Rookie journalist and “outworlder” Ellie Parish returns to the long abandoned frontier with the dream of writing a career-making story about the descendants of those who were left behind. There she finds a decaying society ruled through fear by a nameless, ageless despot commanding the will of the people with a massive army of mechanical sentries.
“Trash and Progress” is an indie sci-fi feature about another kind of Earth trapped in a morass of social stagnation and littered with the rusted technology from a forgotten war.
It is an ensemble-lead story of rebels, murderers, scientists and soldiers, all tasked with fighting what they don’t understand. But before she can record the story for history to discover, Ellie must come to terms with her own fears and remorse about a life left behind and a future made suddenly uncertain.
“Trash and Progress” is a fully independent science-fiction feature shot in the San Francisco Bay Area over roughly 40 days, with an almost entirely local cast and crew. It was finished in March of 2012.
It was the intention of the filmmakers to create a film that both broke away from the expectations of indie sci-fi as well as returning the audience to a dustier, rustier practical aesthetic familiar to fans of the genre’s 1970′s and 80′s heyday.
Months went into the development of original costumes and design work to create the mix of retro sci-fi and western post-apocalyptic style that makes up the film. Almost 90% of its shots have been digitally composited through the use of effects miniatures, full-scale electric models, and practical weather elements to create a more subtle, realistic feel to its otherworldly setting.
The film is currently being submitted into the festival circuit in hopes of finding a larger audience.
See more at the film’s official Facebook page.
Writer/Director
Abraham Dieckman
Producer
Ari Ali
Associate Producer
Cass Phillipps
Director of Photography
Jessica Fisher
Original Score
Mouzhan Yousefi
Charlie Rohrer
Solo Vocals
Dina Maccabee
Assistant Director
Mat Epperson
Makeup and Practical Effects
David Strine
Cast
Maryssa Joy Wanlass …. Ellie Parrish
Samuel Richie …. Ben August
Lindsay Cookson …. Darla Dixie
Conor Hamill …. Willard Dodd
Charlie Vaughn …. Maynard Fletcher
Peter Jonathan McArthur …. Elliot Muddle
James Camblin …. Robert Leland
Jesse Filipko …. Johannes Pullings
Jessica Lyn Robertson …. Molly Pullings
Remi Barron …. Polemarch Calvin Aprils
Daniel Korth ….. Daniel Parrish
Kat Bushnell …. Charlotte Dixie
Kip Baldwin …. Pete August
Angela Hahn …. Dorothy August
Mia Wheaton …. Milly Fletcher
Riis Butrick …. Milly’s Friend
Julian Butrick …. Milly’s Friend
Roy Dieckman …. Vagabond
Guardsmen
Dustin Delaney
Julumarie Joy Cornista
Shaye Love
Gairo Cuevas
David Strine
Carlos Foster
Ari Ali
Townspeople
Bootsy Harput
Soni Carrington
Robert Kayson
Diana Tran
Rayelle Carrington
Arlynne Ramos
Milena Krayzbukh
Tony Van
Laura Garrett
Ally Roarty
Rustin Greddy
Character Stand-ins
Cass Phillipps
Jesse Filipko
Voice Work
Elizabeth Marks …. Propagandist
Steve Settle …. Farmer
Bill Pope …. Ira Culver
Crew
Gaffer Electrician
Carmen Osterlye
Assistant Camera
Marcia Ong
Ayumi Negishi
Grips
Ryan Thomas
Matthew Stouppe
Sound Recordists
Keenan Jensen
Carlos Foster
Edward Vincent
Kyle McCain
Second Unit Photographer
Marlon Torres
Casting Assistants
Jessica Robertson
Bianca Vidal
Karen Lew
Lily Prenter
Editor / Visual Effects
Abraham Dieckman
Colorist
Luke Goodman
Sound Design / Editing
Dessiree McFarland
Sound Mixing
Ben McDaniel
Post Sound & Keying Technician
Brandon McFarland
Wardrobe/Costume Design
Lacy Barry
Costuming Assistants
Sara Pool
Dessiree Green
Mask Design / Construction
Duncan Eagleson
Assistant CG Artist
Christopher Webb
Location Managers
Alex Davidson
Ian MacPhee
David Strine
Doug Mann
Production Photographer
Luke Goodman
Production Assistants
Gairo Cuevas
Bianca Vidal
Dakota Wilder Smith
Unit Drivers
Roy Dieckman
Mat Epperson
Ari Ali
Jessica Fisher
Special Thanks
Photon Creative, San Francisco
Know Knew Books, Palo Alto
LMA Productions, Pleasanton
Monaco Labs, San Francisco
Video Copilot (www.videocopilot.net)
Roy, Gayl and Suzanne Dieckman
Josef Shafer
Catie ullman
Nori and Jim Whisenand
Brandon Butrick and Elizabeth Mendelssohn
