Lake Pluto
New York City, New York | Film Short
Sci-Fi, Thriller
Out on a solo camping trip overwhelmed millennial Kore seeks clarity, but may get the answers she was looking for from an unexpected visitor - her eerie doppelgänger. Back in the 1960s at the same lake, teenager Laura is magnetically drawn to her own double, while her sister Janie watches in horror.
Lake Pluto
New York City, New York | Film Short
Sci-Fi, Thriller
Green Light
This campaign raised $5,580 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
35 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Out on a solo camping trip overwhelmed millennial Kore seeks clarity, but may get the answers she was looking for from an unexpected visitor - her eerie doppelgänger. Back in the 1960s at the same lake, teenager Laura is magnetically drawn to her own double, while her sister Janie watches in horror.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Story:
In 1968 teenager Laura, once a bright-eyed curious girl, lies drained of energy on the shore of a supernatural lake. Mournfully accepting she is now a prisoner of the lake, her new life-force, she crawls into the glimmering water and disappears into its depths.
In Brooklyn in 2021, millennial Kore, fiercely independent but too stubborn for her own good, is determined to take a solo camping trip in order to clear her mind. As she packs her car, she makes a promise to her eager younger sister Mel: when she returns, she’ll help convince their neurotic mother that Mel is ready to move in with her sister in the big city.
Kore hits the road, but it is not long before she starts receiving hot and cold voice messages from her toxic boyfriend Jason. Deep down Kore may already know the answer to her doomed romance, but it’s gonna take someone else to dish it to her straight.
As it turns out, Lake Pluto is the perfect place for a little self-reflection and cold hard truths. Its shining surface isn’t the only mirror around, as it offers up Kore her eerie and dripping wet doppelgänger. Conveniently, the Other Kore seems to have clarity on the issues Kore came to the woods to untangle. But this Other Kore, is she there just to walk Kore through her problems, or does she have her own plans? And what about Laura, didn’t she disappear into this lake years ago?
The Why:
I started writing this story back in the fall of 2020 when the pandemic had many things closed down and all I wanted to do was leave NYC - to get away to nature. As I took hikes outside of the city at Teatown Nature Reserve, I thought about what was on my mind as a millennial woman and wrote that into the main character, Kore.
And then, I decided to add the supernatural twist. After all, don’t we all kind of wish we had someone to incessantly listen to our problems? And like Kore, probably the only person who’d really endlessly listen to us drone on about our burdens is ourselves. I want people to see themselves in the main character, to feel Kore’s story could be their own. I think we all have a fascination - even before Instagram - to self-observe and obsess. To see the world reflect us, like Narcissus. It’s only natural, and yet, we know how poorly that story ended.
As for the potential malicious intentions of this Other Kore, I was in part inspired by a ghost story I read in Highlights Magazine as a kid that I just couldn’t shake, as well as various mythology. Fun fact: Kore is another name for Persephone, from Greek mythology. I’ll let you marinate on what that means.
I was inspired by films and television shows such as Top of the Lake, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Annihilation, Dark, and Katla. Works that really give a sense of place and nature through the cinematographic choices and sound design that heighten an otherworldly feel and the microscopic scale of woman to nature.
I was also inspired by films such as The One I Love, for walking that line of suspense, comedy and exploration of quotidian relationships. As you may have noticed from this list, I’m drawn to stories with strong female leads, especially those with more than one woman in lead roles. It’s no accident that I wrote my story about women and sisters. This is one of my tenets: championing women in film, both in front of and behind the camera. That means writing roles for women. Lots of them.
The Production & Post-Production Plan:
We started shooting Lake Pluto in the Fall of 2021 with self-funded seed money and were able to continue shooting because of our 1st Seed & Spark campaign, which was successful in raising 110% of our goal. Our EPs' funds plus the campaign ensured that we were able to get all of the shots we needed and we wrapped shooting pick-up shots in May of 2022.
We have started the post production process of mixing sound, composing original music, and applying visual effects and color.
How You Can Help:
Lake Pluto is almost done but we need your help to cross that final finish line! Your contributions to the campaign will not only ensure that can we complete these final important steps of the post-production process, but also help us apply to film festivals and get the word about Lake Pluto out there. We will wrap post-production on Lake Pluto in July 2022 and have already started applying to a few festivals with works-in-progress, Our goal is to submit to at least 10 film festivals, locally and nationally.
