Creative Team
Jay Collins – Composer
Mimi French – Producer
Charis Collins – Writer
Kevin Pontuti – Director
Premise and Plot
An unorthodox coming of age story set in a post-civilization world, NORTH PASSAGE mixes dramatic narrative with Northwoods fairy tale. We follow a young heroine (Frea) and her family as they escape worldwide economic meltdown, taking shelter on her eccentric, survivalist grandfather's farm. There, she mysteriously crosses paths with her regional ancestors in a fantastic adventure. The film explores environmental, economic and social issues relating to contemporary life. To survive, these new pioneers must find hope and renewal in their challenging conditions.
Project History
Two summers ago, we (four west coast transplants) decided to collaboratively make an independent short film in rural Wisconsin, our new home. We spent the summer of 2010 working on a script that we felt related to a shared set of interests and genres. During the fall and winter of 2010 we produced a series of photo portraits and character studies to help us work through some of the ideas before moving into the cinematic portion of the project. During the summer of 2011 we decided that to best serve our fundraising needs, we needed a proof of concept trailer to move things forward. Working with absolutely no budget, very little equipment and a volunteer, highly coerced actress (Talula Pontuti, the daughter of the producer and director), we shot a trailer that we feel very proud of. We’re ready to move into the next phases of the project and are looking for funding to help realize the film. We have launched an international crowd-funding campaign through IndieGoGo in an effort to raise money for props, sets, equipment and insurance.
indiegogo.com/North-Passage
Goals and Exposure
Once completed, we plan to submit our film into festivals both locally and internationally. At the top of our submission list are the Stockholm Film Festival (Stockholm, Wisconsin), Wisconsin Film Festival (Madison, Wisconsin), Topanga Film Festival (California), Tampere Film Festival (Finland) and the Sundance Film Festival (Utah). We also plan to submit the film to online festivals and have screenings at select venues.
We have two overarching goals for the project:
1. Create an entertaining and meaningful film that showcases the talents of our creative team, crew and actors.
2. To promote Independent Filmmaking in our area (Western Wisconsin).
We’re looking for volunteers to help crew the film. We're also planning to cast local actors and extras. Please join our mailing list and/or follow us on Facebook for updates.
facebook.com/pages/North-Passage-Film/260025357363722