TETHERED

New York City, New York | Film Short

Fantasy, Shorts Program

TETHERED ...

1 Campaigns | New York, United States

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This campaign raised $13,100 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.

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TETHERED is a dark, bittersweet and supernatural Irish fantasy film that explores the power of folklore, family and friendship. TETHERED is a love letter to Irish mythology and to the very art of storytelling, as well as an homage to 1980s fantasy cinema - but all with a stridently feminist twist.

About The Project

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

Mission Statement

TETHERED is a resoundingly female-driven film – both in front of and behind the lens. We are extremely proud to say TETHERED has a predominantly LGBT+, female and multi-national crew. Two of us are Irish emigrants, and old Irish folklore was a huge part of why we fell in love with storytelling.

The Story

 

Ireland has an incomparable natural majesty and a tradition of storytelling that runs through the veins of its people. TETHERED is a film that evokes Irish culture, but with universal themes. Inspired by the rich pantheon of Irish mythology, it creates an original fairytale of its own – a powerful fable about magic, memories and the moon.

 

TETHERED's visuals draw from 1980s fantasy cinema - from Poltergeist to Cocoon, Labyrinth to The Watcher in the Woods - but despite the homage in the visuals, our story explores feminist themes overlooked in genre movies.

 

 

TETHERED is a bold and original coming of age story that tackles family, obligation and the pain of a life not lived through the plight of two very different women harshly punished for being young.

 

MOOD FILM  |  TONE & VISUALS


The film below shows the mood and style of visuals we'll be creating for TETHERED and is underscored by a demo track from the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Susan McKeown - who will craft the Irish language song at the heart of TETHERED.

 

 

TETHERED is an Irish take on magical realism. We follow characters that explore the relationship between humanity, the natural world . . . and The Otherworld.

 

 

It's the story of Aoibh. Isolated in a remote Irish village, recently orphaned and with a little brother to care for, she takes a job in a strange old nursing home that’s perched on the edge of a mist-shrouded lake.

 

 

It's Halloween, 1982 - and a date that marks the return of the centuries-old Leannán Sí Comet. Aoibh's brother Tadhg is obsessed with space - just like their Mother, who passed away some years before. But Aoibh's too preoccupied with work to stay and watch the comet with him.

 

 

In the nursing home, Aoibh tends to four enigmatic characters - an Old Man, an Old Woman, and two Old Twins. Aoibh is always humming an old Irish song as she goes about the home, and this song - this ancient refrain - reminds The Old Woman of a legend that seems to keep her hope alive . . .

 

 

We come to realize the Old People are siblings and have been trapped by this lake for as long as they can remember - but there’s something magical about Aoibh that can finally give them release . . .

 

 

The Old Woman's legends teach Aoibh the importance of facing the pain of her past - but also looking to the future. As Aoibh returns home and watches the passing comet that night with her brother, mystical forces envelop the nursing home - signaling that there's greater power in storytelling than mere comfort . . . 

 

THE LOOK  |  LOCATION & ERA


Our hunt for the perfect locations - encompassing a lake, forest, and characterful nursing home building - took us all over Ireland. However, we want this film to be shot in Cork and Kerry. 

 

 

INSPIRATION  |  1980S FANTASY FILMS


TETHERED will have a rich and evocative color scheme synonymous with 80s cinema, but also in tune with the Irish landscape which forms a fantastical backdrop to the story.

 

 

Our Director of Photography is the incredible Nicola Daley, whose feature film Pin Cushion opened Critics Week at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, and has been nominated for three BIFA awards.

 

 

Below is our Director & Writer Stephen T Lally’s Showreel:

 

 

MUSIC  |  THE SONG & THE DREAM BALLET


TETHERED is a dialogue driven narrative with stunning visuals and an amazing story - but it also has something very special at its heart. The film blossoms into a Dream Ballet in its closing act. This sequence packs a heart-breaking punch - unlike anything you’ve seen before!

 

 

FUNDING GOALS  |  THE ONGOING JOURNEY OF TETHERED

 

(i) Primary Production Funding Goal - $13,000 - Production Budget:

 

We reach the Primary Production Funding Goal of $13,000 for our 10-minute short film and TETHERED gets made in Ireland in Spring 2019. 

