Indiegogo push will fund production of New England ghost comedy

Portsmouth, NH -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/23/2014 --New England is fertile ground for ghost lore with its abundance of colorful history, salty personality types and eighteenth century architecture. Filmmaker Katie Ennis was inspired by her years in New England to write “Haunted,” a narrative film, which she is slated to direct in September, 2014. A sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, the film features a young couple who decide to spend a romantic weekend at The Ocean Manor Hotel, a famously death-ridden tourist attraction, situated on the Isle of Shoals, eight miles off the coast. As their experiences in the hotel grow stranger, and the footsteps in the attic grow louder, their worldview begins to crack; and through those cracks the ghosts swoop in. It is a funny, exciting and strangely haunting film, playing with the genre much like “Cabin in the Woods,” to do something scary in a fun and smart way.

The venue selected for the filming of this project is in New Hampshire, on Star Island, a once popular hideaway for pirates. The location, The Oceanic Hotel on the Portsmouth coast, was featured on the SyFy channel show, “Ghost Hunters,” and currently serves as a retreat for artists, writers and their families. After the “Ghost Hunters” debut, the island began to offer weekends for paranormal investigators. “Haunted” will be the first narrative project of its kind to film at the Oceanic.

The film is written and directed by Katie Ennis a NYC based filmmaker and member of the Motion Picture Editor's Guild. Ennis made her directorial debut in 2012 with, “Jim and the Genie“ a whimsical comedy about the psychological turmoil that comes with making a life-changing wish and babysitting an immortal being. Her editorial credits include shorts, television shows and independent features; including “HITS,” written and directed by comedian David Cross, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Ennis has been a fan of the ghost genre since childhood when she would watch “Ghostbusters” on repeat. She explains, “I have always been drawn to stories that go beyond our realm of knowledge and fact, stories that push the boundaries of imagination and fill our minds with wonder. I think, as a species we’re losing the sense of how truly strange it is to be alive. My biggest goal as a filmmaker is to give that feeling back to an audience.”

The film features Genevieve Hudson Price and Christian Rozakis, both New York based film and theater actors. The supporting cast includes: Brett Wean, Rob Benson, Rachel McPhee and Hannah Roze.

“Haunted” is produced by Conor Kelly, Karlina Lyons and Marc A. Dole. Kelly is a member of the Director’s Guild of America, who has worked on large-scale projects like “The Avengers” and “The Following.” Dole is an award-winning filmmaker and New Hampshire State Film Commission alumnus, who in partnership with Lyons have expertise with high quality/low budget films. Together they have won over 20 film prizes, with projects screening at festivals across the globe. “Haunted” will be filmed on the RED Epic camera by award-winning cinematographer, Jonathon Millman, who boasts an Emmy and four Telly awards to his credit.

Indiegogo perks for contributions range from advance screenings, associate producer credit, signed books, extra roles, film credit, ghost tours, behind the scenes footage, set visits, film classes and VIP access to the New Hampshire Film Festival.

Production is slated to begin September 15, 2014. The success of this campaign will help bring the film to production and the marketplace. Fractured Atlas is a non-profit arts service organization. This means that contributions to the campaign will be tax deductible to the full extent permitted by law.

Crowd funding

In support of its Crowd funding campaign, the team is committed to:

-Renting Equipment Camera, Grip and Lighting Equipment
-Securing the filming location and housing for cast and crew
-Providing transportation to the Island
-Feeding the cast and crew during the filming of Haunted
-Paying the cost of production design, set dressing and wardrobe
-Compensating the cast and crew
-Paying for production insurance
-Providing all promised perks to reward supporters of the campaign

Crowdsourcing
The Indiegogo campaign’s initial goal of $15,000 is currently active and runs through August 13, 2014 at 11:59 Pacific Time. Full details about the Indiegogo campaign including sponsorship and involvement levels can be found at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/haunted-a-short-film.

Or the website: http://creativedistrict.com/project/2315/

Media Contact:
Katie Ennis
609-287-0992
Kennis115@gmail.com