Lebanese filmmaker Josef Kalüf has turned to crowdfunding to get his experimental trilogy project off the ground.
Having previously produced three short films and a medium-length documentary, Kalüf's latest project asks the question, "Why?" Inspired by the giants of philosophy such as Dostoyevsky, Sartre, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, Kalüf aims for the trilogy to encourage "fellow human being to liberate his [or her] thought from all kinds of taboos."
"It is an ode to the human being," he told StepFeed. "Nothing and no entity must define or imprison him [or her]."
The three short films making up the project will be "VACUUM," "NIHIL," and "VOID," or "VNV," when presented as a complete trilogy.
"'VNV' is an experimental short film immersing into another kind of reality, another realm; philosophy, thought and theory," Kalüf explained.
Born in Beirut in 1979, Kalüf received a BA in Advertising and Marketing from Notre Dame University in 2001. However, he realized that his passion lied elsewhere; in filmmaking. So, he went on to attend screenwriting, directing and acting classes. He then continued to work on feature and short films and TV commercials as a production manager and producer.
His last project, the medium-length documentary, was very different than his new project.
"'VNV" is a totally different genre from my previous film 'Conflict 1949 - 1979,' which is a personal documentary, spread over 52 minutes, and that tackles the clash between an ex-militant father," Kalüf explained. "He has an aggressive, forceful character and his only son, myself, who has a totally opposed character."
The main point of Kalüf's trilogy project, while still very personal, is to make the audience think and examine their own understanding of reality. "The importance of my project lies in the question itself, since it will not explore or offer any answers, it will rather make the audience think and draw their own conclusions."