STAR WARS SHORT FILM: “THE HOLOCRON”

Want a Star Wars fan film that doesn’t look like a fan film?
What about one shot by a professional crew?
 
My name is Sidney Reed, a professor of film and working director.  Help my amazing team of students and professionals fund the initial casting for a Star Wars short film titled “The Holocron.”  We need this first round of funding to cast the very best talent for the roles of a Sith Lord and Jedi Master.  The team is incredibly excited for a chance to film something that doesn’t look like a student/fan film, but looks like the real thing!  It will be a great learning opportunity, and we plan on entering the Official Star Wars Fan Film contest this year.  My dream is to have my students learn directly under my fellow industry professionals so that they get one-on-one learning - not just a class assignment, but an actual film set to supplement their college learning experience!


 This film will be shot in the same style and techniques as the actual Star Wars films, meaning: renting industry standard cinema cameras like the Sony F65 or Arri Alexa (used in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi), capturing in cinemascope/anamorphic, casting experienced actors, and hiring diverse crew members.  Students will get the chance to be around real film gear to enhance their class learning and put those new skills to the test.
 
Students these days struggle to gain real world training in an industry that requires experience from day one.  Young filmmakers tell me they cannot get their foot in the door using just student projects in their portfolio.  As a working director and their professor, I can give them a better chance by bringing them onboard my own film sets to gain experience.  I never had a mentor help me in this way, and I would love to give them a helping hand.  Not only will this film be ridiculously fun, but it will give them an actual professional film to have in their portfolio (instead of just student assignments).  And who doesn’t love a Star Wars film?


 ABOUT THIS FILM - A FILM MADE FOR FANS
This story takes place centuries before the Star Wars prequels and focuses on the lore of the holocrons – devices used to record secrets about the Force and the history of the Jedi and Sith Orders.  Holocrons have only been shown in the Star Wars: Rebels animated series but never on the silver screen.  It would be a fresh and interested addition to a familiar story.  We want to bring a new story and element to Star Wars fans that Hollywood has not.

Production is already well underway, with locations, props, costumes, crew, and VFX in place and ready to go.  We started last December and are in a good position to begin casting (but we need your help to do so!)


 WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE
There are many Star Wars fan films online, but most of them are created by exactly that: fans.  And while these are fun and unique, we feel like we can do that but also give it that polished and authentic Star Wars look. Our project will be shot on the same gear used on Hollywood films with crew who works in the industry.  We want this movie to look like the real thing.


 
MEET THE TEAM
Our team is highly diverse – we have crew members of all ages, genders, ethnicities, and levels of experience.  The top crew positions are three minority women who want to change how women work in the film industry.  The current team also consists almost entirely of film school students and alumni from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) as well as the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD).  This will be a huge collaborate effort across the board to produce a very professional short film.   
 
DIRECTOR:  Sidney Reed is Japanese-American and a professor of film at the University of Colorado Denver, and has 10 years of experience working in Los Angeles and Denver on feature films, corporate projects, and documentaries.  She has worked for Lightstream Pictures, Microsoft, Uber, among with Fortune 500 companies through CEAVCO Audio Visual.
 
PRODUCER:  Caroline Eppers is an alumni from CU Denver (and former student of Sidney).  At the age of 14 she was diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and PTSD, but hasn’t let this stop her from breaking into the film industry. 
 
1ST AD:  Makayla O’Malley is the 1stAssistant Director and current student of Sidney’s.  She is part of the LGBT community and is currently working to get a PhD in Marketing. 
 
2ND AD:  Jacob Wyscaver is the 2ndAssistant Director, Hispanic-American, and a long-time student of Sidney’s.  He is interested in learning how to direct his own narrative films.
 
CONCEPT ARTIST:  All of our beautiful initial concepts and designs were done by Kiana Reed, who has worked on games in both 2D, 3D, and maquette sculpting.
 
The rest of the team will consist of students and alumni from UC Denver and SCAD.  We are also working with with local Colorado community, including:
 
Hamilton Casting – a talent agency that has cast for Gone Girl, Pete’s Dragon, and A Wrinkle in Time.
 
The Denver Historic Fencing Association – talent will receive professional training in swordplay and lightsaber choreography

DONATE NOW!
Thank you for supporting students and fan films!  Your donations are greatly appreciated!  My students will be grateful to have a chance to work with real film crews, and you will get an incredible new story from the Star Wars universe!