A surrealist dramedy. An interrogation. A play of Jewish identity. The film and its team drew from the disintegration and fury of the past year(ish), both on the collective level and personal, to create a magical realism story of the moment, a glimpse inwards both unflinching and whimsical.

New Goals:

We are adding a new goal, if we raise an extra 1k, we will be using the money towards film festival submissions and promotion for the film, to get it to as wide of an audience as possible. We could even screen the film in the city you live, so you can see it in a theater (the best way to watch films) and see all the hard work of the entire team.

Synopsis:

The Grand Inquisitor (or G~d Appears In My Closet) tells the story of a night in the life of Leah, herself prone to nostalgia, the macabre, and fleeing when things get difficult, as she throws her favorite little trinkets in a suitcase after her life yet again becomes a whirlwind. Only she finds God chilling in her closet, waiting and ready to jump in.

Director's Statement:

The film was inspired by two moments. The first, the devastating passing of my two remaining grandparents last year to COVID, one a veteran of WWII and the other a Holocaust survivor. In learning of their lives, reading their words and the words that spoke to them, and in trying to process and understand their loss and the loss of their stories, I rediscovered the haunting poem by Dostoevsky. In the following months I set about very loosely adapting it through the lens of magical realism. The second moment, a new, painful coming of age, the age when your generation no longer seems invulnerable. The film portrays how vicious and violent grief can become when left too manifest, how that pain can turn inwards, and how we might ultimately, possibly be able to learn from that.

How You Can Help:

Enter the world of The Grand Inquisitor, a surrealist dramedy, an interrogation, a play of Jewish identity. Filmed this past June in and around Los Angeles, we now ask for your help to complete post-production. With just how personal this story and characters are to me, I cannot express how grateful I am that you would consider pleding to this production. With your help, we can make something truly of the moment, something a little magical, a little odd and a little mad. Thank you.

Here is a list of where your money will go to:

• Editing, where the magic happens, where we construct the story and characters and their journies
• Sound Design, giving the world it's sound, making each line resonate and bringing the surreal, subjective world of Leah alive for you to hear
• Sound Mix, getting each element of the design to sound absolutely perfect, regardless if it's a theater, web, or television
• Music Composition, "All art aspires to be music" and we will give this film its music with a completely orginal score
• Instrumentations, what is a score without ilve soloists? Help us bring the music to life with performances from local musicians
• Color, sessions with a professional colorist to make the film look the best it can
• Design a Poster, with original art by the incredible visual development artsist Serina Mo
• Hard drives for the team

Any questions about the process, or how your contribution helps us? Feel free to reach out to the team at [email protected]

Spread the Word:

After you have given a pledge, or if you cannot due to finances, you can still help out by spreading the word about our film. So many people have put hundreds of hours, their talent and imaginations into this film, and it would mean everything to us. Included below are two examples of text you can use when you share the link:

• Please take a moment to help filmmaker @markstevowitz by supporting The Grand Inquisitor (or G~d Appears in my Closet), an interrogation through the ugly feelings of this moment, with a bit of Jewish cynicism and Dostoevskyian existentialism. What fun! Check us out on Seed&Spark.
• Want to see the tragedy of the past year(ish) told through a dramedy interrogation with God? Then check out the latest film from writer/director Steven Markowitz, now on Seed&Spark!

One Last Thing:

The filming of this production would not have been possible without the support of my grandfather, Robert Markowitz (1924-2020), who tragically passed away last year due to COVID. This film is dedicated in his honor. Please everyone get vaccinated and wear a mask.

Thank you!