C H R Y S A L I S
ABOUT THE FILM
Imagine you’re on a spaceship. You wake up from cryogenic sleep only to find that your spaceship has been critically damaged by an asteroid. Your cryogenic sleep failed while you were under and you continued to age. When you entered your cryo pod, you were in your 20s, just beginning your life. Now you’re 70, stuck on a crippled piece of metal, hurtling through space. This is the reality that our two main characters, Owen and Amelia, face in our short sci-fi drama, Chrysalis.
Olivia: This film started off as a passion project. I’ve loved science fiction movies and TV shows all of my life, from Doctor Who and Star Trek to Firefly and Star Wars. Ever since I first fell in love with the genre, I’ve wanted to make a science fiction movie, and I decided in my sophomore year that I wanted my senior project to take place on a spaceship. After coming up with the initial concept, it was just a matter of creating the characters and figuring out their story. Amelia and Owen were characters that I fell in love with and the story is just as much about their relationship as it is about the technology that surrounds them. For me, it was important to find a balance between the science and the emotional elements and I believe that this film is a perfect blend of the two.
Benjamin: For me, filmmaking has always been about the exploration of human interactions. My desire has always been to dissect, and expand complicated relationships, specifically those that lack a right or wrong but instead exist within a gray area. We see characters clinging to the past, attempting to restore the connection that used to inspire them, but is now a bitter reminder of the past. Our film may be a science-fiction piece, but at its core, it is a character-driven story that explores the bond between these two characters and delves into what it means to love someone unconditionally. This personal aspect interested me most, making this a story that I wanted to tell.
Co-Directors/Producers Benjamin Allen and Olivia Mazzucato
PRODUCTION NEWS
2.27.16 - Chrysalis begins principal photography
3.19.16 - Filming at Trona Pinnacles, Chrysalis completes principal photography
6.3.16 - Chrysalis premieres at OCSA's Spring Cineplex at Chapman's Folino Theater
6.11.16 - Chrysalis wins Best Production Design at OCSA FTV Awards Night
4.22.17 - Chrysalis screens at Newport Beach Film Festival
7.29.18 - Chrysalis airs on Shorts International DirectTV channel
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Imagine you’re on a spaceship. You wake up from cryogenic sleep only to find that your spaceship has been critically damaged by an asteroid. Your cryogenic sleep failed while you were under and you continued to age. When you entered your cryo pod, you were in your 20s, just beginning your life. Now you’re 70, stuck on a crippled piece of metal, hurtling through space. This is the reality that our two main characters, Owen and Amelia, face in our short sci-fi drama, Chrysalis.
Olivia: This film started off as a passion project. I’ve loved science fiction movies and TV shows all of my life, from Doctor Who and Star Trek to Firefly and Star Wars. Ever since I first fell in love with the genre, I’ve wanted to make a science fiction movie, and I decided in my sophomore year that I wanted my senior project to take place on a spaceship. After coming up with the initial concept, it was just a matter of creating the characters and figuring out their story. Amelia and Owen were characters that I fell in love with and the story is just as much about their relationship as it is about the technology that surrounds them. For me, it was important to find a balance between the science and the emotional elements and I believe that this film is a perfect blend of the two.
Benjamin: For me, filmmaking has always been about the exploration of human interactions. My desire has always been to dissect, and expand complicated relationships, specifically those that lack a right or wrong but instead exist within a gray area. We see characters clinging to the past, attempting to restore the connection that used to inspire them, but is now a bitter reminder of the past. Our film may be a science-fiction piece, but at its core, it is a character-driven story that explores the bond between these two characters and delves into what it means to love someone unconditionally. This personal aspect interested me most, making this a story that I wanted to tell.
"We were looking for a new world, a new home where we would build new lives."
