Jun 7, 2010

New project for Hulo


Hulo Films will be producing a short film called "The First Days".

The First Days is a six-minute short film that places live action actors inside an animated world. The story is told from an immigrants point of view (Issac) as he arrives in an unnamed host nation via a perilous journey on the open seas. Unable to speak the local dialect, he enters the shabby cardboard city with his cat Vladamir and a suitcase full of dreams. Soon after, his hope turns to isolation and loneliness as his inability to communicate allows others to take advantage of him, which eventually ends in tradgedy.

"When Mauricio approached us with a great script, a unique vision and stunning test footage to back it all up with, we naturally got quite excited about the show," said Stephen Huzar, Hulo Films co-founder and producer. "Knowing the project would take us into new and challenging territories as filmmakers (combining live action with animation) was the reason we decided to produce the film. We are very excited to be working with an up and coming filmmaker as talented and passionate as Mauricio. We look forward to making a show that is not only unique in its creative approach, but one that utilizes the most innovative marketing and distribution strategies and techniques in this constantly evolving new media landscape."

Mauricio Carvajal says that the idea for The First Days came from personal experiences, but also hearing about immigration stories around Canada: "It is difficult to move to a new place. The biggest obstacle for an immigrant is language, and that is the primary reason, in The First Days you don't hear or understand the language, because, I want people to see what an immigrant feels. It is hard to leave everything behind. We all came with a suitcase full of dreams and hopes for a better life. But, you lose the sense of belonging to a place, you fear to return to your old country as a failure, you are afraid of the authorities: immigration officer, bosses, even the mob. Those make part of a syndrome, call the Eullises Syndrome, which affect all immigrant in one point of their lives. But especially, affects illegal immigrants. One of the reason the lead character in The First Days is an illegal immigrant is so we see how much abuse he takes from other people. And he is only able to find refuge in the things that he knows, his things, his pet, and his language, his country."

Mauricio also commented, "I am excited to be part of the Hulo family. They are a group of hungry producers, and I love that. I love the fact that they want to be successful as much as I do. I know that we will make a great team together, their expertise ease my life as a filmmaker, as a director and as a writer. They are a solid group to work with, always looking out for each other, which in this business is hard to find sometimes. Also, we all seem to have an addiction for EE burritos and cinema."

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