I Built A City In The Sky …would You Live There?

In a world ravaged by climate change with a third of the human population living as refugees, what would it be like to live on a floating island platform a few hundred meters above the sea? You might get “sky sick” when you first arrived due to the slight movements of the platform within the air. Perhaps you’d feel special to be one of the hand picked few to live in this human marvel of engineering. Your commute might be via a “sky train” merely flying to and from work as part of your daily routine. Modified seafood would be your diet since importing food would be expensive in such a hostile world. If you were poor, insect-based food might be your choice cuisine. A cricket crunch bar anyone? Sure, the wealthy would have grand living roofs representing lush nature gardens, but that’s not you. A mechanized, artificial setting would be your neighborhood. If you worked in city waste management, you’d fly under the islands in the early morning Mediterranean air while the wind brushed against your face as you collected the excrement of the living population above. Studies would show that the most common issue you are likely to speak about with your therapist would be the yearning you would feel to live back on land among thick forests and spring meadows.

These are just a few of the curiosities I have had that innervate me to create the world of “Sky City Haya.” This project has taken me from the depths of my imagination to the practicalities of putting this world on-screen. Seven years ago I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the wonderfully medieval and gothic city of Prague, Czech Republic. During this time I have worked as a video director, editor & animator, enjoying my fair share of travels and adventuring to many exotic and lesser known destinations. The excitement which I feel when I meet new people, taste new cuisine and hear new languages is something I have endeavored to infuse into my world and into my characters.

During my time in Prague, I have met a collection of colorful characters, many who have become my colleagues and dear friends. From these people, I formed my excellent and talented team. It was tricky to facilitate the locations that this production desperately needed in order to surpass the medieval surrounding of Prague. We shot in such unusual locations as a garbage incinerator plant, the lookout room of a TV tower, the indoor garden of a business park, a cargo container yard and a moving train.

The cast of characters we found to play the roles in the story were equally diverse and highly talented. Somehow life had imitated art in an unexpected but satisfying fashion. The energy with which the team collaborated was supremely rewarding and humbled me greatly. Suddenly a lifetime of dreaming had inched its way into reality. I finally knew it was possible to create this beast of a project.

We just launched our Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign as the first step in creating this new world. We need to raise the funds to complete the visual effects for our short TV series promo film and with that pitch an epic series that offers a dark and thrilling mystery, a sense of cultural exploration and a smorgasbord of science fiction wonder that will tantalize your sense of imagination. All the meanwhile it speaks to the environmental and social concerns that our society faces even today.

I look forward to inviting all of you to the ever mysterious and unfettered world of Sky City Haya and together we will boldly step into the future!

More info: kck.st