DOCUMENTARY: PORTRAIT OF A LOST NATION

PROJECT INFORMATION PAGE

• Title: Portrait of a Lost Nation

• Type: Documentary Film

• Logline: “The United States appears to be at a national breaking point. This project seeks to interview experts and examine available evidence to determine if the country really is on the verge of a spasm of far-right violence, and perhaps even a Second Civil War.”

• Filming Locations: Rural New York State, rural Pennsylvania, rural New Jersey, New York City, Toronto, rural Ontario, and remote video interviews

• Current Team: Michael Tanton (executive producer, writer, director, editor), Lexi Cook (producer, sound, secondary camera)

• Estimated Production Timeframe: July 2022 - November 2022

• Note of Intention: My primary goal for this project are to demonstrate to the wider public that far-right extremism combined with a ballooning militia movement in the United States poses a high risk to the population and to the stability of institutional government. I intend to interview researchers, writers, and other experts on extremism, hate groups, militias, and civil wars to lay out the threat and interrogate possible solutions and outcomes. My motivation for putting this project together is that I do not believe that the general public is as aware of these insidious threats as they should be.

• Technical Specs: 4K UHD, Rec709, 24fps, NTSC, Stereo 16-bit 48kHz, runtime undetermined (likely around 50-60 mins)

• Release Goals: The intention is to submit to multiple Academy-eligible film festivals across the United States starting in November 2022.

• Budget: Out-of-pocket, very low. I am lucky enough to work as a film editor professionally, so I have access to vast resources of stock media, visual effects talent, design and animation software, as well as video and audio recording equipment. The only real expenses for this film will be travel costs and final audio mixing/mastering services.