WHO / WHY
WHO ?
D I R E C T O R - W R I T E R
Dan Thorens
A Canadian Swiss Filmmaker, Screenwriter, Producer and Actor.
Having been raised in several countries including 10 years in Africa, he was fascinated early on watching his father shoot on a Swiss Made 8mm Bolex camera and the time he spent cutting and splicing real film to edit family travels and make them entertaining to watch.
He has honed his director's skills by working with renowned Jérôme Savary, Roland Topor, Andreas Voutsinas and Jean Luc Godard to name a few and has established his production in New York City where he now resides. His versatility as a director allows him to move into different genres with ease. Coming from an acting background, he understand the actors process and you see the result in their performances.
After directing Theater in Paris and New York, he founded CW1 productions and has since produced, directed and hosted, two documentary series in English, both shot in France, a humanitarian doc on Haitian street children association, as well as a host of shorts films.
He is partnering in creating the Life Science project "BIOLINK EXPRESS" (BLX) with V. Loroch, phd in Biology.
His latest short "The Grapevine Chronicles" is part of a much wider cross-media project to turn it into a Feature Film via an online platform.
He's co-written 5 feature length films scripts he is now seeking to finance.
"Bloodtype", his first feature length is in preproduction in Belgium.
Daniel majored in Psychology at the Geneva University. He's fluent in French.
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WHY ?
D I R E C T O R P O V:
ANOTHER VAMPIRE MOVIE ?
Of course Vampires are not new but it gets better when it gets personal.
This time it's personal. This time it's Family.
I started writing the story based on one of my trips to visit my friend in Sofia, Bulgaria
The plot plants its roots in BULGARIA and follows a long trail of historical events.
I also chose for the lead character to be adopted and grow up in a New York Korean environment, for it's richness and diversity and as they are masters of the genre such as director Ji-Woon Kim (A Tale of Two Sisters - 2003).
Korea was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the closing days of World War II. Our main villain, Julian Von Ruthven originates in VARNA in 1517 and has prospered through the centuries traveling back and forth to England.
The Occult is part of the fabric of our Societies. If you follow Julian's bloodline, it will lead you to unfamiliar places most of us are secretly attracted to, dark worlds where the Heroine drug blends in with the Heroine character of Sara Mae.
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BACK STORY:
Sara Mae grew up in the West after being adopted by Korean martial artist Sang-Jun and his American wife Jenny.
Jenny's father died as soldier in the first Iraq war in Turkey.
Her mother committed suicide on the way back from Istanbul, Turkey, where they were based.
Sara wants to find out why.
Memories blend with our Emotions as we give in to our desire to know our Origin.
NEW YORK CITY, BY NATURE . . .
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is the perfect cosmopolitan melting pot for Vampires to prosper.
It lends the perfect backdrop to this modern tale of finding one's origin.
The heroine SARA was adopted and has explainable instincts for violence and a desire for blood.
The closer she gets to her real origins, the more the lust for blood gets revealed.
I'VE ALWAYS . . .
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wanted to tell a vampire story that couples the Romanticism and Sexuality
of BRAM STOKER's Dracula with the intimacy of exchanges ala INTERVIEW with the VAMPIRE.
LOGLINE :
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"In the depths of the urban underground, 'The Woman from Varna' unfurls
as a captivating vampire saga, intertwining the dark allure of bloodlust
with the power of familial bonds.
Sara Mae, an extraordinary martial arts fighter
embarks on a treacherous journey to uncover her true origins."
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