These features as a way for the Ministry to highlight artists, musicians, writers, and makers of all variety. With so many talented individuals to choose from, we know it is a challenge to feature every clever creative worthy of note, but perhaps we might endeavour to introduce to you a new name in our community of steam and cog, or perhaps remind you of one artisan’s successful efforts to bring the past that never was to the here and now.
 In this week’s Æther Feature we look at a currently running Kickstarter aiming to bring a post-apocalyptic steampunk fairytale to life.
Writer / Director Aaron Martinez has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund his upcoming film “OLIVE.†Olive mixes gritty live action 16mm film and handcrafted stop motion animation to build an uncanny vision of the future.
Olive tells the tale of the last man alive and his fight to save his only friend – an undernourished Olive tree; but there is a twist to this tender tale. Their cozy cottage for two has a band of pesky flies that have a long overdue score to settle with mankind.
Long after the last great cities have crumbled, Eugene is the last botanist on the planet; in fact he may very well be the last of our ill-fated species.
Trapped indoors by an endless winter storm since he was a child, Eugene has but one friend…
Olive – his undersized, undernourished tree that is overborne with pesky flies. Together, inside of their ramshackle cottage built of spare parts, apocalyptic debris, and plain ol’ rubbish, their companionship has stood the test of time and decay.
But, as Olive’s sparse leaves begin to dry up and fall, this bond is in peril. As their only source of water, an intricate mechanical aqueduct clogs up and grinds to a stop, Eugene must meticulously clean and rebuild the aqueduct – racing to save life on Earth as we know it.
The way in which we are going to create this beautifully imagined film is through a very delicate balance between form and function, along with art, fashion, and most importantly, mechanics, as the mechanical aqueduct in this film plays a pivotal role in the turn of events.
What comes next, you’ll have to wait and see, but Kickstarter incentives include fantastic original
artwork and even potted baby Olive trees for those in need of “A Friend For Life.†Post apocalyptic paranoia aside, this campaign runs parallel with the actual film production to give supporters an inside look at the sci-fi indie production from ground zero.
Best of luck to them, as we all know, the wells a dry’n up, and it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get to work re-shaping our contemporary world.
Help keep Olive alive and visit the Kickstarter campaign here