Kingdom of Sand
“Kingdom of Sand” is a post-apocalyptic cosmic horror silent film inspired by German Expressionism and Late Soviet Cinema. Featuring “The Last Man on Earth” as he explores the decaying ruins of an increasingly inhospitable world.
Shot entirely in monochrome, this project aims to counter idealist, humanist, and individualist narratives prevalent in modern cinema. Here, the individual alone, is at the mercy of the environment. Kingdom of Sand's title presents a question: What does it mean to rule over everything and nothing at the same time?
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Felix Wong ZeyunDirector, Cinematographer, Editor
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Nicholas WandelAssistant DirectorGhostwriters (Short, 2023)
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Alejandro MonteroKey Cast"The Last Man on Earth"
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Vercetti TechnicolorComposer, Sound DesignerThe Editor (Astron 6, 2014)
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Ricardo CastilloSpecial Effects
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Project Type:Short
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Genres:Cosmic Horror, Sci-Fi (Post Apocalyptic)
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Runtime:18 minutes 11 seconds
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Completion Date:May 6, 2023
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Production Budget:10,000 USD
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Country of Origin:Canada
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Country of Filming:Canada
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital, Sony
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Black & White and Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
Felix Zeyun is a Chinese-Canadian cinematographer from Toronto, Canada. Graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in film from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in 2018, Felix aims to blend his love of genre cinema of the past and incorporate industrial age philosophical and ideological influences into his works.
For Kingdom of Sand, I aimed to push the limits on an appealing visual aesthetic while maintaining a lo-fi VHS look. In addition, I tried to limit the amount of VFX used and utilize only editing techniques to present elements of the story. -In order to give this film a rougher, DIY, spliced together style.
The contemporary Greek film composer and electronic artist, Vercetti Technicolor designed the sound and music for this project. We settled on Gregorian chants mixed with a 1970's synthesizer reminiscent of John Carpenter, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream to create an atmosphere of obscurity and existential dread.
This film's namesake is inspired by Jorge Luis Borges' short story, "The Book of Sand" (1975). In it, the narrator considers burning a book of infinite pages before changing his mind because of the possibility of an endless supply of smoke, suffocating the world. Borges' hellish portrayal of mankind's slow death greatly inspired the setting and themes explored in this film.
The entire planet had been permanently poisoned by nuclear fallout. Reality had irreversibly changed to an unrecognizable state of purgatory. There is no recovery. Only a gradual fading from existence awaits.
Kingdom of Sand aims to be a surrealist audio-visual moodpiece outlining many of my influences throughout the history of cinema. This was a result of three years of on-and-off production and I hope audiences enjoy the film!