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We Are The Apocalypse! A short narrative film, Written, Produced and Directed by Charles William Lane. Nominated for Best Comedy and Best Lead Actress-Short Film: Sarah Street.
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, We Are the Apocalypse! is a meditation on how a middleaged man’s sense of masculine and generational entitlement clashes with the misguided naiveté of a younger generation, raised on the unconscious belief that media truly is the message. The film is a Black Comedy exploring questions of failure, responsibility, loss, and reckoning. It also begs the age-old question “What is art?” We Are the Apocalypse ! is about an idealistic group of young artists with “modern” issues, and aspirations far greater than their communal talents, who decide to go for broke and kidnap a well-known billionaire to hold for ransom and have beg the world on all social media platforms for a large sum of money in exchange for his life. This money will then fund their grand scheme of social justice in the form of a film following them as they blow up Mount Rushmore. Heeding the advice of the least mentally stable member of their NORTH EUROPE ONLINE EDITION LONDON 2022
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“collective”, they kidnap the wrong man, getting stuck instead with a grizzled, down-on-his-luck lech, who by his own admission, has failed at everything in life, including art. When they realize their mistake, the question then becomes “What now?” Taking their cue from the least likely of sources, they decide to put him on trial. I began writing what was originally titled The Hanged Man in the summer of 2019. I had written a feature screenplay, Identification: Laura Bracken, that had won awards internationally, but I was having no luck getting it produced. After making the rounds of the festival circuit, I thought shooting my own short might be a better calling card. And being that shorts are microcosms of thought, a possibly painstaking and exhilarating exercise. I was correct. Having a lifelong fascination with cults and terrorist organizations, and always being drawn to stories about mistaken identity, creating this film was a true labor of love.
Finding the right Cinematographer was tantamount to getting the results I wanted, and John L. Murphy became much more than just my cameraman. Using the films of some of my favorite directors, i.e., Joseph Losey, Michaelangelo Antonioni, etc. as inspiration, John and I worked many hours to create just the right color palette and environment for the actors to bring their characters to life in. The adage “It takes a village” certainly applies to filmmaking, as without my unbelievably talented cast (Pat Skipper, Sarah Street, Yair Ben-Dor, Helen Laser, and John Kell O’Hara), composer (Marike Van Dijk), editor (Derek LaRock), and crew, I would still be sitting at my desk wondering who might read my words. Thanks to all. It was a pleasure and I look forward to the next round. Charles William Lane www.wearetheapocalypse.info/ Short comedy Runtime 30 minutes