Overview
Burlington, Vermont | Film Feature
Sci-Fi, Family
Fifteen-year old Mollie sees strange events on Earth playing on the news. With her astro-geologist dad tracking a rogue asteroid, she makes a connection, and takes a leap to enlist an astronaut, her mom and an Aussie radio-astronomer to team up. Mollie has a plan for world peace. What's yours?
12 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$1,990
Goal: $50,000 for pre-production
Fifteen-year old Mollie sees strange events on Earth playing on the news. With her astro-geologist dad tracking a rogue asteroid, she makes a connection, and takes a leap to enlist an astronaut, her mom and an Aussie radio-astronomer to team up. Mollie has a plan for world peace. What's yours?
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Overview is a positive answer to the question posed in my previous (grim) science-fiction short film, OvaXX — "You don't like my plan for world peace? What's your plan?" When I heard those words again and again in post-production, I thought, this is a writing prompt, from me to me. How 'bout it, Schlag? Have you got a plan that doesn't involve a lot of people dying?
It turns out, yes. Overview is that answer.
The Story
Fifteen-year-old Mollie looks to the night sky, with a strange, unvoiceable feeling. As her dad says, she's never been much of a stargazer but something is calling to her. What follows is her adventure to connect some very large, expensive dots, and get the adults in her life — her parents, maybe an astronaut or two — to go along with her plan.
Because it just might save humanity.
Earth
It's not a spoiler to say that the story is based on the Overview Effect. As William Shatner wrote, “when someone travels to space and views Earth from orbit, a sense of the planet’s fragility takes hold in an ineffable, instinctive manner.”
Telling this story — a hopeful one of connection, of unity — feels urgent to our team in a stressful world. Overview, a family-friendly sci-fi film, will lift you up, maybe even make you see our planet in a new light.
Our People
Infinovation Film, founded by John Schlag, focuses on humanist science fiction. To bring this story to life, we will recruit a talented team of regional actors and filmmakers. We treat them (and pay them) as the professionals they are. For our last two short films, we’ve followed SAG/AFTRA Microbudget and Short Project agreements. For Overview, we'll upgrade again, this time to the SAG/AFTRA Ultra Low Budget Project Agreement, so as to pay our cast and crew fairly for two to three weeks of filming. The overall budget to make this feature is just north of $100,000; this campaign will be augmented by private support.
Your Gift
We plan to begin filming in September, and your donation now will make that happen. With your support, we’ll be able to secure locations, finalize casting, hire crew, buy food, find props and costumes, and get insurance. Once filming wraps, our post-production team will work on the project for an expected 2027 release.
Be our rock. Give what you can, share and tag #OverviewMovie, and be a part of making something beautiful.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Props
Costs $1,000
Finding the right thing, whether it's a lunch box or a toy, will make our film authentic.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
John F. Schlag is the writer / producer / director behind Infinovation Film. In 2023, John began making short films, including the award-winning M.T. Nestor, Panes Taking, OVaXX, and Under the Pear Tree. His independent filmmaking builds on decades of visual effects experience, including Terminator 2; Death Becomes Her; Jurassic Park (Sci-Tech Academy Award, 1997); Forrest Gump; Star Trek Generations; The Matrix Reloaded; and Watchmen.
Olivia C. Rowe is a photographer and cinematographer who works across independent film and photography. Their cinematography credits include Under the Pear Tree, OVaXX, Fake$, and The Sins of Salem. When not on set, they enjoy natural sunlight, experimenting with analog film, and rock climbing.
Catherine Grace is a producer and multidisciplined artist bringing over 20 years of passion, play, and experience. She is the founder of Steal Fire, an entertainment company supporting independent works of theatre and film. Through Steal Fire, she most recently produced and performed in No Exit live at The Off Center for the Dramatic Arts. Her film production credits include The Night House, Sid is Dead, The Rest Is Silence, Under the Pear Tree, and Dog Daze.
Brandon St. Cyr, owner of Brandon St. Cyr Productions and producing partner at Kid Brother Pictures, is a producer, production designer, and visual effects artist with a passion for visual storytelling; the art and the technical craft. His credits include producing Townies (or, My Little Town), the feature film Crystal River, and the ambitious indie adaptation of the Arthurian legend, The Green Knight. He has also served as visual effects supervisor on numerous short films, narrative features, and documentaries.
