Josh Zammit

Hello friends,

As many of you may know, Ascendant is a project both me and Sam have been working on for many years now. We've had a lot of set backs getting this thing off the ground, with location drop outs, budget difficulties and the greyhound racing industries current political problems it's been very difficult to make this film happen. BUT now we have finally been able to shoot some of the film, 3 days and we couldnt be happier with the result....Though we still have another 4 days left and are in dire need of some extra financing for our pick up shoot. Currently we have enough budgeted for all but the last day. Everyone is working extremely hard and helping voluntarily but we must pay for lights, gear and locations. We are so close to getting this thing done and dusted, with your help we can do it.

Any contribution would be much appreciated!

Thank you.

If you're new to Ascendant, or want a refresh, here is our spiel...

The Project

Ascendant is a project we are intensely passionate about and it is exactly the type of film we would love to see made. We believe it carries stronger, larger and more complex ideas and meanings than your average short film. Through the creation of a science fiction universe, an entire world is on the cusp of ‘existence’ through this exercise in short film making. We are excited and more than ready to get this project on its legs.

Hero worship, innocence, nostalgia, redemption, empathy, existence, aspirations, nihilism. These themes, prevalent throughout the film give Ascendant its soul. As the film is set in a universe entirely of our creation, we have worked hard to make it as large and developed as any cinematic universe, we believe this sets it apart. Through production design, sound design, special effects and lighting we will show how developed this universe is. Half of preproduction is dedicated to making props and set dressing that help show the universe Robert lives in, from paintings, pictures, and signs, to a full commercial. All showing a sad and desolate world.

Our Vision:

Josh and cinematographer Carl Robertson ACS have been in discussion about this project for over a year now and have spoken in detail about how they will achieve the visual style. The film will be shot in black and white using the Arri Alexa with anamorphic lenses at the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, providing an epic glimpse into a very brooding mysterious milieu. Visually, Carl and Josh find inspiration for Ascendent in the films of Andre Tarkovsky, Roman Polanski, David Lynch and in particular Belà Tarr’s “The Turin Horse”. Directors as proficient in creating beautifully provocative images as they are in directing actors and telling powerful stories. The film will be shot with a composed-Cinematic approach that will sometimes be epic and theatrical and at other times intimate and observational. Intensely dramatic scenes will make use of a handheld camera while moments of slow-tension will employ a creeping dolly or stillness. The film’s viewpoint will be incredibly subjective to allow the audience to empathize with the character as profoundly as possible. 

Actor Harry Greenwood is attached to the project to play the lead character Robert Schumman. With a talented team behind us and our collective vision we now need your help to raise the funds to bring our story to life in a visually impressive way.

Josh Zammit: Writer/Director/Producer

Josh Zammit was born in Sydney, Australia where he left high school at 16 to study film. After working for numerous directors on projects varying from television commercials to music videos, Zammit joined Sterling Cinema to start a creative collaboration with director Joseph Sims-Dennett. With Sterling Cinema Zammit produced and co-wrote feature film ‘Observance’.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm5166890/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Samuel Loveridge: Writer/Producer

Samuel Loveridge holds a Diploma in screen and media and has worked full time in the film industry for over 6 years. Primarily working for Panavision and ARRI, as well as a freelance Music Video director, Corporate Video Editor, Data Wrangler, Cameraman, Set Decorator, and as the writing partner of Josh Zammit. Sam has been working closely with Josh Zammit for over 8 years now.

https://au.linkedin.com/in/samuelloveridge

Stefanie Foerster - Producer/1st AD

Stefanie is a Sydney based Producer, passionate about creating new, interesting Australian content. Currently working with National Geographic and with many years on set experience producing and production managing, Stef is well equipped with the insider knowledge and determination when it comes to creating smaller independent productions.

Carl Robertson ACS: Cinematographer

Award winning cinematographer Carl Robertson ACS has gained international recognition for his visually impressive photography. He has won over 70 Cinematography Awards, including 54 Awards from the Australian Cinematographers Society for artistic excellence in Film, Commercials, Music Videos and Documentary work. He also won the 2006 Kodak film school competition garnering the Best Cinematography Award in the Australasia region and was the runner up in the World region competition.
 Carl Robertson ACS started at Australian Broadcasting Corporation working firstly as a TV News cameraman. He then went on to photograph many international documentaries for the ABC and in 2003 he left to pursue a Master’s Degree in Cinematography at the prestigious Australian Film, Television and Radio School garnering the highly esteemed Cinematographer of the year award upon graduation. He received his ACS accreditation in 2008 from the Australian Cinematographers Society at the age of 30.
 Carl’s professional expertise is recognized and respected within the film industry. He approaches all projects with a level of commitment that accentuates his creativity and his capacity to connect with a story. Skilled in all camera formats, Carl is a perfectionist at heart, with a genuine passion for his craft. With an ability to contribute conceptually as well as visually, Carl is deeply dedicated to artistic excellence.

https://vimeo.com/carlrobertson

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2094452/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr5

Charles Ivory: Editor

Charles Ivory has worked as an editor for over eighteen years, first studying the pre-digital craft of film editing under one of Australia’s preeminent editors, Karl Sodersten (LANTANA). He is one of Australia and New Zealand’s sought after commercial editors, working with revered directors Tony Williams, Ray Lawrence and David Denneen. His campaigns include BigPond with Tommy Lee, So Good with Delta Goodrem, Lynx Clean Your Balls Buffer with Sophie Monk, and 1999’s infamous pop-culture icon BUGGER for Toyota Hilux, which took out a slew of Best Commercial awards, including the Cannes Gold Lion. In 2014 Charles edited feature film "Observance" his first collaboration with Sterling Cinema, as well as also editing the promo clip for Ascendent. Charles has been awarded with the AXIS Gold, AWARD: Silver, and recently, the Avid Award for Best Editing at the 2014 Flickerfest International Film Festival. 

http://www.charlesivory.com/Home.html

We still have a few thousand left from when we last raised money as well as money that we put in ourselves.

But we are $2000 short.

This will cover the final day of shooting, gear, props, crew etc...

Our stretch target is $3350 ad we need an additional $1350 to get an additional day with our dog actor.

An additional day will make the whole process significantly easier to achieve.

Removing undue pressure from our volunteer crew and dog actor.

This film has been so very very challenging, but the finish line is in sight.

If we dont raise this money we will still shoot the first 3 days of our final weekend.

But we will still need to shoot the final day another time.

Either way we are making this, but this money means we can finish it all in one final go.