Filmmakers Chris Ferrantino and Josh Posner have reached their Kickstarter goal for “Persephone (pictures at the end of the world),” a female-driven indie movie that follows a woman’s last day before the titular asteroid wipes out the West Coast.
Set in an abandoned Los Angeles that has had seven months to prepare for impact, the film stars Aighleann McKiernan (“Middle Men,” “Columbus Circle”) as Jennifer, a woman who has decided to stay behind, having already suffered a tragic loss in her life.
As the asteroid nears Earth, Jennifer documents the stories of others who have also chosen to remain in Los Angeles while the film presents flashbacks that reveal Jennifer’s own reasons for staying in the city.
David Conolly (“The Understudy,” “Hindsight News”) and Hannah Davis (“Mothers and Daughters,” “Secrets & Lies”) will co-star in the film, which Ferrantino is directing from an original screenplay he co-wrote with Posner. The duo are also producing the film, which is being shot by cinematographer Bret Watkins. Production company No Radio Films aims to start shooting “Persephone” in July.
In just two weeks, “Persephone” not only reached but surpassed its $25,000 goal thanks to donations from nearly 100 backers, and there are still 11 days left in the Kickstarter campaign.
Additional funds will allow the filmmakers to afford additional visual effects, extra crew members, upgraded equipment and distribution costs associated with film festivals and sales agents that will help the film be seen. Other costs include costumes, props, filming permits, location fees, insurance, guild fees and more that all add up over the course of production.
Producers have created a website and also launched a social media campaign under the handle @Persephone2016 that uses the hashtag #ThingsIWillMiss to catalog the items that people can’t live without.
“I grew up watching movies like ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Before Sunrise.’ ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Breathless.’ ‘Persephone’ is a mix of movies like that. Kickstarter and the reshaping of the digital cinema landscape have given us the tools to make this movie,” said Ferrantino.
“‘Persephone’ interests me because it’s one person’s story within grand circumstances that will impact many. There are thousands of narratives that get swept up in the larger events of life and are never explored. Jennifer’s story allows us to see the individual,” said McKiernan.
“‘Persephone’ is a story I’m passionate to tell. There have been many disaster movies, but so few have focused on the lives of the real people affected. Here we get the chance to dive into a truly personal and complex character and see her story set against the backdrop of an impending disaster,” added Posner, who often collaborates with George Gallo, the screenwriter behind “Midnight Run” and
Backers who donate to the Kickstarter campaign for “Persephone” will receive personal shout-outs on social media, customized screensavers, survival boxes stuffed with treats and digital copies of the film as well as DVDs of other End of the World movies such as “Independence Day,” “Deep Impact” and “Sunshine.”