Le Prince du Cinema: A short drama film

Reni Terezova is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hello. I’m Reni, the producer of Le Prince du Cinema, a short drama film that is also our graduation project. In this Victorian gothic drama, a photographer in 1880s Leeds tries to create the world’s first moving image. Confusing the lines between fiction and reality, Louis slowly realises that something darker has been praying for his success all along.

Tagline: “I wish to bring movement to my photographs. I want to capture the chaos before the click.”

Producer’s statement:

As an immigrant child, my family had always wanted me to learn something that would make me money and let's say they were not extremely happy when I went with filmmaking. However, I couldn’t escape the pull that films had on me. I love how some films could take me away from reality and insert me into a different world, so I wanted to be able to do that for other people. I wanted to make films that can take people away from reality and their problems for a little bit. Our graduation piece is a pure example of what filmmaking is about.

A project that contains history that we all know but also dives into the mystery and explores the unknown behind every single creator. The darkness that goes hand in hand with our muse. We will take you on a ride from a simple touch of love to making the unknown known… however the path is not always bright, and the emotions get blurry until we face ourselves in the mirror.

The project is dear to me and the whole crew as we are not just graduating but also getting ready to face a new reality that is coming with a strong force in our industry, which is AI. It is time to dig deep into our history and show where it all began.

Director’s statement:

In my very first lesson at film school, we watched the first film ever made, shot just a few miles away from where I was sitting. Titled the Roundhay Gardens Scene, by Louis Le Prince. His name was unfamiliar to me, as it had been buried under the weight of more well known inventors. As the lesson went on, our lecturer stated that before Louis could debut this new invention, he disappeared without a trace. He also remarked that within the film, you could see a reflection in the window - “The Devil”, he grinned.

Two years later, I still can not spot this reflection/devil my lecturer had pointed out, but it did inspire me to write Le Prince du Cinéma. Influenced by 19th century gothic literature, such as Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and cinematically fuelled by the German expressionist works such as Nosferatu, I wrote my own gothic piece. Full of shadows, reflections and disappearing photographs, we follow Louis’ journey into creating the first film.

But in particular, I wanted to write this piece for 2024 due to my feelings about artificial intelligence and it’s danger to creatives. We are in a climate where the creator and creation are dangerously blurring into one, often with the latter stealing from the former. Using the story of the creation of the first film camera, I wished to highlight 19th century technological advances with our modern day equivalent of Ai.

DOP statement:

Hello! As the DoP for Le Prince du Cinéma, I envision the film with a visual style inspired by German Expressionism, using chiaroscuro lighting to play with light and shadow film. (Shadow plays a huge part in our film!) By blurring the line between reality and creativity, we employ various camera techniques and a mix of digital and 16mm formats to craft a timeless aesthetic that brings to life Louis Le Prince, the father of cinematography.

Where will your funding go? Your donation will help us source the set, props, and costumes, as well as sound, casting, and everything else that goes into the magic of the movies! Essentially, you will help us bring this film to life, providing us with invaluable experience on our filmmaking journeys! We need your help to make this film a reality.

Incentives:

With your generous donation, we can make this ambitious project come to life. All donations above £5 are thanked with a range of rewards. The more you donate, the more you receive. In order to be entitled to your rewards, please donate using an email you can be contacted by. If you donate anonymously, we will not be able to contact you with rewards. If you would like to donate but do not want any of the rewards, please donate anonymously; that way, you will not be contacted by us.

£5 - Special thanks credit in the film

£15 - high resolution copy of the poster + credit in the film

£30 - printed poster + credit in the film

£50 - invitation to an online screening of the film - you will be one of the first people to see it! + digi/printed poster + credit in the film

£100 - all of the above, plus the title of ‘executive producer’ in the end credits

Crew:

Producer: Reni Terezova