Your Big Break

ANIMATION
An ancient map shows the southern seas full of marine monsters. In between the drawings, a 17th century BRIGANTINE.

EXT. WILDFOREST. DAY

KORIA, a young Maori woman, has a vision: a western ship floats over the ocean. KORIA is calm but tired because of the trance and her face is sweat. She lays below an enormous tree next to a river. By her side, two young Maori warriors look at her in fear: ARAMA, with the tattoo of a dolphin; and MAKA, “the scarred”.

KORIA
Be on alert, be prepared, be careful. Is coming to Aotearoa a big Waka full of white men,
different to us, that had crossed the great Tangaroa.

INT. BRIGANTINE. DAY
JOHN GIBBONS, the ship officer, checks the navigation charts.

OFF JOHN (praying – CONT’D)
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

EXT. WILDFOREST. DAY
KORIA seems to be in trance again while ARAMA and MAKA hold her. She travels through space and time and sees a young western seaman that handles a strange wooden object.

EXT. BRIGANTINE. DAY
JOHN GIBBONS is using a wooden Jacob’s staff.

JOHN (CONT’D)
Lead us to the Garden of Eden, where we can be by thy side and start again.

ANIMATION
The ship keeps traveling mysterious waters on a blank plane full of monsters, angels and religious motives.

OFF KORIA (CONT’D)
They come from far away, like our ancestors, from beyond HAWAIKI.

EXT. BRIGANTINE. DAY
Officer JOHN GIBBONS stands looking to the wonderful sight of the New World, green and impervious along the coast.

OFF JOHN (CONT’D)
Erase the old mistakes and offenses from thy children. Lead us and let us not fall into Oblivion.

EXT. WILDFOREST. DAY
MAKA stands up violently because of KORIA’s vision.

MAKA
How can you be sure of what you say? That is impossible! This land is like a huge cloud that floats into immensity of Father Sky. Nothing exists beyond HAWAIKI. Nobody has gone and come back.
ARAMA
Shut up! Can’t you see that she’s a KUIA MATAKITE, a chosen one. She had been instructed
in hidden sacred lore by her mother, who was a respected witch too.

KORIA stands up and looks at both of them.

EXT. BEACH. DAY
A little boat gets to the beach. Officer JOHN GIBBONS lands on first place with a musket in his hands and a light exploration kit.

OFF KORIA
What it is, it is and I cannot change it. But you ought to warn the people of the land.

EXT. WILDFOREST. DAY
ARAMA takes his weapons: two TAIAHA and a pair of KOTIATE. Then, he gives them to MAKA.

ARAMA
Words are over, Maka. It’s action time. Go sunwards and I’ll go the other way.
Warn everyone. Foreigners have come to Aotearoa.

Both smile, wave KORIA away and run at full speed. KORIA looks amused at them, while her face turns grave and starts murmuring.

EXT. BEACH. DAY
Westerners enjoy the looking of odd animals on the beach, lots of birds, big sea-lions and penguins. The band of men scatters; some of them start hunting. JOHN GIBBONS climbs up the cliffs and walks to the forest.

OFF JOHN (CONT’D)
Guide us to thy land.

EXT. AOTEAROA. DAY
ARAMA crosses the land between the eternal clouds of the high mountains. MAKA swims along a river waving at some other Maoris for them to follow him. He tells them the story and they go off in every direction.

EXT. WILDERNESS. DAY
JOHN GIBBONS walks through the thicket, enjoying the fauna. He gets to a small lake and skirts it.

OFF JOHN (CONT’D)
For thine is the kingdom.

OFF KORIA (CONT’D)
May the spirits of my ancestors be guarded in my heart to guide me through this world.

EXT. AOTEAROA. DAY
ARAMA, the dolphin-warrior, comes down the mountains and crosses a great canyon with a cascade.

OFF JOHN (CONT’D)
The power and the glory.

JOHN GIBBONS climbs a wall that juts out from a canyon. A reptile runs away in fear.

OFF KORIA (CONT’D)
Our parents in the spirit world; sacred are your names, bring us your guidance.

ARAMA gets out of the wilderness rushing, every time more tired.

EXT. LAKE. DAY
A canoe goes fast across a lake. MAKA, the “scarred” warrior, sails in it with some other Maoris.

OFF KORIA (CONT’D)
In the beginning there was nothing, and in that nothing there was just darkness.
That long period of darkness was broke by your light.

