
Fresh from the wake of the Independent Spirit Awards – something of a let-down for all concerned – we at I’m With Geek now have a chance to look at some truly indie film-making. There’s always something lovely about a Kickstarter-funded project, and SOLA is a prime candidate for a satisfying success. Although the service has proven that people will get behind anything, this is the sort of thing we like to see – a film project out of reach of the studio executives we love to hate and one that allows a group of people to create something new without market-minded compromise.

Themes and motifs, beloved to writers and visual artists, are like kryptonite to the men and women in charge of film budgets. They want those immense piles of cash raked right back in, and the risk of being seen as boring or condescending your audience is not on the table. Darren Arronofsky’s The Fountain is a perfect example of such a venture gone wrong, leaving many critics and cinema-goers cold. In the current film climate, even lauded masterworks like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy are called out for being slow and unengaging and only long-term veterans like Le Carre and his screenwriting colleagues are allowed to test such waters. It seems, then, that this grassroots community approach is the way to go for those with earnest ideas and slightly slimmer wallets.

Reception to this could go either way, meaning either great satisfaction or tremendous disappointment for those behind it. The key problem facing those suffering from this and other related disorders is the tendency of those around them to see them as behavioral rather than genuine medical issues. There is nothing worse to hear at a low point than lighten up or snap out of it. Those who know someone with bi-polarity are lucky enough to have a better idea of how it affects people and how they might be able to help. Others may be familiar with the attempts to raise awareness by higher-profile sufferers like Stephen Fry, and should be aware that quality of life and negative attitudes have little if anything to do with it. If SOLA can help get this across whilst keeping audiences invested in the fate of its protagonist, then that’s a thoroughly good thing.
The results may be a while away, but taking an interest can already aid the project’s fate – there are several hours left on the Kickstarter campaign (it ends 7:45 pm tonight!) and donations from earnest indie cinema fans are welcome. More information is available at morduepictures.com.
Check out the Kickstart Campaign here!