First, CONGRATULATIONS to Brandon Fowler, the writer/director/producer of the upcoming Latvian horror/drama HYBRID VIGOR on successfully achieving, in fact surpassing, his fundraising goal on kickstarter to get this film made, no doubt through a remarkably successful internet crowd sourcing campaign and the hard work of everyone involved in the film! This is always incredibly exciting news for independent filmmakers.

I have been seeing news of the film HYBRID VIGOR for a few weeks now but had yet to post anything about it until I had a clear understanding of everything involved. All I had gathered up until this point was that it was a genre film made in LATVIA of all places, which had me assuming it was a Latvian film. I was dead wrong. So now, boils ‘n ghouls, you’re going to get the full story.

Recently voted IndieWire’s PROJECT OF THE WEEK and with a twitter following of over 250,000 followers (good GAWD!), HYBRID VIGOR has surpassed its initial kickstarter goal of $50,000 and filming has already begun. This is all incredible news as it is so incredibly difficult to get an independent film made these days, funding always being such a problem to get things off the ground. Fowler even had to leave the US, going to a country few people other than Latvians ever even think about to get the film made. That’s f-ing dedication if I’ve ever heard it. So what is HYBRID VIGOR?

Excerpted from the Press Release:

Hybrid Vigor Films, LLC announced that Brandon Fowler, the director of the upcoming Latvian horror/drama HYBRID VIGOR, has just surpassed his fundraising goal on crowd funding platform Kickstarter raising additional funds from a wide Twitter fanbase. The film stars an emerging Latvian cast that includes Velta Buka in her feature film debut and also co-stars Jevgenija Mirosnicenko and Aleksandr Ivanov. All three actors are native to Latvia and no other parts have been officially cast. Fowler (Executive Producer of “Loren Cass”), who wrote the script, is also serving as the film’s producer. The film, which began principal photography in March, has already shot large portions on Lake Peipus in Estonia, and also in several locations in Latvia. The film is scheduled to complete shooting later this year. Specific release dates and markets will be announced shortly thereafter. HYBRID VIGOR is a feature film about life, death, violence, morality, immortality, love, and loss in the USSR during Soviet times, and in present day Latvia. It opens on frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia during the Soviet era, but most of the film takes place in present day Latvia. More details about the plot will be revealed in the coming months. HYBRID VIGOR offers unique perks to its members who sign up to pledge money to the production. Donors will have their photo added to the film’s photomosaic movie poster as well as have their names listed in the end credits. With over 250,000 followers on Twitter, the production raised a majority of the funding directly from their followers. “We are at the beginning of what will be an independent filmmaking renaissance period. Crowfunding/crowdinvesting coupled with open access social media sites and affordable, professional quality cameras are going to empower a whole new generation of indie filmmakers,” said Fowler.

For more information go to the OFFICIAL KICKSTARTER PAGE, the TUMBLR Page, the FACEBOOK Page, TWITTER, and there’s even a making-of series on YouTube.

SYNOPSIS:

HYBRID VIGOR is a feature film about life, death, violence, morality, immortality, love, and loss in the USSR during Soviet times and in present day Latvia. It opens on frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia during Soviet times. Most of the film takes place in present day Latvia. More details about the plot will be revealed in the coming months.

Velta Buka, the star of Hybrid Vigor, has something she wants to tell you…

