22/9/2021 0 Comments MIA&I: A Local Sci-Fi ThrillerA woman struggles to hold on to who she is in the midst of an unravelling relationship with her new robotic companion. Set in the near future, MIA&I follows Sophie, a young, introverted woman who has just moved to Cape Town, hundreds of kilometres from her family, friends and therapist. After recently losing her mother and experiencing a nervous breakdown, she spends her days and nights in her apartment, isolating herself from the world around her reading books and watching TV. Her therapist, worried about her history of self-harm and concerned for her general wellbeing, has given her access to a private program developed by Ātman Robotics, a technology company specialising in artificial intelligence. The program presents at-risk patients like Sophie with the opportunity to receive a personalized robot companion to live with her and cater to her needs to mitigate the mental impact of her self-imposed isolation. Mia, her companion, soon arrives and the two get along really well; Sophie even connects with Ātman Robotics technician, Alex. Not long after, something goes wrong during an initialization procedure and Sophie and Mia end up in a compromising situation. Initially, the pair work together to make things right, but Mia soon develops her own goals and starts plotting against Sophie, using her vulnerable mental state to manipulate her. Now Sophie must rely on her own intellect, mental strength and will to survive and take back her life. the story behind the storyOver the last decade, we have experimented with various stories and styles of filming. Whether it be with DSLRs, mobile phones, run-and-gun guerrilla style, or bottled stories with studio lighting, we always make an effort to challenge ourselves and do something different. Our previous film, Day Zero, was set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. We shifted gears this time, opting for a science fiction film in one location. Science fiction is usually considered to be an expensive genre, but the story behind MIA&I is character driven and grounded, focusing more on emotional nuances than flashy CGI or big set pieces. This is a story about an isolated, docile woman who needs to learn to love herself and find the strength to fight for her body, mind and the life she thought she never wanted before. Our strong ambition to tell authentic, quality stories is the driving force that made this project a success. We collaborated with an experienced cast and crew that allowed us to focus on direction. If ten years of filmmaking has taught us anything, it’s that aligning ourselves with creative and passionate collaborators will always yield the best results. We’ve managed to complete a number of films on miniscule budgets in the past. We maintain a strong sense of independence in each film project we are a part of; and, as a result, all of our existing work has been self-funded and produced, but in order to do this project justice we embarked on the journey to crowdfund (a first for us) and exceeded our target in the process. There are many doors being opened and closed in the South African film industry and after many were closed on us we decided it was time to make our own door. Find the film on social media: All copy and images were provided to Mild Brown from the MIA&I Team.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
|