Further Information

A LITTLE ABOUT ME and THE "WHY"

I am an actress and a filmmaker born and raised in Slovakia, country of beautiful mountains, pretty women and sweet brandy, with high inner fantasy level, who will probably never really grow up in a traditional sense. I have too much curiosity to settle. I studied acting under Jack Garfein, the founder of Actors Studio West, who used to direct James Dean himself. Devoted to following my heart and giving it all I have is why it took almost 4 years from the original idea of a story to bring it to life. It matured, it grew and changed. As have I. But one thing stayed the same and it is the hunger and inner fire to bring the stories to life and the key themes holding it together. This movie is especially important for me, for I have friends who suffer from bipolar disorder, or know people who have come through their darkest times, and in those times, a mere recognition of their struggles made them feel less alone.
I first came to Iceland for a summer job but it pierced my heart completely with its beauty, intensity and mystery. I found so much inspiration, that I knew, that I want to shoot my first big project here. It is a love letter to Iceland among other things.
People need to be connected, through stories, now more than ever, so as not to feel alone. And that's why it's so important to make this movie.

STORY

This is a story about love while suffering from bipolar disorder - our main antagonist does not know how to love, and so suffers and brings all that suffering to other people. A Beauty and the Beast atmosphere meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

All he wants is someone to control, and through control, show his love. He is full of it but has no one to give it to, even worse, there was no one to show him how.

Our heroine Leah on the other hand, seems like a traditional against-all-odds kinda gal. Strong on the outside, doesn't refuse hard manual labour, as through physicality, she overcomes her inner struggles and shadows. Has a lot of pride and therefore clashes tremendously with the antagonist.

To what extremes these clashes can come, we will explore in the movie.

CHARACTERS

Leah
Not too tragic for you to feel sorry for her but also not funny enough to be able to break into the world. A tragicomic character. Hard worker. Self-banned to solitude and guilt with a big heart with no one to give it to.

Úlfur
Otherwise translated as Wolf, for he equally longs to be part of a pack, but is also a loner. With one leg in heaven, one leg in hell, his predatory presence makes other people stay away. During manic periods, almost seems happy, carefree and someone you would talk to. Until the dark side takes over.

They mirror each other.

She has nowhere to go, nobody to go back to. Alienated from her friends, family and herself, she believes she deserves nothing better or worse than a life on this farm.

He is not all bad. She is not all good. They could easily be one another, with different setting.

IMPORTANT THEMES

This is a passion project, for it can be a story of each and every one. Themes such as isolation, identity, obsession, co-dependency, love, self-worth, loneliness, female driven energy, bipolar disorder, depression and love resonate deeply within those who it touches. These are strange and challenging times and stories like this help those in need to feel heard and understood. And that's why it's so important for me to make this movie.

ATMOSPHERE AND SURROUNDINGS

The movie is set on a remote Icelandic farm, far away from everybody to intensify the feeling of loneliness and isolation. Costumes are simple, flannel shirts, rubber boots. A proper farming attire. The house of the main antagonist will be old and rusty, with family history and sense of secret.

MUSIC AND POST-PRODUCTION

Music is an essential part of this movie, and will be the cherry on top of the whole picture. Special addition to the movie is a planned original song that will be performed by the two main actors as a "dream sequence". Inspired by the rock-opera and musical genre.

Post-production is to create a dark secluded atmosphere where you feel you are alone with the characters, almost in the room with them, almost able to touch them. Inspired by Darren Aronofsky's visual genius or subtle intense vision of John Krasinski, this movie will be something to watch.

CAST

Sofia Novakova
Leah
An actress from Slovakia, trained in Jack Garfein Studio in Paris and the Actors Studio West in Los Angeles. Recent credits include Van Helsing on Netflix with Kim Coates. Currently residing in Iceland.

Úlfur
In process of casting: if you're interested in auditioning, please contact sofia.novakova@gmail.com (must be Icelandic talent)

Rakel Ýr Stefánsdóttir
Sister
Rakel is a great actress from Iceland, alumni of the Iceland Academy of the Arts with a degree in Acting, currently working for the City Theater in Reykjavík.

WHAT WILL THE MONEY BE SPENT ON?

I will make sure to put all my talent, passion and energy into the project but I will need your help. Good things don't come easy and to make sure we make the best film possible, we need additional funding for:

· THE CAST
· EQUIPMENT and LOCATION rentals
· PROPS, such as fake blood, COSTUMES/Production Design to create a proper feel of the environment
· We need to feed the people helping us, so CATERING on set for the cast and crew
·TRAVEL COSTS
· POST-PRODUCTION - things like sound design, colour correction, visual effects and music composition are key factors in how the movie will end up looking. Like painting a canvas - you never know how the final picture will look like until the last stroke of the brush.

OUR GOAL

We hope to be finished with shooting by the end of October and be done with post-production by Christmas 2021. And then with the arrival of New Year, send the movie to an exciting journey: festivals.

SUBMITTING TO FESTIVALS

With your help, I will be able to distribute the movie properly and send it to all relevant festivals like Cannes film festival, which has been my dream since I first attended it in 2015.

THANK YOU

If you can't contribute financially no worries, but we would still appreciate your support by spreading the word about this campaign by posting it on your social media (Facebook,Twitter with your friends and family. I will be posting regular updates under Sofia Novakova on Facebook. Thank you again for your tremendous help and support.

If you are interested in donating more than €1000, please contact sofia.novakova@gmail.com.