01-04-2024, 02:45 AM
Film Title: A Leeward Phantom
Nominating Nation: Libertas Omnium Maximus
Nomination Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score
Language: English
Run Time: 156 minutes
Director: Garth Greene
Producing Studio: Maynard Motion Pictures, Empyrean Studios (distributor)
Cast:
Grant Page as Archibald "Archie" King
Benjamin Wagner as Matthew
Christopher Baxter as Captain William Ramsey
Lawrence Barber as Dr. Leland Howard
Sebastian Tallmadge as Narrator
Tiffany Bowman as Ariadne
Brief Summary:
Set during the twilight years of the age of sail, an unseen narrator (Tallmadge) tells the story of a wealthy heir to a merchant shipping empire, Archie King (Page), who once fell in love with a native woman, Ariadne (Bowman), of St. Paul Island, a small isle off the southeast coast of Iustitia. Although their romance was passionate and genuine, the heir was already betrothed to a socialite in Iustitia City and withheld this information from his lover. When Ariadne eventually learned of the heir’s dishonesty and infidelity, she sent Archie away and cursed his name, wishing on him the Thassalaparata, a native southern-Iustitian mythological poltergeist who would turn the seas against those who dishonored the Iustitian peoples. Over the following years, Archie’s life became mired in tragedy and ill fortune, including the freak drowning of his fiancée, the untimely death of his father from Typhoid Fever, and the inexplicable disappearances of many of the vessels in his inherited merchant fleet. Sailors reported that phantom ships now stalked the waters of the Iustitian isles and the seas would sometimes glow like fire.
A Leeward Phantom follows the efforts of Mr. King, convinced that Ariadne’s curse was the source of his misfortune, to return to St. Paul Island and beg for her forgiveness, no matter the cost. For the voyage, King recruits an odd ensemble of characters, including William Ramsey (Baxter), an austere, intransigent ship captain, Leland Howard (Barber), a physician, personal friend of Mr. King, and amateur biologist more interested in documenting the reported bizarre phenomena than any ancient curse, and Matthew (Wagner), an orphaned cabin boy. As the crew sets out on what should be a short voyage from Iustitia City to St. Paul island, they become mired in doldrums, haunted by a spectral fleet of ancient sailing ships, and seemingly pursued by a massive whalefish, which Archie King becomes convinced is an incarnation of Thassalaparata. As nerves become shot and tensions run high, the crew, terrified, turn on their leaders, plotting a mutiny. Noting the fear in Matthew’s eyes, Captain Ramsey takes the cabin boy under his wing, reassuring the young man that as long as the crew maintains faith in their ship and captain, the schooner will not be lost. That evening, however, a huge storm blows in, crippling the schooner and causing one of the masts to fall on Doctor Howard, killing him midway through an unsuccessful attempt to convince the crew that they were plagued not by a poltergeist, but by a harmless phosphorescent algae bloom and overactive imaginations. As concern turns to blind terror among rank-and-file crewmembers, a scuffle breaks out aboard the ship and Archie King is beaten mercilessly before being “sacrificed” to the Thassalaparata, thrown overboard into a raging sea. As the crew turns on Captain Ramsey, a yard breaks off from the mainsail, knocking Matthew into the rolling surf. The schooner is blown away from the overboard duo, leaving Ramsey and his crew’s fate a mystery. Although Matthew cannot swim, King, though mortally wounded, keeps him afloat long enough to grab hold of a floating piece of debris from the schooner, dying from exhaustion and injuries sustained during the mutiny moments later. As King’s body sinks into the sea, the waves begin to glow and the storm gradually abates, revealing an iridescent sunrise.
In the film’s epilogue, the narrator is revealed to be a now-octogenarian Matthew, who was rescued by Legionite sailors the morning after the storm. They reported pursuing a great whalefish, who disappeared into the depths just before Matthew was sighted. Living in a townhouse overlooking the harbor of Port Lutzos, Legionas, the narrator explains that he never again went to sea, but does not believe in mythical curses or a vindictive spirit of the ocean, only the lengths mankind will go to rationalize occurrences beyond their control or comprehension. In the harbor, a huge steam-powered ocean liner departs from the port, headed for destinations unknown.
What makes this film special?:
A Leeward Phantom seamlessly combines elements of native Iustitian folklore with a thrilling maritime epic that pays homage to Maximusian cultural history and its inextricable link with the sea. Filmed primarily on-location, A Leeward Phantom features hard-hitting performances by some of the Maximusian film industry’s most venerable actors and ingenious utilizations of practical effects augmented by state-of-the-art computer generated imagery to bring the terror and grandeur of a vengeful sea to life.
For his skillful portrayal of the film’s tragic protagonist, Grant Page has been nominated Best Lead Actor. His immense range as a performer allowed him to gracefully capture the full breadth of human emotion as his character stood atop the world, fell from greatness, and, in the bitter end, found some redemption in ferrying an innocent to safety as his final act.
Benjamin Wagner, though just beginning his acting career at 14 years of age, demonstrated in A Leeward Phantom that he is as much an actor as any by delivering an evocative and heartfelt performance as Matthew, the everyman cabin boy who finds himself getting much more than he bargained for when he signed-on for a short voyage through charted waters. He has been nominated Best Supporting Actor.
A Leeward Phantom’s original score, a combination of haunting orchestral fanfare composed by Zachary Gilbert and performed by the Litudinem Symphony Orchestra and traditional sea-shanties sung by the Via Regis Men’s Choir, has been nominated for Best Musical Score.
