• Sign up or login, and you'll have full access to opportunities of forum.

News From Margot

Go to CruxDreams.com
Has anyone tried contacting Red Feline directly? Do those of you who are getting concerned have accounts there? If you do, you'd surely do better to use that channel.
 
Yahel about to take over the world

SeditiosaScreenShot20230704190427-1024x572.jpg


I received this message in my X page (formerly known as Twitter):

B305Productions Unfortunately, the complexities of micro budget independent filmmaking have meant a delay in releasing our survival horror movie Run From Hell in 2023, but we’re committed to delivering the best version of what everyone involved has produced. It rocks, can’t wait for you to watch it.

We’re not the only ones with delays in releasing new films. It appears to me that it is pretty much the standard for micro budget independent filmmaking. And I’m sure the micro budget for Run From Hell was way over 25,000, which is below micro budget in the industry… and so… our Via Crucis continues… but not for long.

SeditiosaTheFilm_00594121-1024x576.jpg

Jac went silent. So did I.

I had a few comments here and there and I received some interesting tidbits from Jac about his comings and goings which I’ll be sharing. Silence does not mean that things are not happening. We are as busy as ever, maybe even more and a lot is happening and in big ways. But there are also some very sad news. Chuqui, the star of many movies, like Sirwiñakuy, Pygmalion, 69 Année Érotique passed away on Tuesday, December 12th, at 10 30 in the morning. He passed in Jac’s arms.

When Jac announced Chuqui’s passing in FB the comments of support and condolences started pouring and for many days after that.

ChuquiFB121223.jpg

Chuqui’s passing happened two days after Jac received a brand new computer from New York. An amazing machine which Jac could not even think about because he was dedicating his time to make the last hours of his beloved 20+ year old cat more comfortable.

At around the same period of time, Jac’s brother arrived from NY, where he lives. The last days of 2023 were dedicated to a big number of family events. And with that, 2023 ended and the new year, 2024, began; but the family events did not stop. There were two birthday parties for Jac’s cousin who turned 82, that was early in January. Days later, Jac’s Aunt turned 95, there were three parties in three different days for that magnificent event.

For Jac, taking most of the time off, not all of the time, was a good thing to do. It was a vacation of sorts, after the stressful year that gave us two large movies plus a lot of other work.

Seditiosa is getting ready to go out in the world to impress people with its challenging story. All who have contributed, donated, pre bought it, have already gotten their preview of the film. Some have already commented.

WOW…..great movie !!!!!

Some might not be as happy, but that is to be expected. Everyone has expectations and they are all varied, not everyone will be raving. It happens with all films, with all of our films, with everything in life.

Some recent complaints demand an explanation about why we have not released the film yet.

We’re getting ready but we must first have a good strategy that will find a large audience. We have to reach out beyond the three or four forums where we share our work on a steady basis with the few fans we have there.

The platforms where we are going to be uploading the film have their own requirements, demands and characteristics, we are working to meet them all. We can’t rush it as we did the production and most of the post. But, as Ligia said to Jac during a tea time moment, “even if you release the film in February, it’s still record time”. She’s right.

The production of one big film, Justine, was completed in December of 2015. The film was released in 2017, almost two years later. Seditiosa’s production was completed in July 2023, we had a pre release to our supporters before the end of the year, that’s 4 months later!

SeditiosaTheFilm_01080121-1024x576.jpg

Someone commented that we should hire an editor to speed things up. Hmmm. An editor will charge around 1,000 dollars per week. A film takes at least 6 months to edit, a normal film. Some might take 9 months. An editor would cost around 4,000 a month. That’s 24,000 for a rushed editing job of 6 months. The entire budget of the film was less than 25,000. That’s why we don’t have an editor. Jac is happy to direct, produce, edit a film for a share of the profits, if any.

Until recently the work on Seditiosa was mainly technical, and it was going slow because of some unexpected computer problems which were solved when the new computer arrived from New York.

There were some private viewings with the main cast and crew, to get opinions, reactions and so on. Although the general consensus was that it was great, some pointed to those little details that are now obvious to us and the problems were worked on. All of them and then some.

SeditiosaKeyArt01a-768x1094.jpg

A first design for the official key art for Seditiosa

The release of Seditiosa will be announced as soon as the strategy has been laid out to maximize its impact and all the materials are ready and looking great. As I said before, we need to have a plan and all the materials to fulfill that plan. That includes the film, trailer, key art and all the many assets needed to upload them all over the place. It’s a lot of work.

The one issue is… how far we want to reach and that is our principal concern right now.

