HollyShorts 2019 – Unregistered
Set five minutes in the future, Unregistered presents a sinister glimpse of Los Angeles following the passage of a one-child policy. Eighteen-year-old Rekker is desperately in love with his classmate ATA, who insists upon recording their interactions with her contact lens camera. Despite Rekker's efforts to connect with Ata, she refuses to put the camera away and live in the moment. Upon witnessing the government capture of a younger boy suspected of being an illegal second child, Rekker starts to question the world in which he lives and encourages Ata to do the same.
Interview with Writer/Director Sophia Banks
Watch Unregistered here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
My grandmother escaped the Nazi's during World War II as a Jewish woman living in Poland. She taught me at a young age the importance of basic rights and freedoms, freedoms that were taken away from her and so many other unfortunate individuals during Hitler’s time as a dictator. She taught me that it is important to keep people aware of the small and seemingly important freedoms that get taken away from you. When we stop caring and stop paying attention, we end up trapped and no longer able to get out of the life we are stuck in. Caged. I wanted to create a piece that told a cautionary tale to that and is not too far off of what we see in the world today.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You should watch this film to open your eyes to a potential (I say potential and not inevitable for a reason) future that is impending, should we, as a society, choose to turn a blind eye on the gaining unseen forces that rule our every-day lives. Without getting controversial: we live controlled lives and we want to think that we are free, and to some degree living in a country like America, that might be true in comparison to other places in the world. But even that can change if we are no longer questioning the control of our immediate environment and if we continue to take a passive role in where our society is going.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I think that the theme of seeking your own individualism is something mankind has sought for centuries. Who is he or she, in relation to the world around him or her? How does this individual fit into a society and should they just go along the stream to the river flow of life, or seek a different path? This is personal to me as well since I am a mother, a woman, an immigrant. Trying to navigate within the realms of rules and the "what should be done" that society has laid out for humanity is at time difficult to navigate. We do the best we can and sometimes, we break the rules.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
It started as a concept, as I previously mentioned. It then was looked at from different angles until landing on this storyline from the viewpoint of a young couple experiencing a budding love. From there it became about exploring emotions of not only them going through a seemingly normal teenage experience, but in adding the elements of their imposing government that surrounds them at all times, that is where it started to blossom into the exciting story that it eventually became.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We have received an immense amount of positive feedback from our peers and audiences alike. Since making it's World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festivals just this past April, Unregistered has been accepted to over 12 film festivals around the world. We are grateful and humbled to have touched so many people with our message of change and hope.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Initially, prior to its premiere, we knew anything could happen. With this being my first short narrative I was nervous about the outcome-to say the least. But it has been nothing short of fantastic and awe-inspiring the amount of positive feedback we have gotten. As a result, I was signed with CAA for an agency and am currently attached to three major films, all to be shot in the next two years.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope that others will see the message that this film carries. I hope that this inspires other female filmmakers to get out there and commit to their project. I want to see more women going for it in their industry. We can flip the switch and I would like to inspire women to accomplish their goals.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Journalists, Film Festival Directors and Producers.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Aside from the message of compassion and caring I want this film to speak to other filmmakers to show them what you can do with a great team and hard work. No person is an island and this film was accomplished with the help of many individuals who believed in the message of this project. Find your group and your message and make it happen.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Without giving it away, the question at the end should be: "what would you have done?"
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Currently, I am developing a TV series in the Crime/Drama arena and am also attached to direct three films through my agents at CAA.
Interview: August 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Unregistered
Set five minutes in the future, Unregistered presents a sinister glimpse of Los Angeles following the passage of a one-child policy. Eighteen-year-old Rekker is desperately in love with his classmate ATA, who insists upon recording their interactions with her contact lens camera. Despite Rekker's efforts to connect with Ata, she refuses to put the camera away and live in the moment. Upon witnessing the government capture of a younger boy suspected of being an illegal second child, Rekker starts to question the world in which he lives and encourages Ata to do the same.
Length: 15:35
Director: Sophia Banks
Producer: J Luke Watson, Erin Dignam, Peter Winther, Kim Winther
Writer: Sophia Banks, Erin Dignam
About the writer, director and producer:
Mother, Female Film Maker with a passion for all things VFX, SOPHIA BANKS defines her cinematic style and effects-driven skillsets in her first short sci-fi narrative Unregistered.
Key cast: Trevor Jackson (Rekker), Dylan Pen (Ata)
Looking for: journalists, film festival directors, producers
Facebook: Unregistered
Instagram: @unregisteredthemovie
Hashtags used: #unregisteredthemovie
Website: www.unregisteredthemovie.com
Made in association with: TXL Films
Funders: Self Funded, Private Investors
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? It just premiered at the Hollyshorts Festival and is playing next at the Catalina Film Festival, only a short drive and ferry away from Los Angeles.