Geek Start a Go Go- The Ningyo
The Ningyo is a 1909 period film pilot about cryptozoology. The search for mythological or unproven creatures. A Faustian tale about losing oneself in the process of achieving the filmmaker’s goals.
Dr. Marlowe, a paleontologist and professor, finds a piece of a map pointing to the place where the Ningyo, the mythical Japanese creature, could be found. The legend claims whomever consumes its flesh will attain remarkable longevity. He presents the project to his peers, who mock and dismiss him as a fraud. He decides to risk everything and go after the Ningyo on his own in hopes to bring to light what could be one of the greatest contributions to science. What he could not anticipate is that, in his search, he is confronted with a choice that puts the very foundations of his morality to the test.
A Ponce De Leon type adventure involving deep sea diving and underwater caverns.
This is a pilot for what the creators hope will be a series or feature film. (currently 15-22 minutes in length)
From the creators: “Our film is a character driven piece set around true historical events that were happening during the turn of the century. The world is grounded in a realistic tone mixed with fantasy elements. There’s a saying that goes ‘science kills magic.’ What makes this era so appealing to us as storytellers is that anything was possible. The world was not fully discovered, science was still in its infancy, and the possibility of creatures and monsters were very real.”
This was a time when creatures that were once considered mythological or fictitious were actually being discovered. Monsters were being excavated in the golden era of paleontology. The Okapi or as it was called “the African Unicorn” once considered a mythic creature, was found in the Congo in 1901, and was thereafter adopted as an emblem by the International Society of Cryptozoology.