Sad Hill Media

Our accomplished film collective Sad Hill Media ("Paradiso", "Mr. Video", "Manboyhood", "The Bottom of My Heart") is ecstatic to officially announce its first feature film project: We Three Heathens.



We'll need your help to make this happen — fundraising will begin on July 1, 2014.

The idea

Faith and spiritual enlightenment, ideas historically central to the human condition, are undergoing a shift. The modern world is increasingly divided between secularism and religious fundamentalism; just as a record number of atheists now walk the planet, the Vatican is seeing an upsurge in popularity. We Three Heathens explores how young, secular people like Devan Scott, Daniel Jeffery, and Will Ross might connect with the spirituality of ages old — by having us pass through it.

We Three Heathens is a quest in the form of a documentary. Will, Daniel, and Devan will embark on the
Camino de Santiago, the world's most famous pilgrimage. The Camino encompasses hundreds of pilgrimage routes, all ending at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, where, as tradition has it, the remains of St. James the Great are buried. The trip, all told, will take two months to complete on foot. We will battle language barriers, walk hundreds of miles across mountains, deserts, and weather both fair and ravaging.

The Method

Tradition has it that pilgrims may carry a rock along the path, imbued with their own spiritual weight; we will each carry a camera. With these cameras, we will film anything and everything. Each of the three of us will act as our own director, crafting a trio of distinct personal visions that are imbued with our respective personalities, both in front of and behind the camera. From these, a feature documentary will be constructed.

The documentary will intercut between the three perspectives; it will find radically differing visions of the big moments and discoveries on a split screen, it will juxtapose the quiet moments of solitude and confession unique to each of us.

The People

Indeed, we all have unique personalities, behind and before the camera. Daniel is a natural-born confidant, and as close to an invisible presence as one can get behind the camera, especially when employing the 'low-fidelity' technology of a handicam. Will is analytical, contemplative, and moody; he examines situations through the use of precise camera placement and editing, making careful observations, aiming to reveal and articulate through patience and careful composition. Devan is a joyful interventionist, a curious rascal. He throws himself into situations, disturbs equilibriums, allows his camera’s involvement to influence the actions and reactions of a moment.

By thoughtfully merging these styles, we’ll have opportunities to be observational, to be incisive, to be warm and funny — imagine one filmmaker cheerfully calling it a night, and then cutting to another filming him loudly snoring. Or showing a local telling his life story, and then showing that one of the filmmakers is oblivious to the story; he is too busy nursing the blisters on his feet. Three unique subjectivities will harmonize into a portrait both grand and intimate.

Communicating these inner journeys will take many forms; video journals, interviews, and multi-camera documentation of happenings comprise only a few of the possibilities available to us. Opportunities for structural experimentation abound; this will be no ordinary travelogue! No matter the elements, they will be edited into a triptych of coherent wholes, and those inner journeys will manifest as one statement, one approach — maybe even one answer.

On July 1st, we'll be doing a crowdsourcing campaign so we can make the film happen. We're raising funds for equipment, travel expenses, and post-production. Our success depends on as many people getting the word out as possible, so we'll be making videos and blog posts along the way. If you like it, sharing with your friends will make the difference!

So, if y'please, follow us on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and check out our official website for more details on the route, updates on our crowdsourcing campaign, and fun little goodies. Ciao!