LINEAGE

New York City, New York | Film Feature

Drama, Thriller

LDR Creative + On The Rocks Films

1 Campaigns | New York, United States

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This campaign raised $21,200 for development. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.

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Family. Trust. Forgiveness. Centuries in the making, with roots in Norse mythology, LINEAGE tells the story of two modern-day sisters who must unite in a quest to understand their mother's disappearance and uncover the secrets of their past.

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Mission Statement

Our mission is to tell compelling stories while challenging ourselves creatively in collaboration with emerging artists. LINEAGE is an original psychological thriller inspired by Norse mythology. This will be our first narrative feature with the goal of distribution after a successful festival run.

The Story

We have reached 100% of our initial goal! Thanks a million to those who have contributed so far! We have two more weeks of our campaign to continue contributions for our production budget: for securing key cast & crew, shoot locations, hair, wardrobe, transportation, etc. Thank you for your support!

Over the years best-selling author Annie Bell has taken criticism for the brutal honesty and slanderous details in her writing. Under pressure to deliver a new book to her adoring, yet fickle fans, Annie abruptly announces that she plans to write about the one big mystery left in her life: her mother. Shortly after she receives a call from her older sister Ronogh, a small-town shut-in who lives upstate not far from their childhood home. Ronogh has news: their mother is missing.

Annie is forced to return to her hometown to search for her mother, work on her book, and reconnect with her sister. But the mystery deepens when Annie uncovers ceremonial artifacts and ancient drawings alluding to Norse Mythology in her mother’s possessions. Despite Ronogh's warnings, Annie enlists the town deputy and a local college professor to decipher some of the clues, but with each discovery she grows more confused about her mother’s role in these forgotten traditions.

Spiraling into obsession, Annie struggles to maintain her sanity. When her mother finally materializes, Annie must decide whether to heed the warnings, or step into the darkness in search of the truth.

The audience for this film will be moviegoers who like character driven dramas, mysteries, and intriguing narratives. This engaging story is made up of internal, familial, and societal drama. It explores love, loss, childhood trauma, success, failure, forgiveness, destiny and the role of the individual within a society. We also discuss a fascinating mythology that is largely popular but we focus on the forgotten female characters, which is something any history buff will appreciate. Ultimately, it’s a story of hope – which we can all relate to. A hope of reconciliation, hope of personal betterment, and on an even larger scale, hope of a better future.

LINEAGE's origin comes from a random conversation I had with good friend and associate producer, Dana Iannuzzi. We were discussing a new psycological thriller feature and she said, "If you ever need an older house with lots of woods to run around in, I know the perfect place!." Inspired, I visited the property in upstate New York shortly after and knew immediately it had to be the basis for our next film!

The location is not only a stunning central figure in the story, but provides several acres of secluded and mysteriously storied grounds for multiple shooting locations. Having this location in place from the start gave us a perfect jumping off point for Matt Bailey's writing inspiration. The property also provides us an immense asset for production, diminishing the need for extensive travel between locations and centralizing our shoot which brings down expenses, logistics, and overall costs.

We couldn't be more excited to feature this location in our film and wouldn't be here without it!

- MATT SIMPKINS, co-producer

At the heart of this story lies the relationship between Annie and Ronogh, sisters who grew up with a cold, secretive mother and drifted apart after a turbulent childhood. The sisters process their traumatic upbringing in contradicting ways. Through their relationship and coping mechanisms, I hope to explore and reflect on larger issues within our modern-day society. We enter their lives at a pivotal moment; not only is their mother dying, but they’re both clearly in need of human connection. We should feel the clock ticking as they work to rebuild their reltationship.

I want the film to have its own language, tonally and visually, so that the psychological stress of our plot makes its way into the cinematography and editing. The goal is to create a film where the audience feels rooted in the material world despitet the introduction of mysterious mythology and supernatural elements.

Our main location creates an insular world where most of our narrative plays out. The location provides a rich visual landscape where our camera can move through the space with purpose, choosing what to conceal or reveal, and constantly introducing us to new vantage points and hidden details. I will often avoid traditional establishing shots and clean cuts in order to keep the viewer active and curious. Layers of voyeurism will be explored in and around the house to intensify the feeling of being watched and pursued.

I’m attracted to films that are driven by flawed women and complicated relationships. I enter stories at critical moments of change, where characters are forced out of their comfort zones and confronted with duality. The film will illustrate the messiness of people and life, and the audience will not be forced to rigidly align themselves with any one character.

- NOOR GHARZEDDINE, director

Inside the surviving texts of Norse society (beyond the countless mentions of Odin, Thor and Loki) we learn there existed a group of women known as the Völva. They were staff carriers, traveling shamans, spirit guides and fortune tellers who performed a wide variety of spiritual services for their communities.

With the rise of Christianity in the 13th century, these practices were frowned upon, and a witch hunt began. The Völva were hunted, persecuted, and killed.

Over 40 graves of women believed to have been Völva have been recovered by modern archaeologists, spread across a dozen countries, over several continents…

…Proof that some of them escaped.

- MATT BAILEY, screenwriter

In LINEAGE, we will focus on using voyeuristic frames to heighten the mysterious elements of who might be in the next room and emotionally driven eye lines to lead the audience towards that unknown element just off the screen. Unique angles and claustrophobic uses of light help drive anxiety for the audience. The location's landscape offers intriguing options to hide and reveal important information.

Overall, we'll focus on a look that creates mystery and danger thru contrast, simple realistic camera movements, a deminished color pallette, and a tonal range that enhances the psychological journey for the audience.

- MATT SIMPKINS, Cinematographer

Great storytelling creates a suspended reality, one where we become so engrossed in a character’s journey that the plot’s twists and turns impact us on a visceral level. My passion for this film is driven by my love for character driven psychological thrillers, and the collaborative strength of this incredible team.

Four years ago, Matt Simpkins and On The Rocks Films suggested a feature film collaboration, one that was inspired by an enchanting location: Mount Helicon. With a successful working relationship already established, and an opportunity to work on one my favorite genres, the LINEAGE journey began.

Writer Matt Bailey took our initial vision and transported it to a creative, compelling, and suspenseful narrative. Noor Ghadarzeddine’s innovative directorial eye has been crucial to completing our script and Matt Simpkins’ dynamic cinematography will bring the suspense of our script to life. Together, we are ready to bring LINEAGE to fruition, and I can’t wait to share our story with an audience.

- LISA DONMALL-REEVE, producer

We need your help to begin the next step in getting this film made – helping with the costs of preproduction. Preproduction is an essential phase of the filmmaking process that involves budgeting, scheduling, casting, and hiring crew members before production. It involves finalizing the script, hiring the actors and crew, finding locations, determining what equipment we'll need, and figuring out the production budget. Preproduction is the planning stage of this film, where we solidify all the details of our project before producing content. We have a long journey ahead and we are relying on your support and encouragement through this process to get us to the next phase – getting this film made.

COVID-19 sidelined the arts (and the world) and we are bursting to create content and push ourselves creatively and artistically. We are inspired and ready for the ambitious goal of making our first feature film. But we need your help! With your supprt, we can get back to work and you'll have the opportunity to be a part of telling this compelling story. We will be continuing to follow all Federal, State and Union COVID compliance rules & guidelines.