We need you to get us through this final challenge. Join the Lake Pluto Post Production campaign and release Lake Pluto to the world!
By contributing to our campaign, you are directly supporting women in film and helping us to reach our financial goals! Any contribution, big or small, is impactful and greatly appreciated and becomes a building block towards getting Lake Pluto seen. And we have some pretty fun thank-yous at each of our pledge levels. Your name in the official credits? Dope! Exclusive first peek at a scene from Lake Pluto? Hell, yeah! Early access to the final film? Where do you sign up???
Once you become a contributor, don't forget to Share & Tag us on socials: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lake-pluto-postproduction
Feel free to use the following to spread the word:
"I just became a proud contributor to sci-fi thriller short @LakePlutoFilm. https://seedandspark.com/fund/lake-pluto-postproduction
Check out this women-led production from writer-director Biz Jones @bizfiz and follow the link their bio on @LakePlutoFilm to become a supporter yourself and catch some sneak-peaks!
Can’t contribute financially, but got mad socials skills? Follow and share this campaign and us on social! In order to keep our pledges to the campaign, we have to reach 80% of our goal. So spread the word about this campaign and you’re helping us out a lot. Share our campaign URL: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lake-pluto-postproduction on IG and tag @LakePlutoFilm, the writer-director @BizFiz, and the Director of Photography @EmilyKordovich.
Can’t wait to share updates with you as we move through post-production and on to film festivals.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Music & Sound Mix
Costs $1,500
Covers part of cost for a professional sound-mix and original music.
Music Licensing
Costs $500
Cost of licensing non-original songs in the film - including one sung by lead Jam Murphy, aka Kore!
Visual Effects
Costs $1,200
Something out-of-this-world is happening at the lake. A VFX artist will create this sci-fi element.
Film Festival Submission Fees
Costs $500
Helps to cover entry fees to 10-15 festivals. Help get Lake Pluto to the big screen!
DCP
Costs $500
Screening films in theaters requires converting the film into a DCP file, delivered on a hard drive.
Share this update!
About This Team
As someone who identifies as a woman and multiracial, growing up I didn’t see enough strong characters that represented my identities in movies and tv. Now that I’m in the position to actually hire crew and cast, and I feel enormously privileged to be able to bring on women and BIPOC. It’s damn exciting. Here’s our women-led crew & cast:
Crew
Biz Jones - Writer, Director & EP
Emily Kordovich - Director of Photography
Alexa Boyd - 1st AD/Producer
Ausar English - EP
Spencer Staats - 1st AC
Helena Holland Breger - Gaffer
Christopher Mitchell - Gaffer/1st AC
Dexter Fenner - Sound
Rafi Ramirez - Catering & PA Extraordinaire
Seth Boyd - Wilderness Guide
Cast:
Jam Murphy - Kore
Raquel Orendáin Shrestha - Laura
Hannah Sobon - Janie
Michelle Marlowe - Jane
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Story:
In 1968 teenager Laura, once a bright-eyed curious girl, lies drained of energy on the shore of a supernatural lake. Mournfully accepting she is now a prisoner of the lake, her new life-force, she crawls into the glimmering water and disappears into its depths.
In Brooklyn in 2021, millennial Kore, fiercely independent but too stubborn for her own good, is determined to take a solo camping trip in order to clear her mind. As she packs her car, she makes a promise to her eager younger sister Mel: when she returns, she’ll help convince their neurotic mother that Mel is ready to move in with her sister in the big city.
Kore hits the road, but it is not long before she starts receiving hot and cold voice messages from her toxic boyfriend Jason. Deep down Kore may already know the answer to her doomed romance, but it’s gonna take someone else to dish it to her straight.
As it turns out, Lake Pluto is the perfect place for a little self-reflection and cold hard truths. Its shining surface isn’t the only mirror around, as it offers up Kore her eerie and dripping wet doppelgänger. Conveniently, the Other Kore seems to have clarity on the issues Kore came to the woods to untangle. But this Other Kore, is she there just to walk Kore through her problems, or does she have her own plans? And what about Laura, didn’t she disappear into this lake years ago?
The Why:
I started writing this story back in the fall of 2020 when the pandemic had many things closed down and all I wanted to do was leave NYC - to get away to nature. As I took hikes outside of the city at Teatown Nature Reserve, I thought about what was on my mind as a millennial woman and wrote that into the main character, Kore.
