The Angel of Lake Bastrop is a homecoming story with elements of mystery and magical realism in a Rust Belt Gothic setting. It follows a disaffected journalist who returns to her hometown when her mother joins a religious cult that claims to have a grief-healing angel. While investigating, she confronts an old flame turned cult leader, the world she left behind, and a loss she’s avoided for years.
Our film will conjure a whole world using:
- unique locations – an abandoned train station and an underground tunnel
- highly textured production design – creating the look and feel of a new religion born of rust and decay
- hybrid animation (stop motion with live action) – in a shattering encounter, a room–and a mystery–literally come alive
The Angel of Lake Bastrop will build on a framework of memory and strangeness that you could reach out and touch.
In confronting absence, this film grapples with loss, faith in what you cannot see, and the complexities of leaving and returning home.
The Angel of Lake Bastrop doesn’t shortchange grief in the pursuit of a narrative of overcoming. But takes loss seriously as something more than just plot point or thin character motivation. It’s about the promises of faith and the search for answers, and the pursuit of self-negation as a path to divinity. It’s about returning to a place and feeling like it’s haunted – like you’re the one haunting it. And it’s about facing what you keep trying to escape.
Our story uses the cinematic medium to its full potential – in documenting decay, the way a film can conjure a whole world, the unique relationship of the medium to absence and presence. We’re using stop motion as one way to craft an encounter that is not merely verbal but that breaks expectations about the medium’s form. Our stop motion isn’t like claymation, but life-sized, a room where everything you see is alive and connected, merging and splitting off to remake new forms.
Who We Are
Jorge I. Cotte is a filmmaker and writer pursuing his MFA in Film & TV Directing at DePaul University. In his work, he explores what remains unspoken between people, the different faces of intimacy and artifice, and the messiness of how humans spin stories. He believes that great films are born out of deep collaboration, where a group of artists are empowered and inspired by each other’s unique experiences and imaginings. With roots in Miami and Houston, he has lived in Chicago for almost 15 years.
Crew of DePaul students and faculty:
Producers: Minkyo Park and Van Wilson
Director of Photography: Destinee Russell
Production Designer: Anna Kotecki
Animator: Isabella Favis
Our Goals + Where You Come In
This is our most ambitious short film yet—blending live action, stop-motion animation, and practical effects to bring this haunting story to life. Thanks to access to gear and volunteer labor, every dollar you contribute goes directly to what shows up on screen: locations, production design, and post-production.
Here’s exactly what your support makes possible:
No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or returns on investment are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe.
Thank you for your support!
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