Another big issue is that we are re-organizing the company. From the end of 2015, when Amy returned to the US to stay, all of the work fell on Jac’s hands and Jac’s alone. A huge documentary took most of Jac’s time in 2016, he managed to do some ‘small‘ productions between 2017 and 2018 with a limited crew and small cast. He also travelled to Europe to show the Doc he did for Nat Geo way way back. Then Covid appeared and all the work was limited to Jac and Dani and later Mila. A good number of productions. Then, at the end of 2022, Jac ventured back to larger productions with 69 Année Érotique and Seditiosa. Not an easy task and one full of stress, lots of stress and it’s not over. One comment Jac made to me was I think I rather turn my attention to rescuing cats and dogs, it’s a lot more rewarding. He wasn’t joking. Thus the need to reorganize, to see where will our big efforts go and what kind of films we want to make. One possible plan is to launch a streaming platform with all our films and maybe other films as well. The know-how is there, it costs a lot, but if it reaches a good steady audience it might be worth it and it might generate funds to make more big movies.

I’ll have more news later. BTW, there are times when I disappear for months and no one notices.

 
Yahel about to take over the world

SeditiosaScreenShot20230704190427-1024x572.jpg


I received this message in my X page (formerly known as Twitter):



We’re not the only ones with delays in releasing new films. It appears to me that it is pretty much the standard for micro budget independent filmmaking. And I’m sure the micro budget for Run From Hell was way over 25,000, which is below micro budget in the industry… and so… our Via Crucis continues… but not for long.

SeditiosaTheFilm_00594121-1024x576.jpg

Jac went silent. So did I.

I had a few comments here and there and I received some interesting tidbits from Jac about his comings and goings which I’ll be sharing. Silence does not mean that things are not happening. We are as busy as ever, maybe even more and a lot is happening and in big ways. But there are also some very sad news. Chuqui, the star of many movies, like Sirwiñakuy, Pygmalion, 69 Année Érotique passed away on Tuesday, December 12th, at 10 30 in the morning. He passed in Jac’s arms.

When Jac announced Chuqui’s passing in FB the comments of support and condolences started pouring and for many days after that.

ChuquiFB121223.jpg

Chuqui’s passing happened two days after Jac received a brand new computer from New York. An amazing machine which Jac could not even think about because he was dedicating his time to make the last hours of his beloved 20+ year old cat more comfortable.

At around the same period of time, Jac’s brother arrived from NY, where he lives. The last days of 2023 were dedicated to a big number of family events. And with that, 2023 ended and the new year, 2024, began; but the family events did not stop. There were two birthday parties for Jac’s cousin who turned 82, that was early in January. Days later, Jac’s Aunt turned 95, there were three parties in three different days for that magnificent event.

For Jac, taking most of the time off, not all of the time, was a good thing to do. It was a vacation of sorts, after the stressful year that gave us two large movies plus a lot of other work.

Seditiosa is getting ready to go out in the world to impress people with its challenging story. All who have contributed, donated, pre bought it, have already gotten their preview of the film. Some have already commented.


Some might not be as happy, but that is to be expected. Everyone has expectations and they are all varied, not everyone will be raving. It happens with all films, with all of our films, with everything in life.

Some recent complaints demand an explanation about why we have not released the film yet.

We’re getting ready but we must first have a good strategy that will find a large audience. We have to reach out beyond the three or four forums where we share our work on a steady basis with the few fans we have there.

The platforms where we are going to be uploading the film have their own requirements, demands and characteristics, we are working to meet them all. We can’t rush it as we did the production and most of the post. But, as Ligia said to Jac during a tea time moment, “even if you release the film in February, it’s still record time”. She’s right.

The production of one big film, Justine, was completed in December of 2015. The film was released in 2017, almost two years later. Seditiosa’s production was completed in July 2023, we had a pre release to our supporters before the end of the year, that’s 4 months later!

SeditiosaTheFilm_01080121-1024x576.jpg

Someone commented that we should hire an editor to speed things up. Hmmm. An editor will charge around 1,000 dollars per week. A film takes at least 6 months to edit, a normal film. Some might take 9 months. An editor would cost around 4,000 a month. That’s 24,000 for a rushed editing job of 6 months. The entire budget of the film was less than 25,000. That’s why we don’t have an editor. Jac is happy to direct, produce, edit a film for a share of the profits, if any.

Until recently the work on Seditiosa was mainly technical, and it was going slow because of some unexpected computer problems which were solved when the new computer arrived from New York.

