What if you had a chance to revisit your darkest memories?

In the world of “Memoria”, the time machine is a new invention, aimed for therapy purposes - to help people heal trauma through revisiting memories. The process of time travel is split into 2 separate stages. The first stage is jumping from the present time into “The Hub" - a room within time and space, where the body adapts to the jump.  After 3 days, you are acclimatised for the second stage - which is a jump from The Hub to an actual memory, in any year or location.

In the film, the inventors of the machine decide to test it for the first time. However, they only plan to go through the first stage - visit The Hub, experience the body adaptation, and then go back into the present. After spending 3 days in The Hub, they try to jump back but shortly realise that the machine won’t let them do that, until they use it for its actual purpose and revisit their own memories.

Alina Bichieva is the writer, director and producer of “Memoria”.  Her previous short films were selected into festivals all around the world, and some won awards in the “best student film” category. She is a MetFilm school graduate, and her previous work includes feature, short films and music videos. “Memoria” is Alina’s passion project, and she’s hoping to bring it to international festivals, achieving a wider reach of audience. Alina’s main goal as a filmmaker is to create films that excite people on a deeply emotional level and bring them to reflection and introspection. She hopes and believes that “Memoria” will be able to achieve that!

Max Slater is a MetFilm school graduate with 5 years of cinematography experience. His previous work includes feature, short films and commercial videos. He is highly skilled in using high-end lighting and camera equipment, including ARRI Alexa 35 - the camera that this film will be shot on. For “Memoria”, Max will be working with 100% artificial light in a studio set, using a lot of handheld camera movement and creating a warm colour palette. 

Matthew Camfield, our production designer, has been working in film for over 5 years, specialising in the sci-fi genre. His production design skills come from carpentry, and he’s experienced in building sets and props. For “Memoria”, Matt will be creating a few futuristic sci-fi props, the main one being a human-sized time machine. Apart from that, he will be designing “memory routine” headsets and a communication device. Matt will also be in charge of sourcing any other props important for the story, and maintaining a visually distinct style of the production design - a contrast between a retro set and modern futuristic props.

- The film will be shot on ARRI Alexa 35 with the use of ARRI Signature Prime Lenses 

- For The Hub location, we will be using only artificial light, including a lot of practical lights 

- We will be experimenting with the lighting; for example, light will be coming out of the Time Machine with the help of Astera tube lights 

- Warm, vintage colour tones will be paired with handheld camera movement

- Pro-Mist filters will be used to make the highlights glow and create a dreamy look - for the scenes where the characters revisit their memories

As a filmmaker, I believe in the power of stories based on personal experience. And even though on the surface “Memoria” is a sci-fi film, in the heart of it there is a deeply emotional story about human connection and healing from trauma.

The themes embedded within the film - grief, loss, healing and living through traumatic memories - are truly eternal and relevant to people of all ages and backgrounds. This is what makes “Memoria” a universal story, addressing the audience a challenging question: if you could revisit one of your darkest memories…what would it be? 
 

At this stage of pre-production, we already have some funding to cover equipment & crew expenses. However, as the story and concept are quite complex, there are still quite a lot of things we need to fund for:

SET BUILD: The Hub is a retro 70s apartment with a specific interior, and after searching through many options, I came to conclusion that the easiest solution is to build it, rather than find it. An experienced team of production designer and art assistants will create The Hub from scratch, building walls, ceilings and sourcing all the furniture.

LOCATION HIRE: There are 3 locations we will be shooting at. The main one is The Hub - for the set to be built, we need to pay for a studio hire separately. Apart from that, we need to pay for 2 extra locations, half a day each.

PROPS & COSTUMES: To create a realistic sci-fi feel for the film, our production designer Matthew Camfield will build all the props necessary for the story, including a human sized Time Machine. We will also need to get high quality sci-fi jumpsuits and some other costumes.

CATERING & TRANSPORT: Our shooting locations are spread all across London, and so are our crew and cast members. To make it possible for everyone to arrive on set, we will be covering transport expenses, and, of course, providing catering for the whole team on every shooting day.

TALENT: Since we will be working with professional actors, one of our budget segments will be going towards paying the cast - for the shooting days, rehearsals and travel.

FESTIVAL FEES: Finally, we need to budget for festival fees, as we want to bring “Memoria” to wider audiences and promote it through international festivals.

Thank You for visiting our crowdfunding page. 

We will be very grateful to any donations - nothing is too small! 

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