richardmurray

From the author: Hey everyone, I’m working on something special. I’m not a part of a major studio or have any insider industry connections.
Actually, I’m based all the way in St. Louis. So what you see here I’ve been able to do with a small dedicated and talented group of people. 
Please consider contributing to this campaign in any way you can. A simple share will go a long way. Thank you
SHORT VIDEO AND WAY TO SUPPORT AT THE LINK BELOW 

 https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/underneath/underneath-sci-fi-feature-film-by-david-kirkman 

What's UNDERNEATH About?
UNDERNEATH is the first feature film from David Kirkman. During the U.S Civil War, Amir, a slave from Little Dixie, MO is thrust into an intergalactic crisis after encountering an alien from a crashed spaceship. Throughout the film he learns that he's more than what his environment has forced him to be and discovers his inner power to change and manipulate his entire reality...  Amir comes across characters from different planets, characters directly connected to the Haitian Revolution of 1804, finds what it means to truly love, and much much more. So be prepared for something you've never quite seen before on screen with these dynamics in place.

Director's Statement
In 2018, I made short film called Static Shock, based on the character of the same name. It was the first time that a serious take on the character was made live action. Me and my friends made it for $3,000 and at the time of screening the film across the country, we didn't quite realize the gravity of the imagery we created. Long story short, when I released the short film on my YouTube channel in 2019- it went viral. Altogether the series has a combined 2.5 million views online.

In addition to traveling the country, myself and a few people a part of the team were flown out to London, Germany, and the Netflix HQ itself in San Fransisco to screen the series. 

The thing is: people are hungry for stories in film that expand our imaginations of who black people are, have been, and who we can be; in fun and entertaining ways of course. Myself and the Woke Nation team ended up creating the short films ICON (2020), NOBLE (2020), and recently HARDWARE (2021). All of these short films are based in the Static Shock world, honoring the groundbreaking legacy of Milestone Comics from the 90s and the legacy of Dwayne McDuffie.

Now building on everything we've learned from creating those short films, we're leveling up again. As the saying goes: Here we grow again! But with original content. 

I remember growing up being completely obsessed with Star Wars- I mean COMPLETELY obsessed. I was the kid in Ferguson (the birthplace of the Black Lives Matter Movement) who was able to get all of my friends on my street to believe in my little Star Wars fantasies and act it out with me. I'd organize my friends into teams: the Dark Side and the Light Side, and would organize the lightsaber duels utilizing a combination of the $6 lightsabers from Walmart and tree sticks lying around outside. But there was always this disconnect because every major character I really looked up to in Star Wars didn't look like me.

In UNDERNEATH, with your support and donations,  we're going to take everything in the sci-fi genre up a notch. We're intersecting black history, which grounds the lore and gives our world verisimilitude, with Afrofuturism (black sci-fi). Also in the film we explore ancient Kemetic (African) principles and truths in a very entertaining way. 
Thank you so much for supporting this cause, and thank you for believing in me and the Woke Nation team. I look forward to creating history with you.  ~ David Kirkman

MORE QUESTIONS

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/underneath/underneath-sci-fi-feature-film-by-david-kirkman/faqs