day and we'll be ok" to "let's do this shot, let's just do this shot so I can move on, if I can just get this shot done I will be on the other side"...
lol. you're a good worker :)

peeped the facebook, can you please translate the synopsis into english? of course google could do that for me, but that wouldn't be a creative translation, no. i'd think of you as a mess of words, when you don't at all appear to be. long question. in summary: please

and,

!!!!


edit -- oh nm, that's all done in the first post's link. including the cat photo! i'll be damned

another edit, yeahyeah, mmmhm -- i have things i have to do today, like things i should be doing. but asap got into this, all of this


Neil

Glad to hear you're pressin' on regardless of the hardships my friend. Get it done and on to the next one. I'm sure it'll be great. I look forward to the pleasure of viewing it!
it's not the wrench, it's the plumber.

Just Withnail

In the trenches! Post some footage once the pressure dies down a bit, can't wait to see what you're up to. And yes, that title! Is really good.

Alexandro

totally forgot to post these here...here they are. still working on finishing this thing.





Cloudy

These teasers are fantastic! Good work, I'm thoroughly anticipating this, I'm sure the responses to these are gonna give you a nice jolt of energy to really finely tune this thing. Excited!

jenkins

i was already positive and now i'm more than positive, about liking this

Jeremy Blackman

Wow, this looks quite legit.

Can you tell us what the message/perspective of the film is, concerning drugs, or would that be a spoiler?

Alexandro

thanks guys.
we did these teasers because one of the executive producers did a stand up comedy show a few weeks ago in mexico city, where the earnings went to the film and we wanted to show something there.

editing is almost finished and next step is figuring out the route towards finishing the post. we are applying to a couple of mexican funds, let's see how that goes. competition is too tough here, too many movies, too little options for funding a postproduction. no one has money.

about the drugs, I just wanted to make a film that was closer to my own experience with drugs than what I've been seeing in movies throughout my life, I definitely didn't want to make a "pro" or "anti" drugs movie at all. didn't want to make a stoner comedy or a tragedy on the downward spiral of addiction...hard for me to explain the film's stance on the subject.

One revealing piece of info (I don't think that shows in the final film but still) is that I had been trying to figure out a way to write a movie on this subject but never knew how until I rewatched Robert Altman's California Split and bam, next day I was already writing non stop.

Jeremy Blackman

Quote from: Alexandro on December 26, 2013, 02:32:52 AMabout the drugs, I just wanted to make a film that was closer to my own experience with drugs than what I've been seeing in movies throughout my life, I definitely didn't want to make a "pro" or "anti" drugs movie at all. didn't want to make a stoner comedy or a tragedy on the downward spiral of addiction...hard for me to explain the film's stance on the subject.

Interesting. That's definitely the vibe I get from the teasers, too. But at the risk of offering unsolicited advice, I'll just say this. If you're actually interested in making it neither "pro" nor "anti" drugs, well, that kind of neutrality is going to be virtually impossible. The nature of film is just going to push it toward the "pro" end automatically. It's kind of like war movies; war naturally looks exciting on film. Unfortunately, without a message you're at the mercy of what naturally happens when you put drugs on film without comment. Indifference is de facto approval, which drifts easily into glamorization. The obvious aesthetic beauty of your film (the artful shots of smoke etc.) might only exacerbate this. I apologize if I'm misjudging the film, and I certainly have a point of view here, but that's my feeling on it.

jenkins

having an unexpected "i can relate to this from personal experience" moment. i've displayed drug use, it's a tricky option -- mine, there's actually a statement about this, and the method itself is a headscratcher. but i know what jb means, displaying it promotes the streisand effect. at the end of the day, with any such problem, i choose to see art as a mirror of reality. if it exists off screen i won't censor it from the screen, and i remember the foundation is indeed off screen