And then, I decided to add the supernatural twist. After all, don’t we all kind of wish we had someone to incessantly listen to our problems? And like Kore, probably the only person who’d really endlessly listen to us drone on about our burdens is ourselves. I want people to see themselves in the main character, to feel Kore’s story could be their own. I think we all have a fascination - even before Instagram - to self-observe and obsess. To see the world reflect us, like Narcissus. It’s only natural, and yet, we know how poorly that story ended.
As for the potential malicious intentions of this Other Kore, I was in part inspired by a ghost story I read in Highlights Magazine as a kid that I just couldn’t shake, as well as various mythology. Fun fact: Kore is another name for Persephone, from Greek mythology. I’ll let you marinate on what that means.
I was inspired by films and television shows such as Top of the Lake, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Annihilation, Dark, and Katla. Works that really give a sense of place and nature through the cinematographic choices and sound design that heighten an otherworldly feel and the microscopic scale of woman to nature.
I was also inspired by films such as The One I Love, for walking that line of suspense, comedy and exploration of quotidian relationships. As you may have noticed from this list, I’m drawn to stories with strong female leads, especially those with more than one woman in lead roles. It’s no accident that I wrote my story about women and sisters. This is one of my tenets: championing women in film, both in front of and behind the camera. That means writing roles for women. Lots of them.
The Production & Post-Production Plan:
We started shooting Lake Pluto in the Fall of 2021 with self-funded seed money and were able to continue shooting because of our 1st Seed & Spark campaign, which was successful in raising 110% of our goal. Our EPs' funds plus the campaign ensured that we were able to get all of the shots we needed and we wrapped shooting pick-up shots in May of 2022.
We have started the post production process of mixing sound, composing original music, and applying visual effects and color.
How You Can Help:
Lake Pluto is almost done but we need your help to cross that final finish line! Your contributions to the campaign will not only ensure that can we complete these final important steps of the post-production process, but also help us apply to film festivals and get the word about Lake Pluto out there. We will wrap post-production on Lake Pluto in July 2022 and have already started applying to a few festivals with works-in-progress, Our goal is to submit to at least 10 film festivals, locally and nationally.
We need you to get us through this final challenge. Join the Lake Pluto Post Production campaign and release Lake Pluto to the world!
By contributing to our campaign, you are directly supporting women in film and helping us to reach our financial goals! Any contribution, big or small, is impactful and greatly appreciated and becomes a building block towards getting Lake Pluto seen. And we have some pretty fun thank-yous at each of our pledge levels. Your name in the official credits? Dope! Exclusive first peek at a scene from Lake Pluto? Hell, yeah! Early access to the final film? Where do you sign up???
Once you become a contributor, don't forget to Share & Tag us on socials: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lake-pluto-postproduction
Feel free to use the following to spread the word:
"I just became a proud contributor to sci-fi thriller short @LakePlutoFilm. https://seedandspark.com/fund/lake-pluto-postproduction
Check out this women-led production from writer-director Biz Jones @bizfiz and follow the link their bio on @LakePlutoFilm to become a supporter yourself and catch some sneak-peaks!
Can’t contribute financially, but got mad socials skills? Follow and share this campaign and us on social! In order to keep our pledges to the campaign, we have to reach 80% of our goal. So spread the word about this campaign and you’re helping us out a lot. Share our campaign URL: https://seedandspark.com/fund/lake-pluto-postproduction on IG and tag @LakePlutoFilm, the writer-director @BizFiz, and the Director of Photography @EmilyKordovich.
Can’t wait to share updates with you as we move through post-production and on to film festivals.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Music & Sound Mix
Costs $1,500
Covers part of cost for a professional sound-mix and original music.
Music Licensing
Costs $500
Cost of licensing non-original songs in the film - including one sung by lead Jam Murphy, aka Kore!
Visual Effects
Costs $1,200
Something out-of-this-world is happening at the lake. A VFX artist will create this sci-fi element.
Film Festival Submission Fees
Costs $500
Helps to cover entry fees to 10-15 festivals. Help get Lake Pluto to the big screen!
DCP
Costs $500
Screening films in theaters requires converting the film into a DCP file, delivered on a hard drive.
Share this update!
About This Team
As someone who identifies as a woman and multiracial, growing up I didn’t see enough strong characters that represented my identities in movies and tv. Now that I’m in the position to actually hire crew and cast, and I feel enormously privileged to be able to bring on women and BIPOC. It’s damn exciting. Here’s our women-led crew & cast: