I See a Darkness

El Paso, Texas | Film Feature

Drama

James Arrabito

1 Campaigns | Texas, United States

Green Light

This campaign raised $10,235 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.

123 supporters | followers

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The goal of the film is to increase awareness of a film industry in El Paso. The story will help create empathy for struggling artists that don’t fit into a mainstream ideology of art. Your pledge will help complete post production and get the film released to audiences everywhere.

About The Project

  • The Story
  • Wishlist
  • Updates
  • The Team
  • Community

Mission Statement

The film is about a photographer going through a life altering change that just happens to be in a border city. The cast and crew are from Mexico and the US, consisting of underrepresented artists from race, gender, and class, working together to create a film focused on an artists struggle.

The Story

***UPDATE**** STRETCH GOAL ENABLED $10,000*******

Thank you all for the support! We've reached our main goal for post-production and are now going after our stretch goal!

 

Now that we can finish post we'll be able to submit to festivals. We are stretching our goal to cover festival fees and deliverables. 

 

  • Festival fees = $500
  • DCP (Digital Cinema Projection) = between $1,500 - $3,000

 

Thank you for all the support so far!! Let's get into some Top Tier Festivals and tell them all about how awesome it is to make films in El Paso TX!! 

 

I See a Darkness 

A film about finding meaning in your work and life.

 

 

Alex is a commercial photographer jaded with his job from creating uninspired content. His artistic frustration manifests itself in a dysfunctional relationship. In a desperate attempt to feel alive he falls in with a prostitute which only exacerbates his existential angst.

 

I See a Darkness explores how our artistic ambitions can affect our abilities to function in what is deemed a normal society, but within the context of a multicultural border city. Furthermore, exploring the differences between a popular marketable art as oppose to an art that comes from a deeper set of values, in the case of this film Alex as a photographer and his commercial job. A big question posed is how can the artist navigate the expectations of a popular culture’s ideas of art and success and still create meaningful projects, and what does that look like for the artists relationships and personal life.

Help us finish post production so we can get this film out into the world. We have made an engaging story without the violence and untruthful stereotypes typically associated with border towns in film. We wanted to show the interconnection between the cities of El Paso and Juarez, not only within the story of the film but also in the execution of the film.

Thousands of people from the El Paso and Juarez area live a binational life, crossing the border daily for work, school, shopping and visiting family. The neighboring cities and their people are so culturally connected, it often feels like one big city. As the crew started coming together it became apparent that our vision was shared with many filmmakers across the border. It occurred to us that the production is a microcosm of what it is to work and live in a border city. We all work together to achieve a common goal, we don’t shut each other out and marginalize one another. This film is a product of that ideology and we want to share all types of stories that can happen on the border.

 

We need funds to complete post production and start submitting to festivals.

The money will be used to hire skilled artists:

 

Editor = $2,000

Sound Designer/Mixer = $2,000

Color Correction = $2,000

Writing/Recording of Score = $2,000

 

We are talking with some very talented people to work on the film but need to pay for their services. The very minimum amount we need is $8,000, although any funds we receive over our goal will go to film festival fees, marketing materials (poster, website, trailer), and deliverables for distribution.

 

Accolades

Screenplay was an Official Selection of the Global Script Challenge at the Oaxaca International Film Festival.

 

Awarded a production grant from MCAD's Local Filmaker Program. 

 

 

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Please share this campaign with everyone you know, the more people involved in film the better it is for our communities to thrive in the arts!

Wishlist

Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.

Cash Pledge

Costs $0

Editor

Costs $2,000

We need to hire an editor to help us do a fine cut of the film and some light VFX work.

Sound Design/Mix

Costs $2,000

The sound mixer will make the sound elements in the film flow helping to create tone and story.

Color Correction

Costs $2,000

Color is also important for tone and story and makes the footage look like film.

Film Score

Costs $2,000

Music is the sound of the soul and heart of the film. This will go toward having the score mixed.

About This Team

Meet the Crew!

 

James Arrabito - Writer/Director/Producer

James is a writer, director, producer, and founder of the production company Centennial Films. His first feature, Brooklyn Unemployed, won Best Narrative Feature at the Greenpoint Film Festival, and toured the United States festival circuit. While studying at Brooklyn College in NYC, his short film We Can Get Them for You Wholesale won the National Board of Review grant for best student film. During this time he also interned for Ted Hope and Anne Carey at the production company This is That. I See a Darkness is his second feature film. 

 

Adriana Montenegro - Producer

Adriana was born in El Paso, TX, and received her B.A. in English Literature - Screenwriting, at St. Edward’s University. She was property master and assistant stage manager for various productions at the Mary Moody Northern Theatre, in Austin, TX, and worked as a sound technician at the Fusebox Festival. She produced and directed an adaptation of The Green Bird at the Cathedral of Junk, and the short film Someone to Hold the Umbrella. Recently, she was camera operator and sound technician for the documentary Swimming with Byron, filmed in London, Venice, Rome and Switzerland.

 

Genaro J Limon - Director of Photography

J. Genaro Limon is a director of photography, director, and writer located in El Paso, TX and Cd. Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico.Graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso 2015, bachelors degree in Digital Media Production and minor in Film. El Paso Film Festival Official Selection short films (2018) for La Vida Que No Ves & La Casa De Mati Awarded for 5 Addy’s, 1 silver Addy for television local campaign. 2 silver and 2 gold Addys for cinematography.

 

Laura Muñoz - Production Designer

Laura is a visual artist and filmmaker from the border city of El Paso, and currently working out of Austin. She is interested in the exploration of symbolism to engage reality with micro-poetry. Laura has created experimental films focusing in art direction. Since she started her career as a filmmaker in 2013 she has gained experience in different fields as director, producer, and editor. Her short film, Big Bang, won Best Experimental Film at the Transform Film Festival in 2018.

 

Jim Ward - Composer

Jim Ward is a North American musician. He resides in El Paso, TX. 

Meet the Cast!

 

Frank Leal - Alex

Born in El Paso, Texas, Frank studied Philosophy and Theatre at The University of Texas at El Paso. He later worked under the mentorship of Jenny Lord of Juillard and has built a career in theatre, performing in several productions including King Lear, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, The Fever, and The Pillowman.

 

Laura Corral - Nicole

Born and raised in far west Texas, Laura founded and currently performs with Mountain Movement Dance Company. While working on her BFA in dance performance, Laura began to explore acting through university classes and productions as well as performing original works with The Border Theatre. She has studied modern dance with the Limón Institute in New York City and recently performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017.

 

Krista Licón Oppenheimer - Ana

Born in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Krista graduated with a bachelors degree in Theatre Arts from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua in 2017. She has worked as an actress in the play Polvo de Hadas by Luis Santillán from 2013 to 2017 in the role of Amatista. In 2015, she played the role of Soledad and Dolores in the play Tercia de Reinas by Elena Guiochins, directed by Karla Venegas. In 2016 she played Estela in Nocturno de la Alcoba by Mario Cantú, directed by Martin Hernández. She has appeared in many commercials, advertisements, Interceramic in 2017, and Jarritos Mexico in 2018 with Intelia Films. She has appeared in three films in 2018, Acta Est Fábula, a short film written and directed by Persia Campbell, in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, she worked as a double in La Caja a Mexican film by Lucía Films, directed by Lorenzo Vigas, and she has a supporting role in the feature film I See a Darkness.

Current Team

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