Movies You Made: “Phoenix 9”
Peer Gopfrich is a talented writer I have gotten to know through Screenwriting Master Class. Last week, he and his filmmaking team made a splash with a short film he wrote and produced titled Phoenix 9, garnering attention in social media including at FirstShowing.
Plot summary: After a global nuclear war has turned earth into a scorched wasteland, a struggling group of survivors discovers a secret installation that offers a new beginning — but not without a catch.
CAST & CREW
Director & Editor: Amir Reichart
Writer & Producer: Peer Gopfrich
Director of Photography: Tobias Deml
Line Producer: Jade Brandais
Cast: Daniela Flynn, Paul Lange, Corey Rieger, Carl Williams, Ryan Nelson, Russel Lewis, Aileen Xu, Cynthia Kirchner, Robert Elliot, Nora Huetz, Stephen Laferriere
Here is the movie:
Production notes courtesy of Peer Gopfrich:
While Phoenix 9 is science fiction, its concept is very much grounded in real life. A while ago we read about a company that offered to fly rich clients to five-star resorts during natural disasters. There they would enjoy luxury amenities, while all those left behind were on their own. From there it was just a small step to ask ourselves “What would this kind of service look like in case of a global nuclear war?”
Phoenix 9’s roots can also be traced back to Cold-War era science fiction, which derived a lot of its power from tackling relevant social issues of its time. In our case, those issues are greed and selfishness, as well as the growing divide between rich and poor. At the same time, we didn’t want to go down the path that most post-apocalyptic stories take and get bogged down in ugliness and decay. Instead we wanted to create a world that still offers a sense of wonder and larger-than-life stakes.
Since the director and I didn’t have any credits prior to filming Phoenix 9, all of the initial momentum as far as funding and production went had to come from our end. But since my career goals are to be both a writer and producer, it was actually a great project to cut my teeth on. Because while short films might not be feature length, they can certainly be feature-level in terms of effort. Budgets have to be made, actors cast, crews hired, permits and insurances taken care of… it never ends. But all this ultimately provided invaluable experiences I wouldn’t have been able to have on a bigger production, where things are more compartmentalized.
Another big factor was our budget. We financed Phoenix 9 completely out of our own pocket to the tune of $25,000 — which, for a VFX-heavy short of this length, is very little.
What helped a lot was that, while we didn’t have a lot of money, we had a clear vision about what the short was meant to accomplish — both creatively and in a business sense. Our goal was to create an ambitious, fully realized science fiction short that would be reminiscent of all the movies we loved, and have a shot to serve as a proof-of-concept for a feature itself.
Still, vision is only half of the equation. The other half is simply good old-fashioned legwork. For every artist we brought on board, we probably had to write ten more that didn’t pan out. Fortunately entertainment is a global industry, so we weren’t restricted to any particular geographic region. In the area of post-production and VFX alone, they were able to recruit artists from the United States, Germany, Austria, Ukraine, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Oman, and China.
In the end, while doing your own short can be challenging and even somewhat scary at times (it’s your own money on the line, after all), it’s also an incredible learning experience that teaches many of the essential skills a producer needs to be successful in this business.
So if you have the right concept and the passion to do whatever it takes to turn it into reality, go for it. There has never been a better time to take your career into your own hands.
And if you have any questions / comments, feel free to shoot me a line at Gopfrich@gmail.com.
It’s a bold move to commit the time and resources necessary to create such an ambitious short film, but in this DIY day and age, producing a tangible product can be the key to success.
Good luck, Peer!