There were some private viewings with the main cast and crew, to get opinions, reactions and so on. Although the general consensus was that it was great, some pointed to those little details that are now obvious to us and the problems were worked on. All of them and then some.

SeditiosaKeyArt01a-768x1094.jpg

A first design for the official key art for Seditiosa

The release of Seditiosa will be announced as soon as the strategy has been laid out to maximize its impact and all the materials are ready and looking great. As I said before, we need to have a plan and all the materials to fulfill that plan. That includes the film, trailer, key art and all the many assets needed to upload them all over the place. It’s a lot of work.

The one issue is… how far we want to reach and that is our principal concern right now.

Another big issue is that we are re-organizing the company. From the end of 2015, when Amy returned to the US to stay, all of the work fell on Jac’s hands and Jac’s alone. A huge documentary took most of Jac’s time in 2016, he managed to do some ‘small‘ productions between 2017 and 2018 with a limited crew and small cast. He also travelled to Europe to show the Doc he did for Nat Geo way way back. Then Covid appeared and all the work was limited to Jac and Dani and later Mila. A good number of productions. Then, at the end of 2022, Jac ventured back to larger productions with 69 Année Érotique and Seditiosa. Not an easy task and one full of stress, lots of stress and it’s not over. One comment Jac made to me was I think I rather turn my attention to rescuing cats and dogs, it’s a lot more rewarding. He wasn’t joking. Thus the need to reorganize, to see where will our big efforts go and what kind of films we want to make. One possible plan is to launch a streaming platform with all our films and maybe other films as well. The know-how is there, it costs a lot, but if it reaches a good steady audience it might be worth it and it might generate funds to make more big movies.

I’ll have more news later. BTW, there are times when I disappear for months and no one notices.

In response to your comment about some not raving about the film, I submit there is a difference between not raving and wanting to know why content promised when money was being raised is not in the final product. It will be left to be seen if such a discrepancy affects future fundraising efforts.
 
Shortly after the new year's interminable events, Jac was able to get together with the principal cast and a few of the crew to watch Seditiosa in it's almost final version.

The screening itself went well, the time was short, so the people left almost in a hurry. What came later Jac did not expect. Lots of comments from the actresses, about some shots, about little issues that are almost undetectable, but they are there. Dani had a whole list of things to go over. It was not only her list, but a list where many of those who watched the film added their little 2 cents.

Jac and Dani met to go over the film, bit by bit, examining the issues. Little things, like during a close up shot at the beginning, when Dani and Mila are lowering the trunk to the ground... ALAS, Mila's nail is painted blue! Jac hadn't see that and I doubt many people will notice, maybe nobody, except Dani, maybe she has something about finger nails... but it's there and it must be fixed. And like that many other little problems, like a close up of Simonne where her skin looks awful... stuff like that.

SeditiosaScreenshot2024020561908%E2%80%AF-1024x572.png

In any case, soon after those meetings, Jac began to work on fixing those problems but suddenly he felt he was saturated, he could not open the project and concentrate on it and it happened for many days. Not to mention additional family meetings, lots of them.

Last weekend, Jac went back to the project, to finally close it. He managed to get all the way to the crucifixion part, where many of the comments concentrated, he was about to jump completely into it when he received the news that Pygmalion was pre selected for the Premios Platino (Platino Awards). It's like the Oscars for Ibero American movies. To be pre selected for that is huge, really huge. Suddenly our team is joining the likes of Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz... that kind of deal.

PlatinoScreenshot2024020542015-1024x487.png
PlatinoScreenshot2024020540608-1024x145.png


Jac spent most of this week preparing all the materials requested by the P A, he completed this very important task in the life of our production company just today. Pygmalion is now in the hands of the many jurors who will decide what to do with it.

Jac is now too craze to think of anything except his cats. After a couple of days or complete relaxation, he'll complete the fixing of Seditiosa and we'll be ready to release it.

We've been working on the strategy for the film. It's not the same as to release it to a few supporters here, who might be impatient. No. It's a whole different deal.

We're not aspiring to reach a few hundred fans, that's done, our fans know about the film, many already saw it. No. We're aiming to reach a large audience all over the world and that's why it takes some time to get everything done.

We're pretty much in full tech mode, checking stats all over the place to make sure it works the best way possible. We can check stats of how many people watched our films, whether they saw the entire movie, or just half of it. Things like that. It gives us a very important perspective about how a film will do with the audience.