EXT. AOTEAROA. DAY
ARAMA runs along a golden hill.

EXT. WILDERNESS. DAY
JOHN GIBBONS is resting, observing some insects. A kiwi passes ignoring him. JOHN GIBBONS looks at the bird with a smile and follows its path.

OFF KORIA (CONT’D)
Rangi, the sky-father that is above our head; Papatūānuku, the earth mother that is below our feet.

INT. CAVE
ARAMA is inside a cave, just illuminated with a torch, until he gets out through the gigantic entrance of the cavern and stands beside a Maori totem.

OFF JOHN (CONT’D)
Forever and ever.

EXT. WILDERNESS. DAY
JOHN GIBBONS watches the sunlight coming into the forest from the top of the trees. He is surrounded by birds. The kiwi has lost between some MAMUKA ferns. Suddenly, JOHN GIBBONS notices something strange. Every sound from the fauna has stopped. He stands in his guard and holds his weapon against an invisible foe. After a while and extremely silent, an impressive Maori warrior appears in front of him pointing his chest with a spear. Both look at each other with a mix of curiosity and fear, facing their weapons and dancing, analyzing the opponent.

OFF KORIA (CONT’D)
We the children of earth; we the guardians of paradise.

FADE TO BLACK. WHITE TITLE: THE PROMISED LAND
CUT TO/ EXT. WILDERNESS. DAY
JOHN GIBBONS and ARAMA finally drop their weapons. First one of them, then the other. Both smile. They are two young men in a new and special land. The westerner slowly approaches to the Maori that can’t repress looking at his clothes. The Maori gives him a fruit and JOHN GIBBONS eats. A butterfly lays down on his hand.

OFF KORIA (CONT’D)
Ake. Ake. Ake.

OFF JOHN (CONT’D)
Amen.

The sun is setting in Paradise.

THE END

The Promised Land by Ferran Brooks 2010

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The video that inspired me and I use in the pitch can be seen in HD here:

http://tiny.cc/promiseland100

Personal features:

What I like most from this story is the chance of working with an ancient world where everything seems to begin. Also the external power of the Maoris and their link with Mother Nature, aside from the determination of the new western settlers. One idea that I think I like is that Maori may speak in their original language, subtitled in English. It's a possibility. For example, "Ake. Ake. Ake." means something like "Forever and ever"

Technical aspects:

In the places near Queenstown and Southland there are enough locations for the whole short movie, and for shooting ten Lord of the Rings more.
I am used to guerrilla shooting and also to filming with crews made of dozens of people. I don’t have any problem with both situations. Queenstown is an area rich in different places that make possible loads of locations, so a reduced crew will not have problems going on with the shooting.

Related to the ”Brigantine”, it can be that exact kind of ship or any other designed between 17th and 19th centuries (Wooden pilot cutter, Dutch Clipper or any 2 or 3 mast wooden ship). I think that maybe don’t would be a huge problem for the CGI, for the type of shots that I have planned and because I am a little bit experienced in that technical field.

In any case, “only the real things are better than the real things” and in anticipation I have contacted the owner of a two masts “Brigantine” made completely of wood that lays in New Zealand in winter and will be there until May. He told me literally: “No problem. Everything for the cinema”.

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About me:

Greetings, my friend.
If you are reading this you are spending your time in me so, first of all, Ferran Brooks thanks you and tells you about himself.
I am in the audiovisual world since 1998, when I began as a TV publicist. From those times, I have been devoting to TV, advertising (or “how to sell a fridge to an Eskimo”), graphic novels and, some years ago, I started to create and direct sport programs for the Spanish TV. I love photography, the VFX field (I founded a company), I have done some TV spots, video clips, documentaries and short films. I am in love with shooting.
I don’t have a webpage but I use to work with “usual suspects” as:

www.vlue.es

If you feel more curious, try here:

http://tiny.cc/brooks696

The music of my pitch is from KIWIJAM (New Zealand) and DIEGO MONTESINOS (Spain), two musicians that come exactly from both sides of Earth.
And I must express my gratitude to: Monika of Caribbean Yacht Broker, Mr. Klaus Kurz (owner of the brig) and Kristina Pauls and my friends in NZ on the other side of the world, Dark world Factory´s Angel Gallego, Enric Martín, Manuel Portillo, Cristian Guijarro from VLUE, Nacho Ruipérez & Liam Dorm.

Without any of you, would not be possible not even think about all of this madness.