Jennifer Gennari is an editor, author, and communications consultant, whose film writing credits include Under the Pear Tree, Party For One, and the award-winning M.T. Nestor. A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, she is the author of the middle-grade novels Stifled, Muffled, and My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer. She is also the Children’s Branch Editor at Rootstock Publishing, an independent press based in Montpelier, VT.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Overview is a positive answer to the question posed in my previous (grim) science-fiction short film, OvaXX — "You don't like my plan for world peace? What's your plan?" When I heard those words again and again in post-production, I thought, this is a writing prompt, from me to me. How 'bout it, Schlag? Have you got a plan that doesn't involve a lot of people dying?
It turns out, yes. Overview is that answer.
The Story
Fifteen-year-old Mollie looks to the night sky, with a strange, unvoiceable feeling. As her dad says, she's never been much of a stargazer but something is calling to her. What follows is her adventure to connect some very large, expensive dots, and get the adults in her life — her parents, maybe an astronaut or two — to go along with her plan.
Because it just might save humanity.
Earth
It's not a spoiler to say that the story is based on the Overview Effect. As William Shatner wrote, “when someone travels to space and views Earth from orbit, a sense of the planet’s fragility takes hold in an ineffable, instinctive manner.”
Telling this story — a hopeful one of connection, of unity — feels urgent to our team in a stressful world. Overview, a family-friendly sci-fi film, will lift you up, maybe even make you see our planet in a new light.
Our People
Infinovation Film, founded by John Schlag, focuses on humanist science fiction. To bring this story to life, we will recruit a talented team of regional actors and filmmakers. We treat them (and pay them) as the professionals they are. For our last two short films, we’ve followed SAG/AFTRA Microbudget and Short Project agreements. For Overview, we'll upgrade again, this time to the SAG/AFTRA Ultra Low Budget Project Agreement, so as to pay our cast and crew fairly for two to three weeks of filming. The overall budget to make this feature is just north of $100,000; this campaign will be augmented by private support.
Your Gift
We plan to begin filming in September, and your donation now will make that happen. With your support, we’ll be able to secure locations, finalize casting, hire crew, buy food, find props and costumes, and get insurance. Once filming wraps, our post-production team will work on the project for an expected 2027 release.
Be our rock. Give what you can, share and tag #OverviewMovie, and be a part of making something beautiful.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Props
Costs $1,000
Finding the right thing, whether it's a lunch box or a toy, will make our film authentic.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
John F. Schlag is the writer / producer / director behind Infinovation Film. In 2023, John began making short films, including the award-winning M.T. Nestor, Panes Taking, OVaXX, and Under the Pear Tree. His independent filmmaking builds on decades of visual effects experience, including Terminator 2; Death Becomes Her; Jurassic Park (Sci-Tech Academy Award, 1997); Forrest Gump; Star Trek Generations; The Matrix Reloaded; and Watchmen.
Olivia C. Rowe is a photographer and cinematographer who works across independent film and photography. Their cinematography credits include Under the Pear Tree, OVaXX, Fake$, and The Sins of Salem. When not on set, they enjoy natural sunlight, experimenting with analog film, and rock climbing.
Catherine Grace is a producer and multidisciplined artist bringing over 20 years of passion, play, and experience. She is the founder of Steal Fire, an entertainment company supporting independent works of theatre and film. Through Steal Fire, she most recently produced and performed in No Exit live at The Off Center for the Dramatic Arts. Her film production credits include The Night House, Sid is Dead, The Rest Is Silence, Under the Pear Tree, and Dog Daze.
Brandon St. Cyr, owner of Brandon St. Cyr Productions and producing partner at Kid Brother Pictures, is a producer, production designer, and visual effects artist with a passion for visual storytelling; the art and the technical craft. His credits include producing Townies (or, My Little Town), the feature film Crystal River, and the ambitious indie adaptation of the Arthurian legend, The Green Knight. He has also served as visual effects supervisor on numerous short films, narrative features, and documentaries.
Jennifer Gennari is an editor, author, and communications consultant, whose film writing credits include Under the Pear Tree, Party For One, and the award-winning M.T. Nestor. A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, she is the author of the middle-grade novels Stifled, Muffled, and My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer. She is also the Children’s Branch Editor at Rootstock Publishing, an independent press based in Montpelier, VT.