 

(ii) 1st Stretch Goal - $8,500 - Post Production Budget:

 

If we meet our Primary Production Funding Goal, our first Stretch Goal will go towards the post-production for TETHERED - including all of the visual FX needed to make this film come ALIVE!  

 

(iii) 2nd Stretch Goal - $2,200 - Film Festival Strategy & Marketing:

 

Our second Stretch Goal is for film festival expenses, including all of our marketing costs. 

 

(iv) 3rd Stretch Goal - $1,500 - Feature Film Development:

 

While TETHERED is a perfect standalone short film in its own right, it also performs the dual purpose of being a beautiful 'proof-of-concept' for a feature film. Our team will talk to distributors and sales agents, and the script will be rewritten and reconciled into a mesmerizing, feature-length narrative. 

 

CROWDFUNDING  |  WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

 

We're working with fantastic, committed filmmakers and creatives who will bring a tremendous amount of skill and expertise to TETHERED. Our crew signed up to this film as a passion project, but we need funding and investment to move forward. This is where YOU come in!

 

You can donate from as little as $10 - but you can still help our project by sharing the campaign with your connections across all of your social media platforms. Please like our page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter,  Instagram and Tumblr. 

 

Please email a link to this campaign to your friends and family: www.seedandspark.com/fund/tethered

 

We're open to all the help we can get, so if you're working within the fields of visual effects, or costume or production design - or if you feel like you could contribute to TETHERED in any way - please e-mail us at [email protected].

 

If you'd be interested in investing in TETHERED and having your name and/or organization associated with the film, don’t hesitate to get in contact at [email protected].

 

TETHERED has so many unique selling points - from the visual aspects through to the female-driven narrative and Irish mythology twist. We want to build a global community around this story, and we hope you come on this journey with us - THANK YOU!

Wishlist

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

Cash Pledge

Costs $0

Casting

Costs $1,500

Casting is paramount. They're the face of TETHERED and through them, our incredible story is told!

Crew

Costs $2,250

The Hardest Working Crew in Ireland need your support!

Locations

Costs $1,750

Help us film on location in the most beautiful parts of Ireland - County Cork and County Kerry.

Catering

Costs $750

We need to feed our cast and crew on location! A Well Fed Crew is a Happy Crew!

Travel and Accommodation

Costs $1,250

We will be filming in numerous remote parts of Ireland - and need to house the entire cast and crew.

Equipment Hire

Costs $3,000

We need to hire equipment in Ireland - including all camera, lenses, sound and lighting equipment.

Props and Set Design

Costs $1,000

We will be creating a mystical and magical 1980s film through props, art direction and set design.

Wardrobe & Make Up

Costs $750

Creating a beautiful and ethereal look for our cast ain't cheap!

Music Production

Costs $750

To record and produce the central song of the film - along with the instrumental score.

About This Team


This is the best part about TETHERED - we get to work with some of the most incredible people!

 

TETHERED presents an opportunity for you to get behind a unique and multi-national team of filmmakers and creatives. We’re extremely proud to say TETHERED has a predominantly female and LGBT crew - and a passion for mythology, 1980s fantasy cinema and the craft, history, and magic of storytelling.

 

Meet our amazing core team below - with casting and additional crew to be announced over the course of the campaign . . .

 

STEPHEN T LALLY  |  WRITER & DIRECTOR

 

 

Stephen’s portfolio as an award-winning director has encompassed TV commercials, music videos, online content, and fashion films. His talents for illustration add another dimension to his work as he immerses himself in Concept, Costume, Set and Storyboard Design. Stephen has directed more than 20 commercial campaigns - nationally and internationally - and clients include Rimmel London, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Channel 4, Universal Records, Sony, and The Royal Opera House. He created an immersive, short film installation in East London gallery ‘fiftyfour’ and excelled in production design with Claire Oakley’s award-winning short film Beautiful Enough. In 2017, he obtained visa status in the US as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability in the Arts. In late 2017, Stephen began to focus on his real passion – narrative. Stephen is currently developing TETHERED, along with a feature film.  

