For the first part of the production on PERSEPHONE, we spent an amazing three days with cast members Melissa Leo (Demeter), Gilles Malkine (Hades), Lindsay Andretta (Persephone), Richard Rodgers (Zeus) and Mark Brownlee (Charon) on our location for Mount Olympus and on the shores of the River Styx.

For the second part of the production, scheduled for mid-December, we are aiming to capture scenes set in Hades. We'll be shooting on Bryan's new RED camera - the EPIC. Very exciting! Scenes will feature Hades Lair and include subtle cameos featuring Psyche, Sisyphus, Prometheus, Theseus and a hermaphrodite, not to mention the dog Cerberus.

We hope to be able to film part three sometime in February to capture the dead of winter. The tales of PERSEPHONE deals with many topics including the reason why we have different seasons. We were lucky to get out to film some pick up shots during the recent snow that took place while the leaves were still gold and crimson.

We're excited to report that Chris Stein (co founder of the band Blondie) has offered to write music for our scene in hell. The rest of the score is being written by our Hades (Gilles Malkine). Did you know that Gilles performed at the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival as part of the Tim Hardin Band?

We're so grateful for the remarkable support we are getting from so many talented people. But, we really need your help to make the rest of the production and post production a reality. By April 2012, we hope to have a finished film ready to screen at theaters and film festivals across the world. The Hudson Valley Film Commission - a 501c3 not for profit organization, is acting as fiscal sponsor. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.


Short trailer


Slideshow & trailer

THE STORY

The short film PERSEPHONE is a modern retelling of the Greek myth. It's a story of divorce and how two parents cope to control their most beloved daughter just as she is growing into a woman.

Demeter is portrayed by Academy-Award winning actor Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Frozen River, 21 Grams). She rules over the gardens and all the land at Mount Olympus. The story begins on a perfect day in August. Demeter has gathered her brothers Zeus (the county executive) and Poseidon (who's usually sailing off to some island in his yacht) with a few friends for her daughter Persephone's sixteenth birthday.

Persephone, portrayed by Lindsay Andretta (Far From Heaven) is not cooperating with her mother's plans. As a rebellious teenager, she would rather be anywhere but at home at Mount Olympus and she refuses to dress according to her mother's wishes. She steals away to the arboretum and looks out over the River Styx yearning to travel and explore life away from the trappings of home.

Hades (Gilles Malkine) Demeter's ex-husband makes matters worse. He arrives at Mount Olympus in his red convertible after years of estrangement, for his daughter's birthday celebration. When he learns about her yearning to be elsewhere, he hatches a plan to take her away.

Hades surreptitiously steals away with his daughter across the River Styx to his estate in the underworld. There, she discovers a world filled with costumes, masks, color, temptation and spectacle. Hades spoils her with anything she wants. Persephone enjoys the power she has in the underworld but she starts to miss her mother and the beauty of Mount Olympus.

Demeter is tormented by her daughter's disappearance. She suspects Hades, but is unable to find any recourse. Her distress and anger are evident as summer ends. The trees lose their leaves and the earth is enveloped in snow and ice.

Zeus realizes that he needs to help his sister recover her daughter. He sends his brother Poseidon to the underworld to broker a deal with Hades - they will share custody.

When Persephone is reunited with Demeter, summer has returned in all its glory but as the story comes to an end, we see Hades driving towards Mount Olympus. The trees have turned orange and red. He is coming back to take his daughter Persephone, whom he has made Queen of the Underworld - but she has other ideas."




Locations


The actors