First World (2007)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Adam Starr

Writer:

Mark Lund (writer)

Release Date:

21 February 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Short | Action | Drama | History | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

The Revelation of Mankind

Plot:

In the early 1960's NASA discovered a vast and advanced civilization on the Moon with their first space probes...

Plot Keywords:

Moon | Space | Soviet Union | NASA | John F Kennedy

Cast

Angelina Spicer	...	Secretary of State Elisabeth Seward
Jeffrey Phillips	...	President Robert Anderson
Zebulun Huling	...	Cedric
Lindy Nettleton	...	Prime Minister Allison Colby
Mark Lund	...	Steven Johnson
Marianne Phinney	...	Susan Anderson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Anthony Coppola	...	Secret Service Agent (as Michael Coppola)
Gregg Creeden	...	Chief of Staff
Steven Dennis	...	Secret Service Agent
Dan Fontaine	...	Secret Service Agent
Cynthia Grenier	...	Woman on Beach
Tara Groccia	...	Anchor
John F. Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jeremy Lamprey	...	Secret Service Agent
Kristi Lynn	...	Aide to the Prime Minister (as Kristi Drake)
Ronald Reagan	...	Himself (archive sound)
Ken Rondeau	...	Secret Service Agent
Brandon Stumpf	...	Secret Service Agent
Darren Tow	...	Secret Service Agent
Brittany Wilkinson	...	Lyndsay Seward

Runtime:

USA:25 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Zone 5 Pictures

Trivia:

The location for the Equestrian competition came about when the producers advertised on Craigslist for an equestrian. A woman by the name of Fran Wilkinson responded who not only had a daughter who was a champion rider, but also had connections to Indian Hill Farm and secured the riding facility. In an interesting twist of fate, the husband of the woman who owns the farm was previously married to the producer's first figure skating coach.

Quotes:

Cedric: Do you think they can do it?
Secretary of State Elisabeth Seward: If they don't, the Soviets probably will. But we have time.
Cedric: Time isn't the issue. Discovery is one thing, but our mission is quite another.

Brilliant concept and I want to see it realized

This short film really would make a terrific full-length movie. The plot idea is brilliant and original and would make a darn fine film.

On the eve of a Chinese moon landing, something is amiss--something out of this world. As the film slowly unfolds, you see that some of the people around us are not humans at all, but are from some unknown outside source--some distant planet perhaps. Why these outsiders are all now planning something big isn't exactly known nor are these plans. What is certain is that life on the planet will never be the same again and the film does a great job of creating tension and a sense of dread in the audience.

The film gets kudos for an exceptional story, wonderful pacing and decent CGI shots. It's obvious that this independent film was made on a shoestring budget though they generally did a good job--with one notable exception. A few times, there were a few scenes that should have been re-shot. I am not talking about expensive or difficult scenes, but little ones where the actors stumbled over their lines. You can't blame the actors, as every actor flubs a line. But it's the director's job to re-shoot scenes--especially the one on the beach early in the film. It's obvious that the actors are having trouble with their lines and this somehow made it into the film. This sort of mistake won't help in securing financing for bigger pictures and wonder if they might still want to redo this one particular scene. Especially because otherwise, it's a brilliantly imaginative film--one I desperately want to see on a bigger scale and budget. It has the potential to be something big--something profound.

Good luck with the film and I really look forward to seeing more from these people. On a tiny budget, they did wonders. Imagine what they could do with more money and time.