There are other issues Jac has to deal with, about Seditiosa, but those are more personal issues. I kind of know what they are, but I don't want to put my foot in my mouth. I can say, however, that he is very depressed. That's the sense I get. Even with all the excitement with the Platino Awards... and those fantastic news came just when we were about to officially release Pygmalion to the world. We can add that bit to the promos, it's like saying Oscar nominated. It's cool.

Even with all the delays, Seditiosa will be released in record time, really. One thing Jac blames for all the little problems in the film is that he was rushing the post, not going over every little detail in every single shot and every single frame, something that he now has to do. Still, in record time.

That's where things are right now.
 
Closing cycles for new beginnings

SeditiosaTheFilm_00584920-1024x576.jpg

Things were hugely complicated at the beginning of the new year, both, personally and professionally. Lots of things to complete, lots of new beginnings.

Shortly after the new year’s interminable events, Jac was able to get together with the principal cast and a few of the crew to watch Seditiosa in it’s – almost – final version.

The screening itself went well, some of the guests had some engagements after the screening so as soon as it was over and with not many comments, everyone left, almost in a hurry. Jac did not expect what came a couple of days later. Lots of comments from the protagonists about some shots and little issues that are almost undetectable, but they are there.

SeditiosaTheFilm_00163221-1024x576.jpg

Dani made a list of things to go over. It was not only her list, but a list where many of those who watched the film added their little 2 cents. Dani became the spokes person for everyone.

Jac and Dani met to go over the film, bit by bit, examining the issues. Little things, like during a Close-Up shot at the beginning of the film, when Dani and Mila are lowering the trunk they carry to the ground… ALAS, Mila’s nail is painted blue! Jac hadn’t seen that and I doubt many people will notice, maybe no one, except Dani, maybe she has something about finger nails… but it’s there and it must be fixed. And like that one problem, many other little issues came up, like a close up of Simonne where her skin apparently does not look very good … stuff like that.

SeditiosaScreenshot2024020561908%E2%80%AF-1024x572.png

Jac began to work on fixing those problems but suddenly he felt he was saturated, he could not open the project and concentrate on it and it happened for many days. His saturation state was not only with Seditiosa. He tried opening 69 Année Érotique, but no, he couldn’t get into that one either. As if that wasn’t enough of a distraction, January was full of family gatherings to celebrate many birthdays and special events, lots of them. We can say that Jac took a forced vacation from film.

SeditiosaTheFilm_00403917-1024x576.jpg

Beginning February, Jac went back to Seditiosa, to finally close it. He managed to get all the way to the crucifixion part, where many of the comments concentrated, he was about to jump completely into it when he received the news that Pygmalion was pre selected for the Premios Platino (Platino Awards). It’s like the Oscars for Ibero American movies. To be pre selected for those awards is huge, really huge. Suddenly our team is joining the likes of Benicio del Toro, Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz… that kind of deal.

Jac took the rest of the first week of February to prepare all the materials requested by the famous awards. They included pictures of the film, pictures of the cast, 2 of each, trailer, Making-Of clips, press book, technical specs and most importantly, the film in a particular way. Jac had a deadline, Thursday, February 8th. He had very two or three days to do all of the work!

Pygmalion_01164804-1024x576.jpg

In the process of preparing and uploading the film, he discovered that Vimeo compresses the films we upload, and the Platino people needed the film in the highest bit rate possible. After many tries Jac had to open a Dropbox account to upload the 10 giga,15 bit rate film clip. Their reaction from the awards people was “It’s perfect“.

On Friday the 9th Jac was done with Pygmalion and waited until Monday to hear from the Platino Awards.

That Monday the news were great, Pygmalion was all set for viewing by jurors, journalists, film professionals and other VIPs attached to the Platino Awards… it means… great exposure for this great film.


But that was not the only unplanned work Jac was facing. Last year he was contacted by the people that run the very prestigious Anthology Film Archives requesting permission to show his first film, Krik Krak, as well as a good copy for the screening. Jac accepted the request and promised a good copy. Time passed and as the screening dates approached, he was contacted again about the copy. So, Jac had to spend sometime looking for the good copy, process it, upload it and so on.

The film was shown on the 11th and 19th of this month and it went well. To Jac’s surprised, they had some money for him.

KrikKrakAnthologyFilmArchives.jpg

After Jac completed all that exciting but stressful work, he was too craze to think of anything except his cats. He decided to take another few days off from film work.

The weekend began with Carnival and Jac decided to get busy cleaning house. Things that haven’t been touched in months. A mess. Plus he rescued a little kitty, Chiqui, before the weekend, while walking his dog.

