WELCOME TO THE LAND
WHAT’S THE STORY?
LOG LINE:
A battle for control through manipulation ensues when an unassuming college grad discovers his estranged friend is a wanted fugitive involved in an attempted murder for which he is being hunted by the corrupt Sheriff.
SYNOPSIS:
At a remote East Texas farm, a young man is visited by an estranged friend during forth of July weekend when a media frenzy cashes in on the juicy details of a supposed attempted murder and the Sheriff’s newly announce man hunt. Judging from unusual behavior, he quickly begins to suspect that his old partner has not changed from his desperado ways.
Confronted, he denies any involvement in a crime that has launched a region-wide man-hunt for the suspected killer. When evidence is uncovered that may point to another reality, and given the knowledge of the fugitive’s whereabouts, the wanted fugitive, slyly offers a proposal assuming that the request for assistance is only a formality. When his entreaty falls on deaf ears, he makes a second offer, this time one that his host can not refuse. Under the angry threat of deadly force, does he side with the blood-thirsty media and refuse quarter to the accused killer? Or does he abide in their many years of friendship, trusting that the encroaching sheriff has yet again resorted to prosecutorial misconduct in the despotic pursuit of political gain?
How far will a suspected murderer go to protect his interests?
WHEN CAN I SEE IT?
The film is 99% finished and ready to submit to festivals. Only a few final touches are needed and Blake is working diligently daily to get them finalized. The expected date of completion is early to mid-June. The festival world takes about a year to circumnavigate.
*For specifics on progress visit our “Project Updates” link at the top.
WHY ME / WHY NOW?
Study of mythology shows that we understand our world through story. It’s a part human DNA and movies are how we tell stories in the modern era. I found myself in film school at age 20 where my film tribe and I were trained to develop our unique voice, to “know thyself” and use this understanding to find “our story.”
This story is one that fits into the theme of the “Injustice of Justice,” a theme has been trending over the last several years with series like “Making a Murderer” on Netflix, and “Wrongful Conviction” on Amazon Prime. A 2023 academy award winning film (Best Actress) that portrays an over-achieving prosecutor trying to prove the guilt of a suspected murderer is “Anatomy of a fall.” Another contemporary audience favorite is the true crime podcast “The Coldest Case In Laramie,” and there’s even a fictional series called “Only Murders in The Building” on Hulu which is basically a true crime podcast turned into a TV series (I highly recommend this show. Great cast including Steve martin who created the show and like me is a native Texan.).
HOW WAS IT DONE?
(WHAT IS COOL OR UNIQUE ABOUT “THE LAND”)
These days most films are shot in new digital cinema formats. While digital has developed to the point that it is very cinematic, the new workflows have changed the craft. Producing on traditional celluloid carries with it an artistic demand which requires a increasingly rare discipline for the artists. The required diligence and careful attention to the process can be felt by the audience in the final work.
Presented in rare form, The Land was shot on 16mm film, in Cinemascope widescreen lending the movie a unique look and feel. The 20th century optical engineering lends an extra element of authenticity to the story’s 20th century subject. The A/B roll negative is transferred to a film inter-positive which cleans the negative and gives us a master backup of the original camera negative (OCN.) Then we scan it to a 2K Digital Intermediate where the rest of the work is completed. When finished, we’ll output to a DCI Master, the same digital standard used in first run theaters around the world.
THE TEAM
THE FILMMAKER
CAST
KEY PERSONELL