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Elfenlied

A prisoner from an enchanted realm and a wily criminal find themselves displaced in each other’s world.

  • Julian Griggs
    Director
  • Julian Griggs
    Writer
  • Lauren A. Taylor
    Producer
    Black Panther, Godzilla King of Monsters, Silicon Valley
  • Willa Whalen
    Producer
    Shadow and Bone, The Serpent Queen
  • Jordan Calloway
    Key Cast
    "Aaron"
    Painkiller, Black Lightning, Riverdale
  • Moriah Brown
    Key Cast
    "Davina"
    Raising Dion, Turnt
  • Armie Hicks, Jr.
    Key Cast
    "Goon 1"
    Atlanta
  • Franceli Chapman
    Key Cast
    "Ylana"
  • Robert Fleet
    Key Cast
    "Curt"
  • Hidekun Hah
    Key Cast
    "Li"
  • DeJaneau Chante
    Key Cast
    "Nazia"
  • Jamal Delaney
    Key Cast
    "Goon 2"
  • Lynn Yang
    Key Cast
    "Asian Woman"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Sci-fi, Fantasy, Urban
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 20 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 10, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    40,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    3840:2160
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Julian Griggs

Growing up in the military, Julian Griggs screenwriter, director, and producer was born in Germany and lived in Italy, France, Africa, and New York. He went to Howard University and studied Engineering and International Marketing at George Washington University in Washington DC. A self-proclaimed cinephile, his journey into the entertainment industry happened after a chance meeting with Nicole Perlman, writer of Guardians of the Galaxy, led him to write his first screenplay. Soon after he moved to LA to study screenwriting at the University of Southern California and then worked as a research assistant and Writer’s assistant for Television. Julian’s passion for storytelling started with his love of film and Television finding inspiration in works by James Cameron, John Boorman, Ridley Scott, Christopher Nolan, John Carpenter, Gordon Parks, Jean-Luc Godard, and Martin Ritt that paved his journey through the world of cinema. Although he writes mainly Fantasy and Science fiction, his stories are rooted in the visceral reality of racial and socioeconomic disparity that revolve around the power structure that govern colonized communities and the aftermath on the community from the perspective of bi-racial duality. He recognizes the need for placing unconventional characters in situations audiences may not associate those characters with historically.

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Director Statement

Who does elven mythology “belong” to?

Fantasy and the engrained mythos is and has always been skewed white, and once I challenged a seasoned fantasy writer to a debate. The same writers’ room argument about why black elves aren’t relevant led me to do research in elf lore and what an elf actually stands for metaphorically. What I discovered is that Egyptian and older West and East African folklore make references to similar creatures before there was mention of them in Germanic and Scandinavian stories. As a youngster, I was an avid reader and I enjoyed classics such as Tolkien literature, "Erlkönig" by Goethe, "The King of Elfland's Daughter" by Lord Dunsany, and "Dungeons and Dragons." My curiosity always led me to wonder why certain characters weren’t represented on screen or in pictures but were present in the actual mythology. I believe that the human experience is equal all the way down to the legends, mythos, and lore. In creating Elfenlied, my goal was to incorporate some of my experiences growing up biracial to portray a narrative that can satisfy ardent fans of traditional fantasy while attracting viewers of contemporary urban dramas. In addition, fantasy helped me escape harsh realities while growing up and I believe all children, regardless of race or creed, can benefit from believing in a little bit of magic.