Ascendants

Ascendants equally refers to an undeveloped pilot script and an ongoing short film series started in 2013 by writer and director Don Schechter and filmed by Director of Photography Tom Fitzgerald.
The pilot script and film series are science fiction thrillers imagined in a dystopia where science has proven the existence of an afterlife for a small percentage of the population. Society is divided between those who are "Ascendants" and those labelled as "Biomasses." The tagline is "It's not the life you lead. It's in your blood." The pilot, and subsequent short films, seeks to encase commentary and debate on the extreme ideologies and religious fervor that often dominate society and politics.
The first short set against this backdrop was titled "Ascendants: Family," and stars Erin Brehm and Laura Menzie. The plot involves an Ascendant woman on the brink of madness when she discovers her wife and young child are not Ascendants. Johnny Lee Davenport, the focus of the second short, makes a brief appearance in this film. This short premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood as part of the Hollyshorts Film Festival before screenings at the Independent Television Film Festival (ITVFEST), The Philip K Dick Film Festival, and The Tri-Cities Film Festival.
The second short - titled "Ascendants: The Raven" - began production in February 2014 and was scheduled for completion in the summer of 2014. This second installment stars Johnny Lee Davenport, Craig Houk, Nick Goroff, Kate Jurdi, and Cassandra Meyer. The plot revolves around Director of Ascension Sebastian Price's abduction by the Resistance to the Jacobs Institute in order to save a woman brutally experimented on by a cult known as "Breeders." Actor Johnny Lee Davenport has appeared in the films, "Ted," "The Fugitive," "US Marshalls," as well as on television in Law and Order.
The short film series is partially funded by crowdfunding campaigns as well as by Charles River Media Group, LLC (CRMG) - a production company owned and operated by Don Schechter."Ascendants:Family" was filmed on CRMG's Red Scarlet and the production of "Ascendants:The Raven" was upgraded to the Red Epic.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu