Experiencing Interruptions?

Risen

Disaster unfolds in Badger, a farming town in the state of New York when a meteor strike contaminates the air, turning it toxic. People begin to die. The entire town drop dead -plants, animals, and humans. Lauren, an exobiologist, tracked by Homeland security, is called in to find answers for this unearthly event. She reluctantly gets involved in the effort to solve the ensuing crisis. Meanwhile, a gigantic tree, an other-worldly object has grown at the site of the meteorite impact. It becomes apparent, once was speculated to be a meteorite is in fact an experimental seed sent our way, in search of a new home.

  • Eddie Arya
    Director
    The System
  • Eddie Arya
    Writer
    The System
  • Eddie Arya
    Producer
    The System
  • Nicole Schalmo
    Key Cast
    "Lauren Stone"
  • Jack Campbell
    Key Cast
    "Colonel Emmerich"
    Underbelly
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 49 minutes 18 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 1, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    500,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia, Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    digital arri Alexa/ primo lenses
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Montreal
    Canada
    August 7, 2021
    Best Sci-fi Film Award
Distribution Information
  • Vertical Entertainment
    Distributor
Director Biography - Eddie Arya

Eddie Arya is an Australian screenwriter, director, and producer. He was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and raised in Sydney, Australia. Arya made his film debut with the feature film, "The Navigator," followed by "The System" - an Australian drama based on the economy and its effect on unemployment. Both films were written, shot, directed, produced, and edited by Arya and distributed by SGL Entertainment. 

Arya's third feature film "Risen" is an American sci-fi thriller and is distributed by Vertical Entertainment for a limited theatrical release and will also be available on VOD platforms.

Arya found his passion for filmmaking at the young age of 7 while staying home most of his childhood and consuming TV and film. He found himself being drawn to behind the scenes, cinematography, sets, character development, and how a story was told to keep an audience engaged. Arya bought his first camera on eBay and started his first feature film "The Navigator" on his 29th birthday. Although Arya felt pressure to  become a medical doctor and discouraged to pursue filmmaking, he had other plans in mind, which was to channel his passion to inspire and change lives through the power of storytelling. 

Working tirelessly for years - not only directing, writing, and producing, but also stepping into other roles in design and set production - Arya is now recognized as a passionate independent self-taught filmmaker. He is driven and inspired by other filmmakers who share the same passion and determination as him. His passion and obsession with storytelling has only grown since then. Today, Arya is represented by one of the top talent agents in Los Angeles. He helps and shares his knowledge of storytelling with other young filmmakers and has been invited to be a jury member at various film festivals.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The film aims to highlight the possibilities of extra-terrestrial life. People ask me what scares me the most? The idea of losing planet Earth to different species overnight scares the hell out of me. I’ve had nightmares about planets colliding or alien invasions. Risen is basically my nightmare and I wanted to make this movie and share it with the rest of the world. My vision on how this planet could end has always been slightly different to other major blockbusters. People look up at the sky and see the moon and the stars. I look up and see life, but I also feel a little threatened to what's out there. I see other civilisations, much advanced civilisations.
Risen is desperation. Desperation of a dying species as their home is no longer habitable for them to live in. They're searching for a new home. Now, as the human species, what would we do if we were in search of a new planet, a new home. In desperation, would we invade another planet and wipe out an entire civilisation? The answer is yes, we would. We've done it right here on this planet to our own species, and in most cases not out of desperation, but just greed, different religions and beliefs or just pleasure.
Being obsessed with space and aliens and my true passion for filmmaking, Risen was a perfect movie to combine the two together. Risen is not just any indie movie that was shot locally in someone's backyard, but I wanted to take the audience through a true cinematic journey with breathtaking sceneries and just show them to how beautiful and precious this planet is before ending it all.
Risen is a visual movie and Alberta Canada was a perfect backdrop. It created a nice contrast, going from the beautiful snow fields and mountains of Alberta to the Australian forests, and the colours of India.
I wanted to make a simple movie without a lot of scientific slangs and words used. I may have also left a couple unanswered questions and have left it to the audience’s imagination to solve the puzzle.