SYNOPSIS:
Wartime, 1942. Singapore. An Australian fighter pilot shot down in combat awakens suspended in the treetops. As night devours day, he must navigate through dangerous jungle in search of sanctuary. Transcending language and culture, CANOPY is a cinematic tour de force exploring the collision of war, nature and its impact on humanity.

< CLICK HERE FOR CHINESE VERSION OF VIDEO / 中文 >
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>> 15/05/12: PROJECT SUCCESSFUL, $23,012 RAISED. THANK YOU TO OUR 182 SUPPORTERS!>> 13/05/12: PROJECT MINIMUM TARGET OF $20,000 ACHIEVED @ 8:01PM>> 2012年5月14日: $1 的实验 - 我们能不能转化”赞” 我们的电影 -“军”成为$1捐款?
>> 12/05/12: WHAT IS THE CANOPY $1 SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERIMENT?
"CANOPY explores cross-cultural connections in an honest way. It serves as a reminder of the friendship between countries that can come out of war. In the end, the story takes you away from your country and you just focus on two human beings and their shared troubles." < Royston Tan, award-winning Singaporean director
"CANOPY is a meditative and visceral film, exploring intense and horrific emotional and personal experiences of war."< Dee McLachlan, award-winning Australian director

THEMES
Told through the eyes of the individual, CANOPY is a suspenseful feature-length film that focuses on the psychological aspects of humanity's constant battle with war and nature. War is not just epic battles – it is extended periods of waiting, being in a state of hyper-alert, adrenaline-fuelled stasis: which in itself can result in the manifestation of new, psychological terrors.

CANOPY is an intimate and moving story inspired by first-hand accounts from Singaporean, Australian and Japanese returned service men and women. As filmmakers, we are interested in exploring the birthplace of wartime trauma, the legacy of which continues to impact veterans and their families. Core to the film’s story, and this wartime legacy, is the essence of mateship borne out of the shared struggle for survival.
Seventy years ago, Australia’s position in South-East Asia was dramatically redefined. The invasion and subsequent fall of Singapore in World War Two is a key part of Australian and Singaporean history, and it informs us about our past and who we are today. CANOPY explores connection between different cultures, but it does not allude to the difference in their backgrounds. In war, we are all the same. The scenario might be set in Singapore in 1942, but the feelings and predicaments are universal.



BACKSTORY - WHY WE’RE MAKING THIS FILM

The project was created in 2006 through our personal connection with Singapore. We met many Singaporeans whose families – like many in Australia, including our own – are still living with the legacy of World War Two. The project developed into a passion for telling a personal account of war told through the eyes of two men, a pairing, symbolic of the shared history between Australia and Singapore.

The common Singaporean-Australian experience is at the very heart of our film, its story and the production. It was imperative to us to make a film that was authentic, accurate and visceral in its detail, so that you can almost feel the humidity and smell the jungle and incense. This is why we insisted on filming in the actual locations of the events that occurred; in Singapore's exotic jungles, Chinese cemeteries and the mangroves lining the straits of Johor.

We started shooting our film in 2009, the fruits of which saw us secure just enough funding and sponsorship to film in Singapore in 2010 with a mix of Australian, Singaporean, Malaysian and Taiwanese talents. After a very tight schedule filming in the tropics, we returned to Australia with some stunning footage. Thankfully, we attracted additional money and sponsorship, which allowed us to carry out our film editing, our final picture colour grade and to create over 80 amazing visual effects.

WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP
Our film has so far been privately-funded through our extensive network of friends, supporters, philanthropists and several fundraising events. 90% of the film has been completed, but there is still much work to be done.

We have some major costs associated with finalising the film and reaching our audience, including:

To do all of this, we require a further $100,000. We’ve set our Pozible campaign at raising at least $20,000 because we believe this is a realistic minimum target to achieve. However, we would love to raise much more. The beauty of Pozible is that, while we have to reach our target $20,000 goal to secure any funds, we can definitely exceed it. And we really need to. ALL donations to this project will be spent on every aspect of the film, be it post-production or taking the film to market and audiences.

Please take a look at our trailer, complete with final pictures and visual effects. It gives you a good feel for where the sound is heading. Now imagine the whole film filled with these rich, dynamic sounds. We have worked so very long and hard to create an emotionally powerful film that is cinematic, authentic and respectful of the actual events that occurred.

Please join us with your donations to help finish our film and reach our audience.


