KEMZA

by Allysa Sollesa

  • $15,000.00

    Goal
  • $200.00

    Raised
  • 138

    Days to go
Raised Percent :
1.33%
Minimum amount is $ Maximum amount is $
$
New York City, United States (US)

A cinematic essay on swamps as (sur)regional entities

A reflexive cinematic essay delving into the multifaceted nature of swamps as transformational bioregional entities, while also exploring their mythological, political, and cultural significance within our current times. This project entails a journey to several swamp regions, aiming to amplify the diverse voices inhabiting these biomes. Through interviews with scientists, amateur entomologists, activists, poets, thinkers, oral storytellers, and more, alongside the voices of the swamps themselves, a symphony of intertwined narratives emerges.

The project currently focuses on four distinct swamps—Beljarica, Everglades, Atchafalaya, and Guayas—each representing unique yet analogous imaginariums of our age, surrounded or submerged by the vibrant ecosystem of the wetlands. In Beljarica, mythological creatures are entwined with the history now buried under concrete jungles. In the Everglades, a roadside attraction serves as a reminder of the colonial project and its enduring impact on the Americas’ political landscape. In the Atchafalaya we meet both a thinker and an activist relating their own world-visions in relation to a coming apocalypse. In Guayas, a pagan, centuries-old spiritist tradition endures, offering insight into the coexistence of diverse experiences within the same bioregion. Oral storytellers, fishermen, mythmakers interlacing the disparate landscapes they all represent.

Scientific practice, ecological activism, intergenerational fishing practices, subaltern spiritual traditions, and local oral legends are all enriched by the dynamic energies of the swamp, providing entry points that extend beyond our traditional understanding of these environments. Through a speculative experimental documentary format, this project intricately weaves together these diverse narratives, delving into their interconnectedness within the broader context of our world, the implications of our lost futures, and the expansive possibilities of worldbuilding.


Director’s Bio

Jean-Jacques Martinod is a filmmaker, media artist, film curator, abyssal researcher, and clandestine anarchivist.

His work is engaged within extended modes of noetic and intersubjective experience manifest in an ongoing practice of documentary cinema. The human/non-human, folk mythology, anemic memory, sur-regional biomes, hydra techno-logics, relating with living worlds and engaging in poetic mediation within these systems and their extended cohabitant.

Martinod’s work has been showcased in leading festivals, museums and cinematheques, including International Film Festival Rotterdam, FIDMarseille, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Mar del Plata, First Look, PHI Centre Montreal, Cinemateca do MAM Rio de Janeiro, Cinemateca Nacional del Ecuador, Cinemateca de Bogotá, the European Media Arts Festival, among many others. 

Co-Producer
Fernando MacFarlane is a Mexican filmmaker based out of New Orleans. His background as an on-site documentarian spills into his narrative work, drawing cinematic fables out of uncharted environments and forgotten rumors. His films explore life in decay, and the tangled, unforgiving relationship of the present with the past. He has produced work for clients such as The New Orleans Film Office, The Louisiana Film Entertainment Association, IATSE, and musicians such as The Batiste Brothers Band and Trombone Shorty. Though specializing in indie cinema, he has worked on camera and production teams for studio projects such as RENFIELD, I’M A VIRGO, HAUNTED MANSION, and THE IRON CLAW.
 
Co-Editor

Edem Dotse is a Ghanaian media artist and filmmaker currently based in Boulder, Colorado, where he is pursuing a PhD in Emergent Technologies and Media Art Practices. He is a product of prosperity gospel, imported telenovelas, hiplife music and YouTube comment sections. His work explores spirituality, family dynamics and diaspora identity. His work has screened at the BFI London, the New Orleans Film Festival, the New York African Film Festival, as well as in exhibitions in San Francisco, Tokyo, Yaoundé and South Africa. He was recently awarded the Science New Wave Fund for his project Brick Walled World. 

Sound Designer

Alex Lane is a Canadian sound artist primarily working in documentary and experimental film. He is permanently obsessed with recording ephemeral and unknown sounds which he incorporates into his cinematic compositions, as well collaborating on a network of worldwide field recording sound libraries. He strives to work on highly collaborative projects that use sound as an active storytelling device. His recent work has won awards in Visions du Réel, Mimesis Documentary Festival, while also screening in IDFA, Camden International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, RIDM, among many oth


DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE.   Please note donations made via credit card incur 3% fees.  If that’s something you want to avoid, email [email protected] to set up a wire or bank transfer. Or, checks can be sent to UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Ave., Ridgewood NY, 11385 (please make it clear it’s for this projectby writing KEMZA on the memo line).

Rewards

$50.00

Personalized Thank You Postcard - A collaged art-object postcard from the director sent anywhere in the world via snail mail

0 backers

$100.00

Downloadable 2K version of the finished film before its release- This also Includes a personalized postcard

2 backers

$500.00

Special Thanks in the credits - Your name will be included in the closing credits under the title "This film would like to thank...". This will also include a postcard and a downloadable 2K version of the finished film.

0 backers

$1,000.00

Work-in-Progress Screenings + Special Thanks - Your name will be included in the closing credits under the title "This film was made possible with the support of...". Additionally, you will be invited to sit on remote screenings of the work-in-progress versions of the film and contribute in round table conversations with the key post-production members of the crew.

0 backers

$5,000.00

Executive Producer - You are now an integral part in the making of this film. You will be invited to see preliminary cuts of the film, where you will have intimate one-on-one conversations with the director and editors at key points during post-production all the way to the project's release. You will be credited as Executive Producer. This includes all previous rewards as well.

0 backers
Name Donate Amount Date
Leslie Bischoff $100.00 October 19, 2024
Michael Bishop $100.00 October 16, 2024