Introduction

Siren's Gaze Productions (sirensgazeproductions.wordpress.com) was born at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival as a collaboration between three young, unique, and ambitious female filmmakers -- director Mary Lachapelle, cinematographer Jacqueline Lehr, and screenwriter/producer G. E. Gallas. Each of us has an undying passion for our expertise. Yet our individual personalities fit together to form an intuitive and vibrant production team.

Death Is No Bad Friend is a short film based on the life and works of Robert Louis Stevenson (The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Treasure Island). Robert Louis attempts to escape his guilty conscience through honeymooning on Mount Saint Helena. But his illness catches up, forcing him to face his demons.

This film is Siren's Gaze Productions' first project. We believe that Robert Louis and Fanny Stevenson's story is historically and culturally significant, and therefore should be celebrated through the medium of cinema. Our greatest goal is to create an outstanding film to submit to festivals around the world (Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, etc.) and to launch the careers of all cast and crew involved.

We are all 100% committed to this project. We are prepared to make this film on a shoestring budget, donating our time and skills. But every penny counts! We are hoping to raise between $10,000 and $20,000 to allow us to bring Death Is No Bad Friend to life.

We need YOU to support our production expenses and to spread the word. Through funding and promoting Death Is No Bad Friend, you will help us bring the unfamiliar and extraordinary life of the famous writer Robert Louis Stevenson into the public eye. Moreover, you will be helping a group of young creatives take their first big step in achieving their lifelong dreams of becoming professional filmmakers!

Death Is No Bad Friend

Screenplay

• 2nd round qualifier in the Kaos Films British Short Screenplay Competition 2012, judged by Sir Kenneth Branagh.
•  Quater finalist in the 2013 CWA (Creative World Awards).
• "Death Is No Bad Friend is a poetic script that relies on imagery to evoke a morose feeling. The language is very well-crafted, with the characters' style of speech accurate for the time period. Because the descriptions are succinct but also written in a similar style, the script reads easily and quickly while creating clear images of the locations." --Feedback from the 2014 BlueCat Screenplay Competition.
• Genre: Drama, Historical, Biographical.

Cast & Crew

• Director: Mary Lachapelle

Click here to view Mary's profile.

Mary is a senior at Tulane University, working toward a Bachelor of the Arts in Philosophy and Digital Media Productions. She plans on attending graduate school for a Master's in Film Directing.

• Cinematographer/Director of Photography: Jacqueline Lehr

Click here to view Jacqueline's profile.

Jacqueline has known that she wanted to be a cinematographer since the day she was born. She is a senior at California State University Northridge, where she is studying Film Production with an emphasis in Cinematography.

• Screenwriter/Producer: G. E. Gallas                 Click here to view G. E.'s profile.

G. E. is an accomplished writer and illustrator. She is a graduate of New York University: Gallatin School of Individualized Study where she created her own major: a cross-cultural study of storytelling within film, literature, etc. Her online graphic novel The Poet and the Flea about the poet-painter William Blake can be read at thepoetandtheflea.wordpress.com.

• Robert Louis Stevenson: Kyle Duke Adamiec

• Fanny Stevenson: Kari Wishingrad

Click here to view Kari's profile.

• Videographer/Editor: Shannon Brady

Music

Many thanks to Louise and Richard Duffy-Hoaward of Rich & Lou's Loudhailer for providing the music for our trailer. We hope to incorporate their talents into the final film as well!

"The Same Sky"

Composed by Louise Duffy-Howard

Written by Richard and Louise Duffy-Howard

From The Auricula Suite

Guitar and Vocals: Louise Duffy-Howard

Guitar: Richard Duffy-Howard

Hurdy Gurdy: Quentin Budworth

Hammer Dulcimer: Amanda Lowe

loudhailer.net

Filming Locations

• San Francisco, California

• Colfax, California

Budget

Your contributions will help cover the following expenses...

• Actors
• Film Equipment
• Costumes
• Makeup
• Props
• Locations Fees
• Transportation/Gasoline
• Hotel Rooms
• Craft Service
• Post-Production/Editing
• Music/Sound Effects
• Festival/Contest Entry Fees

PERKS

(it won't cost you anything to donate)

Goals

Your contributions will help us achieve the following goals...

• To successfully develop Death Is No Bad Friend through pre-production, filming, and post-production.
• To celebrate the historical and cultural significance of Robert Louis and Fanny Stevenson.
• To create a high production value, historically accurate, collaborative film.
• To film in and around the San Francisco Bay Area/Northern California.
• To submit the finished film to a number of festivals including the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival.
• To create an opportunity to expand Death Is No Bad Friend into a full-length script/feature film to further celebrate the historical and cultural significance of Robert Louis and Fanny Stevenson.
• To create further opportunities for Siren's Gaze Productions to create films and further the careers of all cast and crew involved.

Please spread the word!

Please share our Death Is No Bad Friend campaign through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc. Just click on the handy share tools located underneath the Death Is No Bad Friend trailer/video. The more people who know about Death Is No Bad Friend, the more likely we will be funded. So even if you have no money of your own to contribute, you can help out with just a few clicks of your mouse!

Thank you so much! We truly appreciate all your help!