Meetup #190
Sunday was one of those meetups where you look around the room and realise just how many different kinds of stories people are carrying around with them.
We had new filmmakers joining us from different backgrounds, people talking about projects they’re writing or trying to get off the ground, and a few ideas that definitely made us stop and listen for a second.
🎤 Pitches
One of the projects shared this week was “The Merge,” a 30-minute sci-fi drama set in a future where world peace has been achieved and inequality has disappeared.
Sounds like a happy ending. Except there’s a problem: without struggle, people have lost their reason to live.
A company offers them a way out through a dream state called Limbo, where bad memories can be overwritten. The story follows a painter inside Limbo, where things start becoming increasingly strange.
The team is looking for actors, voice talent, a producer, VFX, DOP, makeup and an editor.
We also heard about “The Apaz,” a story written during the recent revolution in Iran. One man has somehow ended pregnancies worldwide and is now being interrogated about it. The shoot is planned as a one-day production in Berlin in the last week of September, and they’re looking for a gaffer.
And then there was “The Graveyard Challenge,” inspired by Croatian folk tales. A group of women dare each other to enter a graveyard after telling scary stories.
They’re currently looking for an abandoned graveyard or props that can help turn a normal place into one.
📅 Coming up
Next Sunday, September 6th, we’re keeping things practical with a 20-minute FilmFreeway Mini Workshop on festival applications and, just as importantly, how to find festivals that actually make sense for your film.
The Screenwriters Focus Group is also back from its summer break on September 6th at 3 PM at Workish.
Then on September 10th, it’s time for the next AI Filmmaking Meetup at Ojin, Aixhaus. And the 48-hour AI Filmhack is planned for November 26.
Different stories, different people, same Sunday ritual.
Come with an idea. Come with a question. Come because you’re trying to make something.
Stop waiting. Start creating.
