Call the Sandman (a short film)

About

Call The Sandman began as so many stories do with a girl. Her name was Hana and she was my neighbor growing up in Germany. She was my first real crush and I never told her how I felt. It was only after she and her parents returned to Japan that I discovered my passion for writing and the words I did not have before. So I wrote a story wherein a young man yearns for his childhood sweetheart, and goes to a lab where scientists create an artificial reality where the two can be together. The story of Call the Sandman has changed many times over the year, but its central theme of longing for lost love has always stayed the same and I think that’s why it resonates.
- Nathan Liu (Writer)

Director's Statement

When I first read Call the Sandman I was immediately intrigued by how well the story and characters captured the sense of loneliness when living in a major city. As people there is no greater comfort than our a shared intimacy and it is through these shared experiences that we create the fabric for our dreams. Alex and Izumi’s intimacy is what grounds this unusual story and world they inhabit. I hope to bring this unique little gem of a story into reality the way Izumi and Alex make us believe it can. - Lou Blackmon (Director, Producer)

CHARACTERS

Izumi Ishimoto - Played by Momo Judy Ave

Japanese expat - in her 20s when we see her in her youth and in her mid to late 40s in present day (2044). Intelligent and a tad shy, but not without a sense of humor. After her relationship with Alex, Izumi has married and had a family. But she has always had some lingering questions about what a life with Alex could have been like. With the treatment having become mainstream she no longer even remembers what he looks like, only fleeting memories they shared.

Alex Morales - Played by Lenny Thomas

American and native New Yorker. Same age as Izumi when we see him in the two stages of his life. Confident without being cocky, creative and an extrovert who carries himself with a certain comforting charm. Despite the two decades that have past since he last saw Izumi he has thought about her constantly and believes he missed out on an important part of life without her. He sees the same advertisement for the Sandman Corp. and decides to visit the Sandman Corp.

Dr. Esperanza Haddid - Played by Silvana González

Is the lead researcher and physician at a facility that claims it can create fully-immersive, life-like simulations without monitors or computers. Professional, but playful in her interactions with colleagues and patients. She is someone who can put on a collared shirt and exhibit social grace with equal ease. She is routinely mocked for her claims by both the public and gov’t. officials, but she knows that her invention has the potential to help her fellow citizens deal with grief and loneliness and the general malaise of their dystopian society.

We are seeking funding for production!

We hope to raise $11,600 to complete principal photography by mid-June. We have so many wonderfully talented people working on this project who want to make this film the best version it can be. In order to do that, we need your support. Every contribution brings us closer to that goal.

Please Follow & Share!

We are on Facebook, Instagram, and we have a dedicated website (callthesandman.com). Please help us get as many eyes on this as possible! This project has been in the making for a while now and with your support we can bring this story from the page to the screen. Thank you!