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FUNDRAISER FOR DÉRIVE FILM!

by Lianne Sonia Walden

Dérive, a whimsical and surreal short film about spontaneous connection, public rituals, and talking to strangers, is currently in post-production. We need your help to finish the film!

INDIE FILM TAKES A VILLAGE!
 
We have finished principal photography for Dérive (spoiler alert: the footage looks stunning!)and now need to raise the remaining $13,900 of our budget $49,700 budget to cover deferred artist fees and complete post-production, which includes editing, sound design and mixing, color correction, original music composition, special effects, promotional materials, festival and distribution fees.
 
Please help us cross the finish line so that we can share this beautiful film with the world! 
 
* This film was directed, produced, and designed by women. Considering 76% of the films created in 2022 were helmed by men, now is a great time to support female filmmakers. Check out the vision and read about our award-winning creative team HERE!
 
Your contribution is 100% tax-deductible! Let your hard-earned money fund more art in the world instead of the IRS. If you don't care about the tax deduction, please help us avoid the fiscal sponsorship fee by donating directly to [email protected] (Zelle) or @liannewrites (Venmo). But by all means grab that deduction if you like!
 
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REWARDSEvery bit helps!
  • BELIEVER | $10 or more - all contributors will be thanked in the closing credits and be invited to a livestream of the film before its official release!
  • PATRON | $150 or more - the above rewards plusPDF of the shooting script and a digital soundtrack!
  • COLLABORATOR | $300 or more - the above rewards plus a signed printed poster! 
  • PRODUCING PARTNER | $500 or more prominent placement in the credits, and an invitation to attend a Q & A with the creative team (virtual or in person)
  • ASSOCIATE PRODUCER | $1,000 or more - the above rewards plus a behind-the-scenes printed scrapbook documenting the entire process. 
  • CO-PRODUCER | $2,500 or more - the above rewards plus an invitation to attend a rehearsal (virtual or in person) and a digital production bible with storyboards, visual references, design photos, and production notes, so you can be privy to all the planning that goes into making a film. 
  • EXECUTIVE PRODUCER | $5,000 or more - the above rewards and credits, plus an invitation to appear as an extra in the film and receive a professional photoshoot for you and/or your family with visionary photographer Devin Armstrong. Not in NYC? Internationally acclaimed Argentinian muralist Mariela Ajras will paint a portrait for you and/or your family (canvas will be delivered).
  • THE (GENDER NEUTRAL) GODFATHER | $10,000 or more - the above rewards, plus a personalized dérive imbued with magic and wonder, designed just for you, in the city of your choice. We'd love to create a meaningful experience for you.
 
ABOUT THE FILM: Dérive is a short film about Helene, an uptight book publisher who embarks on a Surrealist odyssey - a dérive - in the dead of winter to release her ex-wife Yasmine's ashes on Coney Island, where she encounters an enclave of off-season circus performers who help her ritualize her grief and find catharsis through whimsy. The film is a visual treatise on the art of wandering and a cinematic love letter to the oddball characters, spontaneous encounters, and hidden places that make New York such a spectacular city in which to wander. It celebrates public rituals, human connection, and the strangeness of strangers. 
 
INSPIRATION: The premise of this film is inspired by the theory of "dérive", French for "drift", posited by philosopher Guy Debord as a revolutionary strategy for the disruption and liberation of everyday life through unplanned experimental journeys in urban landscapes guided by psycho-geographical prompts and spontaneous encounters. It's a practice that cultivates heightened awareness, deep presence, and curiosity while counteracting the social alienation of late capitalism. Guy Debord was a founding member of Situationist International, a Dada-derived movement of artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. 
 
REFERENCES: The film draws aesthetic inspiration from Soviet filmmaker Sergei Parajanov's impressionistic poetry (The Color of Pomegranates), theater director Robert Wilson's dynamic stage compositions (Einstein on the Beach), Wes Anderson's post-modern eccentricity and kinesthetic rhythm (The French Dispatch), and Federico Fellini's liminal dreamscapes (La Strada).
 
PRODUCTION TEAM: Director - Lianne Walden, Producer - Ellie Jackson, Cinematographer - Andres Karu, Production Associate - Emma Speer, Costume Designer - Kate Fry, Assistant Director - Jon DiMaio, Art Direction - Hamilton Guillon, Production Design - Sergio Maza, Creative Consultant/Photographer - Devin Armstrong