TUCSON, AZ – Making movies is not for the faint of heart. What is often viewed as a glamorous profession is actually an incredibly difficult, expensive, usually thankless and certainly exhausting undertaking for the independent filmmaker. But for those who are compelled by the desire to tell stories, filmmaking is exhilarating.
Holodad writer and director, Luke Stewart, with a background in visual effects, was bitten by “the bug” as a kid, watching classic science fiction movies. For Stewart, the opportunity to undertake the daunting task of making a movie is a dream come true.
“As a kid who grew up on Star Wars, Blade Runner and Mad Max,” Stewart said, “becoming a movie director seemed about as likely to me as becoming an astronaut or the President, so the just the fact that I got to do this is a huge win for me, but of course I hope the movie becomes a critical and financial success as well.”
As one would expect, the task of fulfilling a lifelong dream has not been an easy one. Stewart knew that making a feature-length sci-fi film—with the inevitability of complicated costumes, props, and visual effects shots—would be an all-consuming task. In order to achieve his dream, Stewart decided that he would make the project a family endeavor and began the monumental undertaking of creating Holodad.
“Being able to direct a movie has been a dream come true for me, and doing it with my kids has been even more incredible”, said the father of five. “I knew my oldest could act, as she had been in several plays and has a knack for it. The younger kids I wasn’t so sure of, so we did some acting lessons and improv classes prior to filming. They all performed brilliantly.”
Stewart financed pre-production, principal photography, and much of postproduction out of pocket, but having exhausted his funds he is now reaching out to “family, friends, and a wider community of passionate, family-friendly sci-fi fans” to help him cross the finish line. Like many independent filmmakers today, Stewart has launched a Kickstarter campaign hoping to raise completion funds directly from his community and a potentially-wider, yet-to-be-tapped audience through crowdfunding.
For those of you who don’t know, crowdfunding on sites like Kickstarter.com often allow supporters to receive special incentives for pre-ordering a product or “buying in” before a project is completed. You can check out the Kickstarter campaign (launched March 31st), here:
If the project looks interesting to you, or you simply feel compelled to support a dad who is fulfilling a lifelong dream with his kids, you can follow this link to the campaign page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1282605630/holodad-a-sci-fi-feature-length-family-movie
Inspired by 2001: A Space Odyssey, War Games and A Quiet Earth, Holodad explores themes common to both science fiction and drama, namely: man’s over-reliance on technology, and our interdependence with others in our lives. Holodad also touches on spiritual questions and themes like: forgiveness, the nature of evil, and God’s mercy and providence in our lives.
Be the first to comment