Land of Misery Films is all about telling personal stories that touch on Universal themes. From comedies to dramas, documentaries to fairy tales, we love to explore the gray areas in life and in ourselves. Creative, offbeat storytelling is our forte and a trademark in all of our productions.

 

(These are Stock photos not actual actors in the film)

 

We Woke follows Nikki J., a teaching artist with the Mickey's Monkey Theater Company located in beautiful Chicago, IL. Named after the hit song by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Mickey's Monkey has become a major part of her life, and teaching creative writing to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders is one of her greatest joys.

But fellow company member Miranda can't stand the name. Founded in the mid-'90s by all-White actors and teaching in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods, Mickey's Monkeys is very problematic. There's a long history of comparing Black people to Monkeys, Apes, and Gorillas. And with the company being more diverse than ever, it's time for a change. So with the help of new board member Robert, they set out to change the name and take the company in a new direction.

Though the vast majority of the group agrees with Miranda and fully supports a name, Nikki is taken aback. The sentiment makes sense, but the context is totally different, we ain't talking about the same thing. Monkeys, Apes, and Gorillas are not racial slurs, some racists have used them as slurs. Most importantly human beings are primates and belong to the family of Great Apes. So why are we changing our name because of a lie? If you don't attack lies head-on, you empower that lie, no matter how good your intentions.

Da Great Apes

Never fearing being a lone wolf, Nikki voices her opinion via email and a number of members hit her back. Secretly agreeing with her but fearful of voicing their thoughts out loud. Fearful of swimming against the tide, fearful of offending fellow ensemble members, fearful of appearing culturally insensitive, fearful of being viewed as racist.  This leads to a heated debate between Nikki and Miranda that gets very ugly and very personal, turning best friends into bitter enemies.

Because the world is bat crap crazy yall! We're living in an amazing time period in which incredible conversations are being touched on yet not actually being had. Context doesn't matter. Meaningful and nuanced discourse is a thing of the past, and any difference of opinion leads to people, places, and things being canceled if they even remotely offend someone. A burning desire for many to break complex individuals and issues into simple categories of right and wrong, right and left, good and bad, with an incredible intolerance of gray areas, which leads to living happily in echo chambers, with loathing and animous towards anyone who sees things slightly differently. We Woke explores the challenges of having serious conversations about race against the backdrop of cancel culture and the toll it takes on a friendship.

 

 

 

We Woke is an off-beat world filled with imagination. A world in which the music is as much a character as the characters themselves, contrasting the seriousness of subject matter with the lightness of sound, embracing the style of films like Alexander Payne's "Election" and Richard Ayoade's "Submarine"

 

Election 

9)

Submarine 

As fans of the great Orson Welles, we look forward to using wide camera lenses, to create great depth of field in shots; while playing with symmetry in composition. Very much in the style of Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" and Rosemary Myers's, "Girl Asleep". 

 

Moonrise Kingdom 

 

Girl ASleep 

 

We Woke will not only be a great story well told but an amazing looking film, that embraces the beauty of cinema.

 

Thanks so much for supporting "We Woke". We have been working on the film for close to four years and are looking forward to finally shooting and making it a reality. We're looking to raise $30,000 for the production and here's where the money will go.

$16,000 for cast and Crew

We'll be embarking on an adventurous 4-week shoot and definitely want to pay our amazing cast and crew for their time and hard work.

$6,000 Music and Visual Effects

The music and visual effects of "We Woke" are just as much a character as the characters themselves and we want their impact to be felt on screen.

 

$4000 Equipment

Lights, mics, and other filmmaking tools to help make the production a reality.

 

$4,000 Transportation and Locations

We want to showcase the beautiful city of Chicago and we'll be shooting at multiple locations throughout the wondrous city.

 

 

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Thanks so much for your time and for contributing to "We Woke". Words can not express how much it means to us!