Madness Incarnate: Short Film

 

As a struggling writer during the pandemic, Mikah battles with his own demons as he falls into a monotonous routine of isolation and self-doubt. He yearns to prove to himself (and to the world) that he’s capable of succeeding in his field. However, as he continues putting more pressure on himself, his mental health takes a turn for the worst.

 

Will Mikah overcome these obstacles and emerge victorious on the other side? Or will he succumb to the darkness and allow it to imprison him? The journey through the inner-workings of his mind unfolds in an experimental narrative that’s full of twists and turns.

 

 

Madness Incarnate is a mind-bending thriller that involves dark comedy and experimental elements. Rather than placing the audience in a more omniscient vantage point, we purposely tell the story from Mikah’s POV. We experience the events in the story with him and because of that, we can resonate more with his feelings of anxiety and insecurity. 

 

In the beginning of the film, things seem relatively normal. However, as we move through our story, we heighten the experimental elements to reflect Mikah’s increasing mental instability. The pace of the film speeds up, layers of sounds compound together, and the colors on screen become darker and colder. The changes to Mikah’s external world parallel those of his internal mind.

 

 

“I want to make a statement about overcoming one’s inner demons. We are all our own worst critics and sometimes, it can be difficult to conjure up enough self-confidence to keep moving forward. Oftentimes, we forget that we are in control of our negative thoughts; our negative thoughts should never be in control of us. 

 

In February of 2020, I approached Sia Zami with this general idea and he helped me transform my script into something that was deeply personal to both of us. Even though we had very different experiences during the pandemic, we both experienced more self-doubt than ever before. This inspired us to come up with Madness Incarnate. 

 

I hope that audiences will be able to relate to this story and are inspired to overcome whatever is internally holding them back.” 

 

–Olivia Wong

 

 

Paul Rush (playing Mikah) is a phenomenal actor who also has a lot of experience in film and theater production. Most recently, he was cast in the feature film "Another Girl" and will be producing the world premiere of John Patrick Shanley's "The Moon The Stars"! 

 

Sia Zami (playing Hakim) is a talented actor who co-wrote this film with our director, Olivia Wong. You may have seen him featured in Lady Gaga’s “911” music video and he has a few other projects in the works to look out for!

 

 

 

We hope to raise our goal of $2500 through a supportive audience on Seed & Spark. This funding will allow us to cover the bare minimum costs of entering Madness Incarnate into film festivals and premiering the film at a private screening event. 

 

We have already raised enough money to fund production and post-production and are so thankful for all of the support thus-far! This final round of crowdfunding is to get this film out to the world! Simply making the film isn’t enough–we need people to see our work and are asking for your help to do that!

 

 

 Thank you for contributing to our project! Your name will be listed under the credits and in IMDB into the "Special Thanks" section. 

Thank you for donating! This incentive will be everything in Incentive 1, plus a private link to the film the day after the in-person screening event. 

Your donation is very much appreciated! This incentive will be everything in Incentive 1&2, plus a poster. Poster size is 12x16 and will be signed by the lead cast and the director.

Wow! Thank you friend! This incentive includes everything in Incentives 1-3, as well as a VIP invitation to the premiere of the film, located at the famous Marilyn Monroe Theatre in Hollywood. 

We see you rocking the Associate Producer Status! Woop woop!! This incentive includes all Incentives 1-4, as well as Associate Producer status in the film credits and on IMDB.