WELCOME TO THE LAND
WHAT’S THE STORY?
LOG LINE:
When a local boy returns home from college on independence day weekend, he finds that his estranged friend is being hunted by the local Sheriff who may have his own ulterior motives.
SYNOPSIS:
At a remote East Texas farm, a young go-getter is visited by his estranged friend during forth of July weekend while local media exploits the sensational news that a local resident is the subject of the latest man hunt. Judging from unusual behavior, he begins to suspect that his old partner has not changed from his desperado ways.
When confronted, he denies any involvement but evidence is uncovered that may point to another reality. The fugitive, assures that his request for assistance is only a formality. When his plea falls on deaf ears, the unwelcome guest makes a second offer, this time one that his host can not refuse.
Under the threat of deadly force, does he call bluff, 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 evade capture?
HOW WAS IT DONE?
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 a level of fastidiousness discipline for the artists. This extra attention to detail 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 4k DCI Master, the same digital standard used for premium screenings in first run theaters around the world.
WHY ME?
Study of mythology shows that people understand our world through story. It’s a part of our DNA. Movies are how we tell stories in this techno-saturated era. I found myself in film school at age 20 where I began to discern my voice and use this understanding to find “my story.” The Land was written over the course of a six hour intensive burst of creative output after a tiresome multi-day effort to generate an idea that would just be good enough for a thesis class submission. What resulted from an unexpected illumination was something much more profound.
WHY NOW?
The “Injustice of Justice,” is a theme that gained attention in the 1980’s with a famous documentary titled, “The Thin Blue Line” and 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.
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.
THE TEAM
THE FILMMAKER
KEY PERSONELL