Meanwhile, Mila’s son rescued two kitties, took them home with him but Mila was afraid she didn’t have enough space in her apartment for two cats and one dog, she has a nice big dog. So she begged Jac to take the rescued little, tiny, cats, you are the lord of the cats, after all Mila said to persuade him. Jac thought it over for a bit and decided to do it. The three newly rescued kitties are now part of what Amy calls Jac’s Cat Sanctuary.

Amy Hesketh I hope the veterinarian is giving you a bulk discount in cat neutering. You’re officially running a cat sanctuary.

Jac has seven cats now.

ChiquiMatziMitzi021524.jpeg

The three new arrivals. Age of the three? 3 months or less.

We are past mid February now and Jac is, slowly, returning to Seditiosa, to finally release it to the world. We’ve been organizing the strategy for the film to have the best impact possible because it is very different to release a movie to a niche of supporters than to try to reach a larger market, It’s a whole different deal, it takes some time to get all the necessary work done.

We’re pretty much in full tech mode, checking stats all over the place to make sure our strategy works the best way possible. We can check stats of how many people watched our films, whether they saw the entire movie, or just half of it. Things like that. It gives us a very important perspective about how a film will do with a given audience in a particular market. There are too many details to consider because of the so many platforms we use. To give you an example, Justine has a lot more sales at Vimeo than anywhere else, while Maleficarum’s best sales come from Amazon. That’s intriguing to us.There’s a lot of data that we’re looking into as we prepare Seditiosa’s release.

SeditiosaTheFilm_01081015-1024x576.jpg

Even with all the delays, Seditiosa will be released in record time, really. One thing Jac blames for all the little problems in the film is that he was rushing the post, not going over every little detail in every single shot, something that he now has to do. Still, in record time.

That’s where things are right now.

In the meantime, La Paz is going through heavy storms, which in a very odd way reflect Jac’s mood these days:

 
Is "dying" on the Cross a usual fantasy for people in Bolivia?

I don't think so. Bolivia is a mostly Catholic country, although there's some syncretism going on with the cultures that existed before the Spanish conquest. Some European holidays that fall around the same time period of time with Andean traditions were easily accepted by the people in the area. One that comes to mind is San Juan, in June, which falls around the time people celebrated the winter equinox.

People in Bolivia do not go into ritualistic crucifixions like in the Philippines. I personally belief that the fantasy of the cross is mainly a catholic thing. I could be wrong.

I mean is it an acceptable thing for people in South America?.
Sorry if thats offensive by the way. Really.
But I read on this thread about an actress bieng tortured naked.....Next to a Bus Station

I don't know about the actress bien tortured naked next to a bus station, except the scene in Maleficarum where Amy is roasted over hot coals. The set was next to a bus station but inside an old building that is a theater and acting and dancing academy. We used their backyard. I probably commented that the scene was shot next to the bus station because the sound of buses arriving and leaving was huge, not to mention a school very near the set where the kids were screaming and screaming some more and we had to work that sound out in post.

Maleficarum0774.jpg

Another time when Amy was tortured next to a public area, this time a square, was when she was whipped and executed in Dead But Dreaming, but this time inside a museum main yard. However, the museum was surrounded by very commercial streets where the noise was just as bad as the bus station. The whipping scene was seen by the museum workers and patrons who had windows and terraces over the yard where the bloody scenes took place.

DBD00473816.jpg

Amy was also whipped, crucified and burned at the cross in Olalla in front of a chapel in a Hotel/museum, which is very famous and frequented by lots of people throughout the year. It was the Hacienda of the Marques de Cayara, that's why it is famous. And during the production there were people staying there, tourists, and some where taking pictures with their cells. Jac overheard them commenting "I wont say this is a movie, I'll say it is a real lynching"

OlallaVidCaps01291618.jpg

And we cant ignore that the protagonists in Seditiosa are flogged, carry their crossbeams long distances and are crucified in a very open space that is an Eco Resort with guests that when hearing all that screaming walked to a place from where they could witness the procession of the condemned and their bloody crucifixion.

SeditiosaTheFilm_00594121-1024x576.jpg

But to answer your question, there might be a good number of people who have crucifixion fantasies like anywhere in the world. Our films sell everywhere, in all continents, all countries. Maybe it is not a common fantasy in the world, there are so many fantasies around, but a good crucifixion fantasy is all over. That's for sure.


 
Last edited:
I wonder if "Seditosa" will be ready for a Good Friday general relase,by any perchance ??
If not,that's sadly a missed major marketing opportunity.... :(
 
Back
Top Bottom