Director’s Statement

Hi Supporters, 

Thank you for considering my campaign!  I am an award-winning filmmaker whose film debut, Love Goggles won me Best Director and Best Feature Film at the first Hollywood Black Film Festival.  I recently won Best Screenplay at the 2023 Paramount Film Festival for Athazagora and was selected as Honorable Mention at this year’s New York Screenwriters Awards for Athazagora as well.  Throughout my 20-year career, there have been a lot of peaks and valleys,  however, my greatest accomplishment was mentoring thousands of aspiring filmmakers, landing them jobs in film, television, and theater.  One of my mentees even sold a screenplay to Disney and another won an Emmy Award.  

About This Project

I would love to tell you that I created this project to bring awareness to the early stages of Alzheimer’s, Dementia, or the phobia known as Athazagora. But in all honesty, the concept of Athazagora came to me in the form of a dream that had very little to do with either. The dream was centered around a young woman who I envisioned overlooking an aging, yet grand, overblown Hollywood. Set in the 1960s, this Marilyn Monroe-esque presence was glamorous and wore oversized Hollywood sunglasses. She spoke little but I imagined her thoughts were “I want to be remembered”. The dream stuck with me throughout the day until I thought, “How can I turn this into a movie?” So I researched “the fear of being forgotten” and discovered it was a condition called Athazagora phobia. But I couldn’t make a movie about “memory” without addressing Alzheimer’s or dementia.  After all, I knew too many people who lost loved ones because of these diseases.

I found myself in a conundrum of trying to tell a story about “memory loss” when my story was about a couple in their early 20s.  How could either of them have Alzheimer’s? While doing research for my script, I contacted Psychotherapist Dr. Lee Stone, LCSW, PH.D., who confirmed that a person in their early 20s can indeed have memory loss in the form of Alzheimer’s or dementia.  So, I tied the two ideas together and came up with the following storyline: A young starlet, who has a fear of being forgotten, falls in love with the one person who may one day, forget her forever.

The Impact

Athazagora is an intense or irrational fear of being forgotten, ignored or replaced and is considered a social phobia.  An estimated 15 million Americans live with a social phobia, including the lesser-known Athazagora.

During casting, we received the following message from an actress (Jennifer), “I’m inquiring about your post for “Athazagora” the movie.  Although I know that the lead role was intended for an African American female, when I saw the listing I felt a need to respond.  Most  have never heard of this phobia, however, I have suffered from this condition my entire life.  So much so, that I have “Athazagora” tattooed on my arm.” 

Then we came across this message from Robert, “I’m not necessarily scared of forgetting, I’m more scared for my legacy. I have always had this fear that in the future, no one would remember me, that all of my major milestones wouldn’t matter at all in the near future.  I try to make my mark but being forgotten is inevitable.”​

Feeling Forgetful?

Forgetfulness can be a part of normal aging, but for some, this can mean early signs of Alzheimer’s which can eventually lead to depression and affect one’s overall mental health.  Athazagora takes a whimsical, dreamlike approach to memory loss and the effects it may have on one’s overall mental health.

“In every Alzheimer’s story, there is a love story. Hold onto yours, for it can carry you and your loved one through the longest days and darkest nights.”

-Rosalys Peel 

Meet The Cast

Meet The Team

Daniel Sollinger / Producer 

Daniel Sollinger is a graduate of New York University’s Film School, and the producer of more than 350 commercials, music videos, and short films for clients including Pepsi, Warner Brothers Records, CBS, Sony, and Comedy Central. His work has won awards from New York University, The American Film Institute, The Accolade Awards, and the American Motion Picture Society.

After working on numerous rap videos for artists such as Will Smith, and A Tribe Called Quest, Daniel produced “Rhyme & Reason,” a feature film documentary on hip-hop culture. It was distributed by Miramax Films and played in 280 theaters nationwide.

Since then, Daniel has gone on to produce or line produce over 60 independent feature films, including “The Alphabet Killer,” “Girls Against Boys,” “In My Sleep,” “Rhyme & Reason,” “Love Goggles”, “Without Men” and recently the Adrien Brody crime drama, “Clean”.

Daniel is a member of the PGA and a DGA Unit Production Manager.

Darlene Gillard Jones / Producer

Darlene Gillard Jones has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. Multi-hyphenate. Rainmaker. She is the idea-to-execution behind some of the most well-known brands and a trusted advisor to a who’s who of tech, fashion, entertainment, politics, and business. A seasoned and sought-after public speaker, Darlene has been tapped to give talks at Georgia Tech, Grace Hopper Conference for Women in Computing, and SXSW, to name a few. She has been mentioned in The New York Times and quoted in TechCrunch, Inc. magazine, and Business News Daily. As the Vice President of 2Tone Films and Founder of Copper Media Group (which includes Copper Films and A Copper Production), Darlene has several films, television, and media streaming projects in development that will deliver exclusive content and curated experiences to global audiences.

Lisa France / Producer

Lisa France Is an award-winning filmmaker who’s known for her work on, Queen Sugar, The Cleaning Lady, and her critically acclaimed films, Anne B. Real and Roll With Me. France entered the film business as a Production Assistant before initiating her career as a Stunt Double on several films including Spike Lee’s “He’s Got Game”. Throughout her career 

Ms. France has impressed some of the most respected filmmakers in Hollywood, including Oscar-nominated Director Ava Duvernay who selects France as her go-to Director for several of her television shows.

Awards

What We Need 

I’ve made great strides thus far by winning the 2023 Paramount Film Festival and receiving Honorable Mentions at the 2023 New York Screenwriter Awards and shooting the film itself but there is still more to be done. There is a lot involved in marketing and distributing a film of any size.  From the beginning, we designed this short film in the way one would a full-length feature. From securing grand locations to enlisting a renowned Casting Agent and Producers we were able to pull it off. 

Great relationships and an amazing script got us this far but now we need your help to fulfill the vision we initially had for this incredible project.

Should you choose to support, your contributions would go towards the following: 

• New edit (to reduce the running time)
• Color Correction
• Composer
• Music Licensing Fees
• Marketing
• Promotion 
• Film Festival Fees
• Theater Rental(s)

We’re looking to revolutionize how audiences and distributors view short films.  Because ultimately, it’s not the size of the film, it’s the impact it makes.

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand that everyone can’t contribute financially.  However, if you’d still like to support please share this campaign across all social media platforms, and don’t forget to use the Indiegogo share tools!  Thanks!  We can’t wait to share the film with you!

Follow Us!

Website: www.athazagorathemovie.com

Website: www.2tonefilms.com

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