Experiencing Interruptions?

Ji : Love is Universal

A modified human from a manmade planet risks his life to travel to where humanity originated. Once he arrives there he meets a beautiful young woman and falls in love. But it's only a matter of time before his people come looking for him and expose the truth about who he really is.

  • Ben Griffin
    Director
    Universal Dance Awards, Lil Pump:Gucci Gang, Yella Beezy Feat. Chris Brown: Restroom Occupied, Follow Me
  • Ben Griffin
    Writer
  • Vivian Matito
    Producer
    Film Permit Police
  • Karika Austin
    Producer
  • Lewis Tan
    Key Cast
    "Ji"
    Mortal Kombat, Wu Assassins. Deadpool 2, Rush Hour, Hawaii Five-0
  • Eva De Dominici
    Key Cast
    "Tiffany"
    Hawaii Five-0, The Soviet Sleep Experiment, La fragilidad de los cuerpos, Sangre en la boca
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Feature, Short, Television
  • Genres:
    Sci-Fi/Rom, Drama, Action
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • NYCA Film Festival
    Dolby New York
    United States
    June 28, 2019
    Official IMD Festival
    Best Film of the Month and Best Cinematography
  • Colorado International SciFi & Fantasy Film Festival
    Colorado
    United States
    October 25, 2019
    Award Winner
Director Biography - Ben Griffin

Ben Griffin is Director, Cinematographer and Writer. A childhood passion for movies and entertainment led Ben to shooting and editing his own videos starting in high school. The Academy of Art in San Francisco sharpened his technical skills allowing him to be comfortable working in any genre of music or cinema. Ben is well-versed in every area of production from pre-production to post. Ben currently actively works as a Producer, Director and Director of Photography.

Ben’s award-winning music videos have been seen on countless networks and websites. His videos have amassed over a billion views on YouTube. Ben has directed commercial and promotional videos for clients such as Universal Music Group, Warner Bros Music, Sony Music, Nike, Hennessey, Vogue eyewear, Wynn Las Vegas, Interscope Records, Atlantic Records, RCA and although he has been a creative Director in the music space, his love of filmmaking is where his true passion reside.

Ben is also in the process of developing graphic novels, his first one being His “Hero for the Day”.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

For filmmaker Ben Griffin, he hopes to bring to film-loving audiences the sci-fi romance genre. He recently entered the indie film world with his narrative directorial debut, the sci-fi romantic JI, which stars Lewis Tan (MORTAL KOMBAT) and Eva De Dominici.

He chose a science-fiction romance for his first narrative film because of his love of sci-fi and his love of romance films. He'd never really seen the two put together before and wanted to try something that he thought would be unique. Yes, there’s tons of sci-fi films where there is a love story, but there hasn’t been one that is completely based around romance. His whole idea is to cross THE NOTEBOOK with a sci-fi action film.

The idea of the film was from a conversation with a friend about Morocco. She was telling him how old everything was and how certain places were exactly like they were 500 years ago, that it was like being able to travel to the past. He thought of "what would it be like for a future human to come back to an earth that hadn’t really progressed in many centuries?" So if the effort isn’t put to move newer things forward things actually go backwards. That is where the regressed state of the Earth comes from in the film. And then just extrapolating out the other side of that to where humanity is reaching the ultimate peak of being masters of their own existence. And then seeing what happens when those two worlds collide through emotions that are universal. What would an alternate future or planet look like where genetic engineering is allowed on a massive scale with no restrictions? Ji will help answer that question.

Ji has the ability to fluidly move from a TV series to a feature film, to a comic book with action figures, etc.