Look Book // Directing 4

L o o k B o o k // Directing 4

by Om a r Ka ka r

2 n d Ye a r M F A F i l m P r o j e c t Co l u mb ia U nivers ity School of the Art s Summer 2017

Project:

Untitled

A mysterious man treats a patient's deviant urges with unconventional methods.

Director: Writer: Producer:

Omar Kakar

Davíð Már Stefánsson

Marc Mayer & Jennifer Sciarra

by Oma r Ka ka r

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About

Director

Writer

Omar Kakar is a NYC based filmmaker. In the years after earning his Bachelor of Architecture degree, Kakar would live a meager existence as a delivery driver in San Diego, California, while simultaneously working as an 3D Draftsman & llustrator at a start-up architecture studio. After shooting serval documentary videos for other architects, Kakar would quickly pivot from traditional architecture to "Storytecture;" the art & science of building narratives, applying the same discipline to the alternative medium. And would soon become a Directing Fellow at Columbia University's film program in New York City. His growing body of work lives in the world-building realities of science fiction; narratives depicting speculative philosophical thought experiments as a lens to examine the human condition.

Keeping a cosmic perspective, Kakar strives to create challenging and meaningful work that can extend far beyond his physical existences; to live in society's collective consciousness, to communicate to future generations what we are, what we have been, and what we can inspire to be.

David M ar Stefansso n is a Swedish-bo rn Icelander c u r r e n tl y ba s e d i n N e w Yo rk where he studies screenwriting at Co lumbia Un i ve r s i ty. A s w e l l a s having a deg ree in P hilo so phy and Creative W riting s, D a vi d Ma r h a s e xpe r i ence as a jo urnalist and a co lumnist. W riting fo r film, te l e vi s i on a n d th e a tr e , David M ar recently had the ho no r o f beco ming a Le i f u r Ei r i k s s on F e l l ow.

About Story: “Relativity. The predator becomes the prey.�

by Om a r Ka ka r

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Look Book

/ / D irecti ng 4

In fl ue nces

I n fl u e n c e s Mood: Mysterious and captivating.

“Nighthawks” (1942) Edward Hopper

I n fl u e n c e s World Tone: Unsettling perversions from dark underbelly of society.

a) “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (2011) David Fincher b) “Videodrome” (1983) David Cronenberg c) “Blue Velvet” (1986) David Lynch d) “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999) Stanley Kubrick e) “Taxi Driver” (1976) Martin Scorsese

a

b

c

d

e

O verall v isual.. .

...look & fee l

I n fl u e n c e s Literature

“Notes from the Underground” Fyodor Do stoyevsky The Underground Man: • Strong sense of self-awareness to the extent where he embraces individuality to the point of shutting himself off to society and losing his self-identity.

• He turns to nasty acts as a means of justification.

• There seems to be no hope for him. His cynicism is too overbearing. To him, nothing is within his reach he simply is the way he is (natural depravity).

Why's this so unique?

Dostoevsky and other major Russian writers were majorly influenced by European Romanticism and Realism, however, Dostoevsky presented complex/offensive protagonists that Europe wasn't ready for. He provided an honest, disagreeable, translucent character (the Underground Man) to shock readers. This type of protagonist was carried into the 20th century by Albert Camus in "The Stranger" with his protagonist/narrator Meursault. Meursault was a man of indifference. He was amoral - he chose not to recognize morality vs. immorality. Meursault has a very narrow, limited outlook on life. He doesn't have a strong identity of self and he is emotionally detached from everything around him. There must be a certain appeal in an anti-hero at the forefront of a novel for these writers. It brings substance to a story & certainly doesn't hold back.

by Om a r Ka ka r

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L ocat i ons

ns

Need a medium to large size room with a full size Bed.

Locations The Apartment

...open to any other options.

Locations The Diner

...

by Om a r Ka ka r

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Un der ly i ng Theme s

Technology

...our complicated interactions with it and its affect on our physical world relationships.

Underlying Themes

Underlying Themes

Porn Culture

...the proliferation of virtural sex in the internet age. Enhancing sex or a path to moral degradation

...the ethics of pedophilia treatment and how to minimize harm to children?

Underlying Themes

Deviance

“There are few issues as taboo or as emotionally charged as the subject of sex offenders.

And particularly those who prey on children. Our legal system deals with them ruthlessly, doling out penalties that are 2nd only to murder charges. In some states the sentencing can be as severe as life without parole or even the death penalty in Florida. And while no one will argue the importance of protecting children from sexual offenders, there are ambiguities that come up that are difficult to address. Precisely because it is such a inflammatory sub ject. One example is the question of treatment. Many of the punishment for sex offenders drive them out of there homes and communities, and offer no options for treatment, rehabili tation, or reintegration. Many people believe there is no treatment possible, or that it isn't worth the risk. But new areas of research are being explored to manage how pedophiles might be able to redirect their sexual desires using virtual reality and robotics. Some say this could be a healthy way to live out fantasies without inflicting harm on real children. Others fear that legal virtual child pornography will only encourage the possibility of real life sexual assault. While we may not have any answers, we can still ask ourselves whether this research should be continued and if we are at least open to having the conversation.”

