The Cliff

Julian, a successful entrepreneur, in a pit of despair drives to a cliff to commit suicide after losing his marriage and business. Startled by a mysterious woman named Gaia looking for a 'light,' both of their fates take an unexpected turn. Original music composed and performed by 4-time Grammy® Nominee, writer/director Michael Brant DeMaria

  • Michael Brant DeMaria
    Director
  • Michael Brant DeMaria
    Writer
  • Michael Brant DeMaria
    Key Cast
    "Julian"
  • Luna Jyn-Li Man
    Key Cast
    "Gaia"
  • Oshre Cohen
    Director of Photography
  • Michael Nicola
    Boom
  • Keren Seres
    Sound Mixer
  • Michael Brant DeMaria
    Editor
  • Michael Brant DeMaria
    Music
  • Michael Brant DeMaria
    Producer
  • Michael Brant DeMaria
    Executive Producer
    The Cliff
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Narrative, Drama
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 42 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Michael Brant DeMaria

Dr. Michael Brant DeMaria’s life turned inside out and upside down after the first decade of his work as a clinical psychologist when he underwent a life transforming vision quest (lament in the wild) without food or water, guided by a native elder. He went there suffering compassion fatigue, burnout and despair after working for years with over 2000 cases of severe child abuse and neglect. The experience provided a profound healing, a course correction and a vision for his life, while also reconnecting him to his first loves - music, nature and visual storytelling. Ever since his mission has been guiding others to, “The ocean of peace that lies within each human heart.” He does this through his work as a sound healer, wisdom teacher and artist employing the creative mediums of music, writing and film. His healing music is heard over a million times a week around the world, garnering him four Grammy® nominations, 8 ZMR awards, 6 #1 albums, a Native American Music Award and appearing on the Grammy® Winning album, All About Bullies Big and Small. He is also a Sounds True recording artist with his music being featured on projects with Eckhart Tolle, Mark Nepo, Peter Kater and Noah Levine. He is the author of 5 books (including 2 books of poetry) and is the creator of the book and free online program Peace Within: Calm your mind, open your heart, embrace your soul and heal your life. After retiring his practice he finally fulfilled his childhood dream of attending film school in LA in 2019. You can find more about his work at www.michaeldemaria.com

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Director Statement

While working on my Ph.D. in Jungian Psychology I spent most of my time at Carnegie Mellon University listening to lectures from international film directors and dreaming of going to film school which I finally did many decades later. My main focus and vision in all of my work is exploring the "Twilight" world between nature and culture, male and female, life and death, night and day, joy and sorry, laughter and grief...We are living in a great time of crisis in nature and culture today - and we need new stories to heal us and guide is into a healthier relationship with nature and each other - this is my mission as a filmmaker. The Cliff reminds us that we all end up on that "cliff of despair" and it is each other that keeps us off. We have an epidemic of suicide around the planet today - over a million people commit suicide globally each year - this is a small attempt to help us all open up the discussion about this serious challenge before us. Having been suicidal myself I find it so important to find ways to open the door to sharing and letting go of the shame that comes with feeling suicidal. We know those who are able to talk about it are much less likely to act. Thank you so much for considering our film which was a labor of love and done on a micro budget with a skeleton crew.