 

 

Online Portfolio: http://stephenlally.com/all-videos/

https://www.instagram.com/stephentlally/

https://twitter.com/StephenTLally

 

SIOBHÁN NÍ CHIOBHÁIN  |  PRODUCER

 

 

Dingle-born native Irish speaker Siobhán wears an array of colorful media hats for various TV, radio and short film productions. She's an award-winning producer based between Ireland and New York and works in creative business development and brand building. She has worked with various clients including Pepsi, SeaWorld, Grandparents.com, AmazonPrime and CityKids. Siobhán has produced radio and TV programming for BBC, RTE, and TG4. She directed an hour-long observational documentary for TG4 called Niall Og, which was screened as part of the Belfast Film Festival. Siobhan produced the short musical film Lost for Words with director Stephen T Lally which was selected to screen at over twenty national and international film festivals including the BAFTA-recognised Cork Film Festival. Lost for Words also won Best Musical Short at the prestigious New York Independent Film Festival. Siobhán has a degree in Media Arts from the Dublin Institute for Technology and a Postgraduate Cert in Digital Media Communications from Ulster University.

 

https://www.instagram.com/siobhan.ni.chiobhain/

https://twitter.com/SiobhanNiChi

 

ALESSIA GALATINI  |  CO-WRITER

 

 

Last year, Alessia won the Sandra Ashman prize for fiction and her short film scripts have been shortlisted for the 2018 Film in Cork Scheme and the 50/50 London Eastside Scheme. She's currently writing and producing another short film along with TETHERED. She likes to write the films she wants to see and she’s particularly keen on female-driven LGBT+ stories which aim to do something fresh and turn tropes up their heads.

 

https://www.instagram.com/alessiagalatini/

https://twitter.com/alessiagalatini

 

NICOLA DALEY  |  DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

 

 

In 2003, Nicola was accepted into the prestigious Australian Film, TV and Radio School to study an MA in Cinematography, where she trained on film. For two consecutive years, Nicola has been nominated for Best Cinematography in a Documentary by the Australian Academy of Cinema and TV Arts (Australian BAFTA) awards. She also worked on the 2006 Academy Award-nominated short The Saviour. In 2014 Nicola was only the 8th woman in Australian history to be accredited into the Australian Society of Cinematographers. Nicola’s latest feature film Pin Cushion opened Critics Week at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, directed by Deborah Haywood and starring Joanna Scanlon. Most recently Nicola has shot a feature-length drama-documentary about the famous shoe designer Manolo Blahnik starring Rihanna, Anna Wintour, and Naomi Campbell.



Online portfolio: http://nicoladaley.com/

https://www.instagram.com/nicdaleydp/

https://twitter.com/nicoladaleycine

 

SUSAN McKEOWN  |  SINGER & SONGWRITER

 

 

As a singer and songwriter, Susan has recorded and contributed to 20 albums including 7 solo albums. She has toured and appeared with the band, The Klezmatics since 2013, performing in Europe and across the US, including in Carnegie Hall in New York City and Disney Hall in Los Angeles. Together they recorded Woody Guthrie's Happy Joyous Hanukkah (2004) and Wonder Wheel (2006) which won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. Susan was also nominated for a prestigious BBC Folk Music award in 2004 for her work on the album Sweet Liberty. Susan’s songs have also been heard in international TV commercials for Audi, Jaguar and Oil of Olay.

 

 

https://twitter.com/susansings

 

DAVID NICHOLAS  |  COMPOSER

 


David studied at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance under composer Maurizio Malagnini (The Paradise, Call the Midwife) and arranger Audrey Riley (Coldplay, Muse, Foo Fighters).

He has composed music for various films including Tribe: Tale of Han (for which he won ‘Best Original Soundtrack’ at Oniros film awards, Italy) and a multimedia theatre adaptation of the HG Wells Sci-Fi short story The Crystal Egg for which he implemented his signature blend of organic and synthesized instruments.


Online Portfolio: www.flat6music.com

https://www.instagram.com/davidnicholas_music/

 

AJ O'NEILL  |  CHOREOGRAPHER

 

 

AJ has choreographed music videos for the Staves, Sarah Belkner, Jack Colwell and Kawa Kawa amongst others. He choreographed the celebrity kitchen dancing viral ad campaign for Sainsbury's and the Rewards viral for Tictac. On television, he choreographed and presented Popup Popstar on RTE for two years and other numbers for Swipe TV. AJ also recently choreographed Tiny Me at the Soho Theatre and the workshop of the 43 Club at the Other Palace. He currently works between America and London and is writing a musical, Unicorn, about a trans child and her family.

 

 

https://www.instagram.com/sitdownaj/

https://twitter.com/Sitdownaj

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