By: mssngpeces “Forbidden Research,” an M.I.T. Media Lab summit 07/2016

by Oma r Ka ka r

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Charact e r B a c k grou n d B er t / / Aa r on

C haracter Ba c kg ro u n d : Be rt Omar Kakar: Who is Bert?

D a v í ð M á r S t e f á n s s o n : In my head, Bert is a family man. I think he is also smart and rather successful when it comes to his career. I sometimes picture him as a politician. You know - like all these Italian politicians who are always getting busted for all kinds of fucked up shit they do in the bedroom. I can almost see Bert as a highly manipulative genius.

OK:

This room/studio/apartment he’s in, is this his home away from home?

H i s w o r k p l a c e / o f fi c e ? H i s s i d e g i g w o r k p l a c e ?

DMS: Yeah I feel like it’s a simple studio apartment that he is renting without anyone know ing. A secret layer where he takes all his victims.

OK:

Does he have children? Did he have children? Does he want a family? Is he still with his wife? Or are they taking a break from each other.

DMS: I think he has wife and kids. Just a stable family life.

OK:

Is he Doctor? Was he a Doctor?

DMS: I’d see him more as a mental doctor rather than you know - a surgeon or something. A little bit like Hannibal in the TV show with Mads Mikkelsen.

OK:

What is Bert’s income? How does he acquire/have money?

DMS: I feel like Bert is in a really comfortable upper middle class. Not a billionaire but with a solid three digit number in yearly wages. I feel like he is in a job where he can use how good he is at manipulating people for ‘good’. So he might be a politician or a psychia trist - or something in that cat egory.

OK:

Does he do anything else for work? Or any under the table gigs? Is he a pornographer?

DMS: I feel like he is a really proper guy. A classy mofo. So he is not in any dirty business.

However, it would be interesting if he would tape all the men he preys on… perhaps he films Aaron without Aaron knowing and then adds the tape to a tape cabinet with dozens or hundreds of tapes - so we get the feeling that this is not the first time this has happened - you know?

C haracter Ba c kg ro u n d : Be rt OK:

Did he go to M.I.T. or Harvard? Did he drop out? Or did he go to a com munity college or a trade school? High School drop out?

DMS: I think he went to MIT or Harvard or a good Ivy school. I feel like he finished at the top of his class.

OK:

Is he religious? Does he believe in god? A revengeful god or a loving god?

DMS: I don’t think he believes in the Christian god. I think he believes that he himself is a sort-of-a god.

OK:

Is he political? Does he think the world can be saved?

DMS: No. I think he is a massive nihilist in a way. He is a man who would chant for one thing to get votes and then betray that all and chant for the other thing if that meant he would get more votes. However, he is too smart for anyone to see through his bullshit.

He t hinks the world is a weak and miserable place that is only suitable as his on private playground. The only thing he wants is power.

OK:

Where is he from? NYC? USA? UK? EU?...

DMS: He was an only child in a family with old money. Perhaps he grew up in a fucking estate somewhere where rich New Yorkers live‌ close to the city but still far away from it. I also think he was mostly raised by a nanny. Both his parents were really distant and cold.

OK:

What does he do for Fun?

DMS: Fly fishing alone in nature. Standing still for hours in the water - luring the fish on the line. But I think he always releases the fish back into the river/lake.

OK:

What is his worst nightmare?

DMS: Being human. A mortal nobody made out of flesh and bones - in contrast to a divine being that is. It goes with his megalomania and god-complex.

OK:

Is he heterosexual? Homosexual? Bisexual? Polysexual? Asexual? Is he on a next level of sexuality that he transcends our understanding of it?

DMS: He has a god complex. Defi ning sexuality is beneath him. So the last option I guess.

C haracter Ba c kg ro u n d : Be rt OK:

What’s his routine of going about this... (Meeting these patients/strangers)? How does he protect himself? Like he brings a pedophile home, then how does he prevent a pedophile from exposing him?

DMS: I think the takes them to this secret studio apartment of his that he is renting. He makes sure that the pedophile never knows anything about him. And, perhaps, tells then when everything fi nishes that he has taped everything and if they ever expose him then he will leak the tape out onto the internet.

OK:

What is his biggest regret, but a regret of Bert's own doings, a decision or action Bert has done that he wishes to do over or make amends with?

DMS: Bert loves his mother - hated his dad. Unlike Aaron who adored his father but hated his mum. Bert wishes he could’ve stood up more to his father, when he was treating his mum poorly, as a teenager - he fantasizes about having killed his father - before the cancer took him that is.

