Couldn't make the event but still want to support?
Scan the QR code
or click the photo
A dystopian world where LGBTQIA+ rights, women rights and basic human rights are rumored to be at risk of being taken with a few simple government bills… sound familiar? cataclysm.begins takes place in an alternate dystopian future very similar to present day America, with a few twists.
Queer twins of a deceased political figure become the unwanted face/scapegoat for a rebellion against a government that threatens to take their basic human rights to build their false utopia.
-
Social Media Shout-out: $10
-
Name in End Credit: $30 + social media shout-out
-
Signed Digital Poster: $40 + social media shout-out
We are looking for finishing funds to complete this project. Your contributions will go towards;
-
post sound
-
color correction/grading
-
vfx
-
composer/music licensing
-
film festival fees
-
marketing
from katherine, the director: (director’s statement) growing up with younger siblings, and spending a few years after college teaching, young adult fiction has always been an important part of my life, where i’ve been able to see its effects manifesting in real time. I truly believe that the media we consume when we are younger shapes our perceptions of ourselves and helps us figure out our role in society. I love cataclysm.begins because it brings a perspective to the dystopian genre that we haven’t seen before - queer kids, specifically, trying to find that place in a rapidly changing world that is exaggerated, of course, but also not much different from our own. as someone who didn’t even realize her queerness until her mid-20’s (watching the amazing documentary girl on girl by Jodi Savitz) - a full decade after first developing a huge crush on Selena Gomez in Wizards of Waverly Place - it’s so important to me to give younger generations a place to own their queerness earlier than I was able to own mine. I’m very excited to bring the sibling dynamic of my own teenage years authentically into the relationship of Catalina and Xavien, as well, because I think authentic sibling relationships are also underrepresented. It will be refreshing to see the love between these two differently queer siblings as they struggle for control of the narrative - my way of showing a struggle for parents’ attention, through the same fight for the audience’s attention. and, of course, none of this is only for teens; through the diversity of the story Sarah has written, I think adults of all ages, too, will find a bit of themselves represented in the characters of cataclysm.begins in a way they haven’t gotten to see themselves before.
The cataclysm.begins proof of concept cannot be completed without the help of you all. Your contribution would mean so much!
Our mission with this project is to bring awareness to real world issues that we are facing in the LGBTQIA+ community, especially the younger generation. While it is a sci-fi dystopian set in a different universe than ours, these characters face real challenges that queer teenagers in the world today are also facing. We are a mixed team of queer and LGBTQIA+ ally filmmakers wanting to add a voice in the fight for our rights as humans. This is a fictional story, but the message relates to the struggles the LGBTQIA+ community are facing in the real world today. Each of our main characters represents a different part of the community: Xavien is gay, his boyfriend Noah is bisexual, Xavien’s sister Catalina is asexual (one of the most underrepresented communities in media), and Catalina’s best friend Lennon is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. Not only are the characters rich in representation, but we also are doing it behind the scenes as we build our diverse team of white, Black, Asian, and Latinx women & non-binary creatives from all across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
There are many ways to help!:
-
pledging! based on what you can pledge, we offer a ton of really cool incentives! also based on how much is raised, every milestone we have different goals with some fun rewards involving our amazing cast. (listed in the section below)
-
share our campaign on social media! tag us @cataclysm.begins and use the hashtag #cataclysmbegins and #livelightlove !
Our mission with this project is to bring awareness to real world issues that we are facing in the LGBTQIA+ community, especially the younger generation. While it is a sci-fi dystopian set in a different universe than ours, these characters face real challenges that queer teenagers in the world today are also facing. We are a mixed team of queer and LGBTQIA+ ally filmmakers wanting to add a voice in the fight for our rights as humans. This is a fictional story, but the message relates to the struggles the LGBTQIA+ community are facing in the real world today. Each of our main characters represents a different part of the community: Xavien is gay, his boyfriend Noah is bisexual, Xavien’s sister Catalina is asexual (one of the most underrepresented communities in media), and Catalina’s best friend Lennon is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. Not only are the characters rich in representation, but we also are doing it behind the scenes as we build our diverse team of white, Black, Asian, and Latinx women & non-binary creatives from all across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.
Glad annual report on lgbtq representation in media: