"The Ladder" is a sci-fi, drama short film that has the opportunity to showcase writer-director Emilio Miguel Torres' hometown of Ketchikan, Alaska in such a beautiful way. By supporting the film, you're supporting the dreams of all of the artists involved to tell meaningful stories.
"The Ladder" is a sci-fi, drama short film that has the opportunity to showcase writer-director Emilio Miguel Torres' hometown of Ketchikan, Alaska in such a beautiful way. By supporting the film, you're supporting the dreams of all of the artists involved to tell meaningful stories.
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Story
Mission Statement
Our team is a young and diverse cohort dedicated to making films that inspire, entertain, and educate. We are passionate about telling authentic stories that highlight communities not always seen on screen. We care deeply for Ketchikan, the people there, and want to create a story that honors them.About The Project
In a semi-futuristic world, an aging Alaskan fisherman must decide between accepting old age or restarting his life.
The Ladder is an upcoming sci-fi, drama short film by Emilio Miguel Torres that asks the question: if you had the chance to restart your life, would you? The moving and impactful story takes place in a world where a cutting edge biotechnology company, "Actilife," has invented a procedure that allows individuals to transplant their consciousness into synthetically made 21 year-old bodies called "The Fresh Start."
Our main character is Arthur, an aging Alaskan fisherman and widower who struggles with arthritis that keeps him from being able to work. Secretly, he has prepared to have this new and mysterious procedure done on himself, but when his son and daughter-in-law reveal an unexpected secret of their own, and he encounters a friend who has already begun his "Fresh Start", Arthur must reconsider the gravity of his plans.
The original draft of The Ladder was written in the Fall of 2019. Emilio wanted to write a film about his hometown of Ketchikan, Alaska and explore themes of finding purpose in life, conquering your fears, and navigating changing family dynamics as you age. Some day, this story has the potential to be an amazing feature film or episodic series, but for now, we are starting with the short film and hope you consider supporting that journey!
We are currently in pre-production on this film, with a set production week of July 3rd-10th, 2021. The crew of the film will be entirely comprised of young, aspiring filmmakers from New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles flying in. Meanwhile, the cast of The Ladder will all be local actors from Ketchikan.
All individuals involved with this project will strictly follow all CDC and local guidelines set in place for safe film production right now. Additionally, our entire crew will be fully vaccinated for Covid-19 by the time of production.
Given the fact that showcasing and honoring Ketchikan, Alaska is a key goal with the creation of this film, we will be spending a full week shooting the scenes as well as getting plenty of extra footage to really capture the beauty of both the nature and community of the small town.
This campaign will be essential in making the short film happen. With the funds raised for this project, we will be able to spend a week in Ketchikan, Alaska making a meaningful and grounded sci-fi story. We also plan to submit The Ladder to a multitude of film festivals to have the opportunity to showcase this film to the world.
Writer-Director Emilio Miguel Torres grew up in Ketchikan. If it wasn't for the opportunities and support to explore art that the community offered to him as a kid, he doesn't believe he would have ever grown up to become a filmmaker. For this reason, he is so excited to return after completing his BFA degree at NYU Tisch School of the Arts to connect with and show respect to his hometown through this project.
The amount of talent found within all of the young, aspiring filmmakers on The Ladder team is immense. However, the amount in the bank accounts of those same young, aspiring filmmakers is not as overabundant. With the passionate, independent filmmaking spirits of our entire production team, making movies on small to non-existent budgets is nothing new. However, making this film in the way it deserves to be made will require funding. So, we are looking for people who care about stories and want to support young artists, to join our adventure to get there!
We are looking to raise $15,750.00 for this film. This budget would allow us to:
- Afford rental costs for cinematic filmmaking gear
- House and feed our crew and cast during the production week
- Pay crew and cast members for their time and talents (paying artists is so important)
- Purchase important production design elements for the story
- Cover general and various fees and costs involved
If we reach our goal, this film will be made this July in the way it deserves to be, and we will submit to film festivals this Fall for next year's festival season. The hope is to get this story shown in as many places as possible and to hopefully utilize it to pitch Emilio Miguel Torres' ideas for a feature-length The Ladder as well as a potential episodic version. All contributors to this campaign will get access to a password protected online link to see the film before its festival run. We are so thrilled to go on this journey to try and get this film made, and pray that our project inspires you and connects with you. Contributions of any size go such a long way.
Make sure to follow our campaign on Instagram as well as Facebook to keep up-to-date on all things The Ladder. Join us on this adventure to make this awesome film in one of the coolest places on earth! We cannot do this without your help. If you cannot afford to make a contribution at this time, please consider sharing to family and friends to spread the word. Thank you.
Incentives
$15
Thank You
You will receive:
- A shoutout on our social media!
- A password-protected link to watch the film when it is completed.
$25
Chum Salmon
You will receive:
- A curated list of TV & Film recommendations from our director, Emilio Miguel Torres, that inspired the film or that he just thinks you would enjoy!
- Every week, we will be introducing our "Chums of the Week" in a video form on our social media. Your name will be listed with your fellow Chum in all of your indie film supporting glory...
- A digital, personalized "Actilife: The Fresh Start" ID card sent to you with your picture on it! (In the film, characters who have restarted their life with the mysterious procedure get one of these ID cards to verify their real age, and by contributing at this tier, you can too!!!)
+ All Previous Awards!
