by Kimmie Chameleon:
A Film Passionately Funded by 5000 People
On Wednesday, May 15 2013, DarkMedia was invited to attend the eagerly awaited movie premiere of ‘The Cosmonaut’ at the Downtown Independent Cinema in Los Angeles, California. To try and simplify this film would be virtually impossible. This first feature-length project by Riot Cinema Collective was financed through the use of crowdfunding, and Creative Common licensing in its production. Just the fact that this Spanish film directed by Nicolas Alcala stars English speaking actors (Leon Ockenden, Max Wrottestey, and Katrine DeCandole) about Russian cosmonauts in the 1970’s, only begins to build a foundation of its ever-changing and evolving existence. The actual feature film is a multi-layered hypnotic experience that beckons the far reaches of your inner soul by echoing the words of poetry and elaborating on it with images of nature and rich textures. Yeah…it’s like that!
An Entity All On Its Own
Drifting further into space, a Russian cosmonaut reflects on his isolation, and perhaps dives too deeply into the abyss of his altered perspective. Hints of conspiracies of lost Soviet cosmonauts pepper the main plot line of a love triangle between two best friends and a girl. When the lost cosmonaut returns to Earth, he finds even more isolation when not a single human is within sight. Simultaneously, the cosmonaut’s friends seek to find him, but only uncover recordings of him from his time in space. Is this a time slip? Is he a ghost? Are they ghosts? What is reality, and what is imagined? By the end of the film you find yourself questioning your own reality.
The following is the official press release description of the film is as follows:
“The Cosmonaut” is much more than a movie. Is an experience that took four years in the making, pushing the boundaries of alternative distribution, copyright and financing. It’s crowdfunded (with more than half a million dollars raised), creative commons-licensed (all the raw materials will be released for you to reuse them and it will be online for free on our website as well as in P2P), transmedia (a feature film, 30 extra episodes, a short film and two books), and with a fan-based distribution (you can organize your screening and make money!).
A film that will take you fifty years back in time, to the beginning of the Space Race, when the Soviets ruled the cosmos. Suit up and choose “The Cosmonaut” experience. If you dare.
The movie trailer:
The Experience
Although the feature film is now available to view for free in many different formats on their official website, you can opt to purchase the “K-Pass” and access the tons of extra bonus features. This additional investment not only allows you to watch a mockumentary, 32 additional webisodes, a newsletter, behind-the-scenes, and the soundtrack, but you are also encouraged to remix, copy, and distribute the film with its plethora of available footage to your liking. This transmedia approach to film-making offers fans endless involvement and a cinematic experience unlike anything before.
I found the film quite engaging, although I would have liked to experience the entire journey that the film made to the big screen. Perhaps the additional footage and back stories would have helped me understand the film better. It felt like an elaborate mathematical equation. When the screening was over, attendees could not help but to discuss the film. It was mentally intoxicating. I wanted to see it again so that I could formulate my theories about what happened in the film. What excites me now is that the doorway to my own conclusions can be fulfilled if I join the community of “K-Pass”holders. The experience has only just begun.
DarkMedia contributing writer Kimmie Chameleon was born and raised with a healthy appreciation for horror and science fiction. She currently covers Supernatural, Ghost Adventures, BBC’s Being Human, Syfy’s Being Human, and Sherlock. When she’s not out ghost hunting with her kids, you can find her stealing a moment to add to her own pieces of fiction. Follow her on Twitter @dvsduo and “friend” her on Facebook.
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