OK:

What is the biggest lie Bert tells himself? This is like an untruth that Bert believes about himself when he looks in the mirror.

DMS: That he is somehow a higher being than everyone else.

“Why are there people like Frank?�

-B lue V elv et ( 1 9 8 6 written & directed by David Lynch)

Character Ba c kg ro u n d : A a ro n Omar Kakar:

Is he religious? Does have a political stance?

Davíð Már Stefánsson: I think he wants to believe. If he believes - it is out of fear.

OK:

Does he love his wife? Does he believe in love and happily ever after?

DMS: I think he loves the image of the perfect family - kids - grandkids - he wants that stability and normality. He loves that more than he actually loves his wife. But she is a part of the puzzle. Or maybe it would be stronger for the story if he really really loves and adores his wife? Which is one more reason for him to be so upset by his urges.

OK:

I f h e s a w “ H a p p i n e s s ” ( 1 9 9 8 fi l m , w r i t t e n & d i r e c t e d b y T o d d S o l o n d z ) , h o w w o u l d h e r e a c t ? W h a t i s t h e m o s t c h a l l e n g i n g fi l m h e h a s s e e n ?

DMS: I think he would hate it. He wants nothing more than being a conservative basic bitch.

He’s the kinda guy who expresses himself on social media saying pedophiles should be executed. I think he watched Toy Story 3 with his grandkid or kid and thought it was great… and then read so mewhere online that it was a communist propaganda, without really understanding it, and now writes hateful comments about the film online.

OK:

Does he like watching Disney movies?

DMS: I don’t think so. If he has grandkids then he has definitely watched it with them. But not on his own.

OK:

Does he watch sports? If so, which?

DMS: I pretends to be interested in sports, the super bowl and other typical US sports, but it’s more for the sleeve. He doesn’t really enjoy them.

OK:

Is he a Hawk or a Dove? (Pro military/war or Pro peace)

DMS: I think he’s pro war - once again - just because of the sleeve. He himself would never hit or kill or hurt anyone. But he tries to make up for his pedophile urges by being everything that he believes is anti pedophilic. A conservative homophobe.

OK:

If he had a choice to eat for free at a 5 star foreign restaurant, lets say a sushi place (and he's never had sushi before), or pay to eat his favorite cheap, greasy, fast-food meal, which would he choice?

DMS: Definitely the latter.

Character Ba c kg ro u n d : A a ro n OK:

Other than the pedophilia, what is Aaron's biggest secret?

DMS: Something where he is a chicken. Maybe he saw something, could have stepped in but decided not to, and someone died or got beaten up. He’s the kinda guy who turns away when he sees a man beating his wife - better to stay out of it.

OK:

Does he like little girls? Or boys? Or doesn't matter as long as it's children? Is there an age range?

DMS: A good questions. I think kids before they hit puberty or get breasts/pubes. I think he prefers little girls.

OK:

Would he murder a victim if he were to act on his urges?

DMS: He might in some sort of a freak out cover up. But I think he might even be too much of a chicken to do so.

OK:

What did he think/planned was going to happen meeting Bert? What was his Intentions?

DMS: He t hought he was meeting someone who might help him get suppress/control his urges somehow. Someone to confi de in - someone who tells him that he is not a freak - that he is normal.

OK:

In his mind what would be the result of a best-case scenario for meeting Bert? And worse-case Scenario?

DMS: Best case scenario Bert would tell him he was normal and teach him how to suppress his urges. Worst-case scenario Bert was a decoy and Aaron will be exposed.

Charac t e r B a c k g ro u n d : Aa r o n Film: “M” Year: 1931 Dir: Fritz Lang Wir: Fritz Lang & Thea von Harbou German drama-thriller starring Peter Lorre. The Film concerns both the actions of a serial killer of ch ildren, and the manhunt for him, conducted by both the police and the criminal underworld.

Peter Lorre plays the killer Hans Beckert,”introduced in the most black and white of terms as the shadow and foreboding whistle, he starts out as a villain so vile that an entire city full of criminals are casts as heroes. But by the end of his underground trial h e c r i e s o u t f o r h e l p w i t h t h e v o i c e o f

humanity. Screaming out from the depths of a psychological prison and cast the entire story i n t o d i f f e r e n t s h a d e s o f g r a y . It's a level of nuance unheard of in most fi lms.” - C i nefix LINK to the s ce n e : h ttp s ://w w w .yo u tu b e .c o m/wat ch?v= E-Q K d37uFug

C h ar a c t e r i s b u i l t b y 3 p eop l e...

• The Writer • The Director • T h e Ac t o r s T h i s b o o k w a s cr ea ted to p r ov i d e a d d i ti ona l c o l o r s t o y o u r p a l ette for y ou to p a i nt w i th.

Tha nk y ou