$50
Coho Salmon
You will receive:
- A personal, recorded "Welcome to the Coho Club" video uploaded to our social media to recognize you and thank you for your awesome contribution!
- A high-quality digital PDF of director Emilio Miguel Torres' storyboards for the film along with shooting notes.
- An official The Ladder smart phone/tablet wallpaper for your device.
+ All Previous Awards!
$100
Pink Salmon
You will receive:
- A personal, recorded "Welcome to the Pink Party" video uploaded to our social media to recognize you and thank you for your awesome contribution!
- An invite to the 1st Virtual Screening/Meet & Greet Party with the team!
- A custom movie-watching care package sent to you to enjoy while watching the film.
- A signed, limited edition The Ladder movie poster shipped to you as well.
+ All Previous Awards!
$250
Sockeye Salmon
You will receive:
- A personal, recorded "Welcome to the Sockeye Supporters" video uploaded to our social media to recognize you and thank you for your awesome contribution!
- Your name included in the "Special Thanks" portion of the credits IN the film.
- A physical copy of the script with director notes in it.
- PLUS, thanks to the kindness and support from famous local Ketchikan artist, Ray Troll, YOU will receive an official Ray Troll "Long May You Run" salmon shirt:
+ All Previous Awards!
Claimed: 11 of 20
$500
King Salmon
You will receive:
- A personal, recorded "Welcome to the King Kingdom" video uploaded to our social media to recognize you and thank you for your awesome contribution!
- An "Associate Producer"credit on the film. YOUR name will be on IMDb (Wow!!!)
- A custom-designed The Ladder can of smoked Alaskan Salmon sent to you!
- A recipe for the MOST delicious salmon dip to make with your can... Arthur would approve.
+ All Previous Awards!
Sold Out!
$1,000
Smoked Salmon (Executive Producer)
You will receive:
- An "EXECUTIVE PRODUCER" credit on the film. Your name will be on IMDb!
- The opportunity to introduce yourself to the supporters of the film on our social media as an executive producer, writer-director Emilio Miguel Torres will connect with you to record a quick zoom video and edit it together to officially announce you and honor your for your tremendous support.
- The ability to attend any production/post-production meetings over zoom to be involved with every step of the process!
- An exclusive SIGNED Ray Troll salmon shirt!
- A top-secret and executive access preview of two additional film projects Emilio Miguel Torres is working on...
+ All Previous Awards!
Sold Out!
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$15
Thank You
You will receive:
- A shoutout on our social media!
- A password-protected link to watch the film when it is completed.
$25
Chum Salmon
You will receive:
- A curated list of TV & Film recommendations from our director, Emilio Miguel Torres, that inspired the film or that he just thinks you would enjoy!
- Every week, we will be introducing our "Chums of the Week" in a video form on our social media. Your name will be listed with your fellow Chum in all of your indie film supporting glory...
- A digital, personalized "Actilife: The Fresh Start" ID card sent to you with your picture on it! (In the film, characters who have restarted their life with the mysterious procedure get one of these ID cards to verify their real age, and by contributing at this tier, you can too!!!)
+ All Previous Awards!
$50
Coho Salmon
You will receive:
- A personal, recorded "Welcome to the Coho Club" video uploaded to our social media to recognize you and thank you for your awesome contribution!
- A high-quality digital PDF of director Emilio Miguel Torres' storyboards for the film along with shooting notes.
- An official The Ladder smart phone/tablet wallpaper for your device.
+ All Previous Awards!
$100
Pink Salmon
You will receive:
- A personal, recorded "Welcome to the Pink Party" video uploaded to our social media to recognize you and thank you for your awesome contribution!
- An invite to the 1st Virtual Screening/Meet & Greet Party with the team!
- A custom movie-watching care package sent to you to enjoy while watching the film.
- A signed, limited edition The Ladder movie poster shipped to you as well.
+ All Previous Awards!
$250
Sockeye Salmon
You will receive:
- A personal, recorded "Welcome to the Sockeye Supporters" video uploaded to our social media to recognize you and thank you for your awesome contribution!
- Your name included in the "Special Thanks" portion of the credits IN the film.
- A physical copy of the script with director notes in it.
- PLUS, thanks to the kindness and support from famous local Ketchikan artist, Ray Troll, YOU will receive an official Ray Troll "Long May You Run" salmon shirt:
+ All Previous Awards!
Claimed: 11 of 20
$500
King Salmon
You will receive:
- A personal, recorded "Welcome to the King Kingdom" video uploaded to our social media to recognize you and thank you for your awesome contribution!
- An "Associate Producer"credit on the film. YOUR name will be on IMDb (Wow!!!)
- A custom-designed The Ladder can of smoked Alaskan Salmon sent to you!
- A recipe for the MOST delicious salmon dip to make with your can... Arthur would approve.
+ All Previous Awards!
Sold Out!
$1,000
Smoked Salmon (Executive Producer)
You will receive:
- An "EXECUTIVE PRODUCER" credit on the film. Your name will be on IMDb!
- The opportunity to introduce yourself to the supporters of the film on our social media as an executive producer, writer-director Emilio Miguel Torres will connect with you to record a quick zoom video and edit it together to officially announce you and honor your for your tremendous support.
- The ability to attend any production/post-production meetings over zoom to be involved with every step of the process!
- An exclusive SIGNED Ray Troll salmon shirt!
- A top-secret and executive access preview of two additional film projects Emilio Miguel Torres is working on...
+ All Previous Awards!
Sold Out!
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