If you’re looking for new talent on the rise that offers the next wave of sci-fi action movie adventure, then look to director Marco Kalantari’s short film, “The Shaman.” It is a pleasure to have at Comics Grinder an interview with Mr. Kalantari, which you can listen to here. And Comics Grinder has an exclusive manga adaptation to his short work as well as a review, which you can view here. This is a short film with promises of bigger things to come. It is definitely a look at what a visionary director can offer.
THE SHAMAN premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. And that resulted in Kalantari being signed by UTA. The film will be playing in the upcoming Hollyshorts Film Festival in LA as well as at the Dragon Con Independent Film Festival in Atlanta and in the Portland Film Festival.
If you’re in the area, go see THE SHAMAN:
Hollyshorts Film Festival in Los Angeles runs from August 13-22
Portland Film Festival runs September 1-7
Dragon Con Independent Film Festival in Atlanta runs September 4-7
Here is a synopsis of THE SHAMAN:
The dark year 2204, in a world that has seen 73 years of continuous war.
The face of conflict has changed. People kill people but they now rely on giant, intelligent battle machines to fight. Meanwhile, mankind has re-discovered the arts of magic and Shamanism and the Generals on both sides use well-trained spiritual warriors to face the threat of machines. Shamans have special senses; they are experts in all aspects of the “unseen” and the “beyond”. They believe that every person, animal, plant and object has a soul. When crossing the border to the Netherworld, the Shaman can find this soul and interact with it. That is what makes him such a deadly, highly effective weapon. They track and convert the souls of their enemies’ giant battle machines in a psychological soul-to-soul confrontation. But Shamans are not invulnerable. They are just people and can be killed like anyone else.
Shaman Joshua Van Kern and his squire Lene embark on a mission to convert a giant battle colossus and succeed where troops have failed.
And you can always visit the director’s website right here.
