Pablo, Anton, Rocco

Film school has been an incredible part of our lives, where we met and have grown together both as individuals and filmmakers. Together we have learnt to work as a team to bring our ideas to life. ‘The Fools Who Dream’ is the pinnacle of all the knowledge, experience, and passion we have gained over the past 3 years. Our goal is to create a film that conveys everything we learnt and can transmit joy to the audience.

Over the past year, we have been working hard to gain the necessary experience and some money! Since last summer we have worked on 3 different films together, taking them from development, all the way to distributing them to film festivals! We have also undertaken different jobs to fund our project! Unfortunately, our ambitions reached higher than we were capable of, and we need your help.

Gary spends most of his time daydreaming, imagining himself in the movies he loves. With the arrival of a new classmate called Debbie, he feels an immediate attraction towards her, but without the confidence to approach her, he processes his feelings in a dreamlike way. That is until he meets her in reality, causing the thin line between dream and reality to collapse as he faces raw feelings he has never experienced before.

Gary (17): A young, introverted boy, who has lived in London his whole life, he is a cinephile who sees cinema as a safe place where he feels protected. He struggles to open up and share his true feelings, so he does so through the films he watches. He often finds himself daydreaming during the day, picturing himself in the films he loves. Gary has a creative mind, but because of his lack of self-esteem and initiative, he hasn’t put that creativity into practice. Things quickly change when he meets Debbie.

Debbie (17): Debbie is a radiant girl whose open energy quickly attracts the likeness of others. Her family moves around the world a lot, but she never has any trouble making friends. She feels comfortable having male friends, but, more than once, boys have mistaken her kindness for an interest in them. She has a weakness for introverted and quiet boys as their shyness blends well with her extroverted traits. When she meets Gary, she doesn’t know yet if she sees him as a friend, or if this time, there is a different kind of attraction in play.

'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' and 'La La Land' were a great source of inspiration for the short, both visually and thematically.  Those two movies are a perfect example of how to portray such a raw, pure, and genuine young love, and all the consequences of those feelings. All the challenges faced in a relationship help us mature as human beings and change us forever. Sometimes a gaze or a shared moment with someone can change the course of our life, for the better or the worse.

'La La Land' was particularly important to me, as it was the movie that made me fall in love with cinema. And considering that this is, in its littleness, a love letter to cinema, it is a strong influence.

'The Purple Rose of Cairo' is a beautiful film that shows the power of imagination, and how somehow a fake reality is more exciting and more reassuring than the real world. But what happens when the two realities merge into each other?  Mia Farrow’s character is a perfect example of how much a passion can save your life and bring some light and joy in the monotony of everyday routine.

And last but not least is 'The Fabelmans', whose main character reminded me a lot of myself. How lucky and amazing it is to have such a strong passion for something, but also how sometimes that might lead to alienation.

The core idea behind our approach to making this film is to remember why we are passionate about the different genres we will incorporate in this project. We will investigate the details that shape the beauty of each genre, from the camera movements to the lighting and the colours. We aim to go “all the way in” to allow the viewer to understand what is happening in the story, especially because of the little time available for us to tell the story. Gary is always picturing movie scenes in front of him. He knows that they are happening in his head, and so will the audience.

Below are the costs of some of the aspects we hope to fund through your support: 

One of our biggest challenges lies in the hiring of locations. Luckily for us, our school provides us with a Studio and we will film Gary’s home in one of our own homes, but in the case of a secondary school, cinema and public areas we must cover the hiring costs. 

The production design of the studio we’ll be using is also a huge challenge for us. We aim to dress it with big backdrops and props to represent some of the worlds that Gary imagines. This also involves the costumes involved in these worlds! Without the necessary production design we can’t demonstrate Gary’s love for cinema and the way he communicates it.

Thankfully for us, our school provides us with the filming equipment we will need! This includes shooting on the Arri Alexa Mini camera! 

Casting: 700£

Production Design: 850£

• Studio Set (800£)
• Gary’s Room  (50£)

Locations: 800£

• School (200£)
• Cinema (500£)
• Public Filming Permits (100£)

Kit Transport: 100£

Post Production: 300£

Catering: 400£

Total: 3150£

Any amount is hugely appreciated by us and we’d like to thank you for taking the time to consider! 🙂

Digital Poster of Film! (20£)

Copy of the Script with Director’s Notes! (30£)

Personalized thank you video from Crew!  (50£)

Backstage Material!  (80£)

• High quality videos and photos

Film Pre-Production Documents and Early access to film! (120£)

• Shot list, Floor Plans, etc.

Executive Producer Credit (500£)