CAST
The Australian Airman is played by Khan Chittenden, from the successful recent Australian TV series, UNDERBELLY: RAZOR. Khan has an extensive film background, including the lead in CLUBLAND, with Brenda Blethyn, and WEST. He also featured in CATERPILLAR WISH and the recent ABC telemovie SISTERS OF WAR.

Mo Tzu-Yi, plays the Singapore-Chinese resistance fighter. Tzu-Yi is one of Taiwan's bright young talents and is a well-established theatre actor. His recent feature films include the award-winning A PLACE OF ONE'S OWN, SNOWFALL IN TAIPEI, THE MOST DISTANT COURSE, CANDY RAIN and DO OVER. His films have travelled extensively to international film festivals.

CREATIVE TEAM
CANOPY is written and directed by Aaron Wilson and produced by Katrina Fleming of Finer Films with co-producer Mabelyn Ow. The production company, Finer Films, is Australian. Our Singaporean co-production partner is Chuan Pictures, helmed by renowned Singaporean filmmaker Royston Tan. We are fortunate to have Australian producer Margot McDonald attached as our consultant producer. We’re also thrilled to have some fabulous post-production sponsorship partners in Canopy VFX, Haiku Post and Soundfirm.

The film’s talented creative team includes Stefan Duscio (Director of Photography), Cindy Clarkson (Editor), Robert Mackenzie (Sound Designer), Tim Burgin (Production Designer), Dollei Seah (Makeup Artist), Maria Tsoukas (Costume Designer), James Choong (Sound Recordist), Joel San Juan (Steadicam Operator), Bert Lighting House and Marcus Herrick (Post-Production Supervisor).

Aaron Wilson was born in rural Australia and has directed several short films with a passion for understated human drama. His films include RENDEZVOUS ('03), TEN FEET TALL ('05), FAUX PAS ('07) and LEAP YEAR ('08). In 2006, Aaron took part in a filmmaker residency program with The Objectifs Centre for Photography & Filmmaking in Singapore. His short film FENG (WIND) was created as part of this residency and was awarded 'best short film' at the 2007 Kuala Lumpur International Film Festival. His most recent short film, AHMAD'S GARDEN ('08), was produced in association with Screen Australia and premiered at the 2008 Melbourne International Film Festival.

Aaron and Katrina made four of these award-winning shorts together, all of which have secured international distribution. Aaron’s films have had overseas success, travelling to over 80 film festivals worldwide. These include prestigious festivals such as Palm Springs International Festival Of Short Films, Locarno International Film Festival, Festival du Cinéma de Paris, Melbourne International Film Festival, Sapporo International Short Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Giffoni Film Festival, Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, Rhode Island International Film Festival, Mumbai International Film Festival, Festival des Films du Monde Montréal, Sarasota International Film Festival, Singapore International Film Festival, World Film Festival Of Bangkok, Valdivia International Film Festival, Vladivostok International Film Festival, Adelaide Film Festival, Brisbane International Film Festival, Bilbao International Festival Of Short Films, International Best of Short Films Festival La Ciotat, Sao Paulo International Film Festival and London Film Festival.

CANOPY is Aaron's debut feature-length film. He is also a commercials director with Airbag Productions. To find out more about Aaron’s short films, please visit his website at: aaronwilsonfilms.com






MORE INFO
Please follow CANOPY at our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/canopythefilm


Twitter page: www.twitter.com/canopythefilm

the film’s website: www.canopythefilm.com

A FINAL NOTE ABOUT POZIBLE
Pozible is an exciting new initiative that helps to fund creative and inventive endeavours. It operates as an all-or-nothing funding model where projects must be fully-funded or NO money changes hands. Which means if we don’t reach our goal of $20,000, we don’t collect any of the funds. We can, however, exceed our minimum goal and aim for our ultimate goal of $100,000. Please note: Because we do not have charity status, your contributions will not be tax deductible. The Executive Producer credit does not equate to an equity stake in the film. It's illegal for us to do so and is a breach of the crowd funding regulations. Please do contact us if you have any questions.

FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US
Katrina Fleming, Producer (Finer Films P/L)
T: +61 (0) 407 866 169 / E: [email protected]

SALES AGENT
Michael Favelle, Odin's Eye Entertainment, [email protected]

Please spread the word to friends and colleagues. Sign up to our Facebook and Twitter for further updates. Thank you from Aaron, Katrina & The Canopy Team.


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