Nominating Nation: Libertas Omnium Maximus
Nomination Categories: Best Film, Best Lead Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Musical Score
Language: English
Run Time: 156 minutes
Director: Garth Greene
Producing Studio: Maynard Motion Pictures, Empyrean Studios (distributor)
Cast:
Grant Page as Archibald "Archie" King
Benjamin Wagner as Matthew
Christopher Baxter as Captain William Ramsey
Lawrence Barber as Dr. Leland Howard
Sebastian Tallmadge as Narrator
Tiffany Bowman as Ariadne
Brief Summary:
Set during the twilight years of the age of sail, an unseen narrator (Tallmadge) tells the story of a wealthy heir to a merchant shipping empire, Archie King (Page), who once fell in love with a native woman, Ariadne (Bowman), of St. Paul Island, a small isle off the southeast coast of Iustitia. Although their romance was passionate and genuine, the heir was already betrothed to a socialite in Iustitia City and withheld this information from his lover. When Ariadne eventually learned of the heir’s dishonesty and infidelity, she sent Archie away and cursed his name, wishing on him the Thassalaparata, a native southern-Iustitian mythological poltergeist who would turn the seas against those who dishonored the Iustitian peoples. Over the following years, Archie’s life became mired in tragedy and ill fortune, including the freak drowning of his fiancée, the untimely death of his father from Typhoid Fever, and the inexplicable disappearances of many of the vessels in his inherited merchant fleet. Sailors reported that phantom ships now stalked the waters of the Iustitian isles and the seas would sometimes glow like fire.
A Leeward Phantom follows the efforts of Mr. King, convinced that Ariadne’s curse was the source of his misfortune, to return to St. Paul Island and beg for her forgiveness, no matter the cost. For the voyage, King recruits an odd ensemble of characters, including William Ramsey (Baxter), an austere, intransigent ship captain, Leland Howard (Barber), a physician, personal friend of Mr. King, and amateur biologist more interested in documenting the reported bizarre phenomena than any ancient curse, and Matthew (Wagner), an orphaned cabin boy. As the crew sets out on what should be a short voyage from Iustitia City to St. Paul island, they become mired in doldrums, haunted by a spectral fleet of ancient sailing ships, and seemingly pursued by a massive whalefish, which Archie King becomes convinced is an incarnation of Thassalaparata. As nerves become shot and tensions run high, the crew, terrified, turn on their leaders, plotting a mutiny. Noting the fear in Matthew’s eyes, Captain Ramsey takes the cabin boy under his wing, reassuring the young man that as long as the crew maintains faith in their ship and captain, the schooner will not be lost. That evening, however, a huge storm blows in, crippling the schooner and causing one of the masts to fall on Doctor Howard, killing him midway through an unsuccessful attempt to convince the crew that they were plagued not by a poltergeist, but by a harmless phosphorescent algae bloom and overactive imaginations. As concern turns to blind terror among rank-and-file crewmembers, a scuffle breaks out aboard the ship and Archie King is beaten mercilessly before being “sacrificed” to the Thassalaparata, thrown overboard into a raging sea. As the crew turns on Captain Ramsey, a yard breaks off from the mainsail, knocking Matthew into the rolling surf. The schooner is blown away from the overboard duo, leaving Ramsey and his crew’s fate a mystery. Although Matthew cannot swim, King, though mortally wounded, keeps him afloat long enough to grab hold of a floating piece of debris from the schooner, dying from exhaustion and injuries sustained during the mutiny moments later. As King’s body sinks into the sea, the waves begin to glow and the storm gradually abates, revealing an iridescent sunrise.
In the film’s epilogue, the narrator is revealed to be a now-octogenarian Matthew, who was rescued by Legionite sailors the morning after the storm. They reported pursuing a great whalefish, who disappeared into the depths just before Matthew was sighted. Living in a townhouse overlooking the harbor of Port Lutzos, Legionas, the narrator explains that he never again went to sea, but does not believe in mythical curses or a vindictive spirit of the ocean, only the lengths mankind will go to rationalize occurrences beyond their control or comprehension. In the harbor, a huge steam-powered ocean liner departs from the port, headed for destinations unknown.
What makes this film special?:
A Leeward Phantom seamlessly combines elements of native Iustitian folklore with a thrilling maritime epic that pays homage to Maximusian cultural history and its inextricable link with the sea. Filmed primarily on-location, A Leeward Phantom features hard-hitting performances by some of the Maximusian film industry’s most venerable actors and ingenious utilizations of practical effects augmented by state-of-the-art computer generated imagery to bring the terror and grandeur of a vengeful sea to life.
For his skillful portrayal of the film’s tragic protagonist, Grant Page has been nominated Best Lead Actor. His immense range as a performer allowed him to gracefully capture the full breadth of human emotion as his character stood atop the world, fell from greatness, and, in the bitter end, found some redemption in ferrying an innocent to safety as his final act.
Benjamin Wagner, though just beginning his acting career at 14 years of age, demonstrated in A Leeward Phantom that he is as much an actor as any by delivering an evocative and heartfelt performance as Matthew, the everyman cabin boy who finds himself getting much more than he bargained for when he signed-on for a short voyage through charted waters. He has been nominated Best Supporting Actor.
A Leeward Phantom’s original score, a combination of haunting orchestral fanfare composed by Zachary Gilbert and performed by the Litudinem Symphony Orchestra and traditional sea-shanties sung by the Via Regis Men’s Choir, has been nominated for Best Musical Score.
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