Senior Thesis Film - Rauch

THE LOWDOWN

Hey Everyone! My name is Adam Santiago, I'm a senior filmmaking student at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee looking to fund post-production for my senior thesis film.

Thanks for checking out our project!

Principal Photography is COMPLETE! Check out the exclusive first look here:


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RAUCH
*"Rauch" means "Smoke" in German*

During World War II, an American deserter abandons his unit in war-torn Europe and seeks refuge from exhaustion in the forest. He wakes to find a German soldier rifling through his pockets. Both shocked and confused, they tussle until coming to a tense standoff. Eventually, they form an uneasy truce over a pack of cigarettes. 

What happens next in this hostile environment will test their trust and humanity.

WHY I NEED YOUR HELP
Making a movie is expensive. Making a period-piece set in the middle of World War II is, even more, expensive.

- Post-Production: $2,000

We're looking at a lot of post-production costs from things like editing by Caroline Jaecks, an original score by Curtis Allen,  a full Sound Design as well as Mixing and then Automated Dialog Replacement ("ADR"), Foley, and an abundance of Visual Effects work.

As with most short films, I will be contributing everything we possibly can to this film. I am all-in on this project. Unfortunately, I've learned that sometimes no matter how much passion and devotion you put into a project, it always comes down to money. I work three part-time jobs and go to school full-time -- any money that I have that isn't going to bills is going to this film.

How many of you can name 5 successful Puerto Rican filmmakers? How many of you can even name one? These are the odds that I'm currently up against in the industry that's currently plagued by a lack of diversity as shown by the #OscarsSoWhite  hashtag circulating Twitter. While my project isn't about Puerto Rican issues directly, it is a project about understanding.

Thanks to GoFundMe, I'm able to connect with like-minded people who believe in art, new ideas and new talent. With your help, we can make Rauch as beautiful, entertaining and thought-provoking as we know it can be.

The Team
Adam Santiago (director / co-writer) – Adam is a director of short films and music videos currently residing in Chicago. He began his studies in filmmaking at Emerson College in Boston, MA before transferring to the Univ. of WI - Milwaukee to finish his BFA. He has also spent time working on his craft in various cities including Minneapolis, Albuquerque, and Austin. Having a strong background in theatre has influenced Adam's approach to filmmaking as a completely collaborative process with no weighted value on any individual position on the crew.

Joseph D. Redemann  (producer / co-writer) - Joe is a writer and critical literacy educator living in Minneapolis, MN. He seeks to facilitate discussion about social issues with people of all-ages through storytelling and art. He believes firmly in the power of art and language to share culture, inspire community and foster understanding. Currently, he works to bring these ideals to public school children through the Neighborhood Bridges program with Children's Theater Company and is seeking his M.A. in Teaching and initial licensure in Theater Education at Hamline University. 

Derek Shreves  (director of photography) -  Derek Shreves is an independent cinematographer based in Wisconsin. As a young child, Derek preferred to show rather than tell, leading to his discovery of filmmaking. Having that discovery develop into a passion, Derek went on to graduate with high honors from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film. Since that time, his experience has stemmed from short films, feature films, music videos, live events, and commercials. Not only does Derek seek to create images that speak louder than words, but his professionalism and commitment, regardless of the project, ensures results that will exceed expectations. - View Derek's Film Reel  Here!

HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Every single contribution helps and gets us closer to our goal of making this important film and getting it out into the world!

- Every donation helps! (yes, even just $1.00!)
- Every "like" and share on Facebook  helps!
- Every forward to a friend helps!
- Every tweet and re-tweet helps!

In return for your help, we want to get you as involved in the film as you want to be. We're offering chances to meet with the production team and offer your own critique of our work at various stages of the production. If you want to come hang out on set, we can arrange that – if you're a student (or have a student in your life) and want to learn about any facet of the production, we can arrange that too. We believe that everyone has a voice that should be heard and we want to hear what you have to say.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
By donating to this project, you aren't just donating to the creation of a film - you're contributing to a greater community and becoming an active participant in an on-going conversation about important social issues and human nature. Rauch is a small reflection of a body of meaningful work that we hope to create going forward in our careers. We strive to create meaningful discussions with all of our films and Rauch is no exception to this. All of our work seeks to do more than just entertain audiences; we strive to engage viewers in discussions.

In Rauch, we meet two characters who represent two opposing ideologies forced upon them by two historically great political machines. What stands in between them is more than just personal differences, its ideological differences that have been forced upon them.

As a society, we're unable to talk about the important things that are going on in the world because we're afraid to engage in situations that we're unfamiliar with. We're afraid of the possibility of meaningful conversations with strangers out of fear of having to confront and maneuver around other ethnicities, races, sexualities, religious beliefs and other cultural stereotypes. Instead, we hide from the world in the safety of our digital technology.

Rauch is an important film because it is not offering a solution. We offer a digital-space and a framework to encounter and wrestle with the ideas presented.

WHO ARE WE?
LIGHTBRIGHT  is a team of talented artists, writers, filmmakers and photographers spread around the United States. LIGHTBRIGHT approaches filmmaking as a completely collaborative process. All people involved are encouraged to voice their opinions on individual aspects of the filmmaking process with the belief that everyone working together will produce a better film than one produced by a single artist.

LIGHTBRIGHT has used crowd-funding in the past. Our last film Before I Met You (2011)  was funded successfully via Kickstarter, raising approx. $1,200 a few weeks shy of the deadline. BIMY was produced by Visual Syncopation, the former production company of filmmaker Adam Santiago and his former collaborator, Michael Gerrity. The film is viewable, for free on VIMEO using the above link.

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Thanks again for checking out my GoFundMe Page and I look forward to working with all of you!