Indie Spotlight: Timothy Moran and A Promise of Light

We are so excited to introduce someone to you today. We’re all about indies. Rogues. Entrepreneurs. Creatives who pave the way for something new. Through the wonders of the internet, we stumbled across an exciting project that we think is worth sharing — an independent fantasy short film, A Promise of Light. Chock-full of mythical creatures, wondrous new worlds, and yes, puppetry the likes of Jim Henson, this film promises to be an epic adventure!

So without further ado, let us introduce you to Timothy Moran, the man and the visionary behind the film.

EF: Timothy, we’re so excited to introduce you to our readers! Can you tell us a little more about you? How did you get started and what has inspired you?

Timothy: From an early age I have always gravitated towards fantasy films and stories alike. They captured my fertile imagination and took me from my small Canadian village to distant lands filled with magic, myth and fantastical creatures. Like most kids form the 80’s I was heavily drawn to movies such as Star Wars, The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth just to name a few. In my early teenage years I became interested in filmmaking and after purchasing a small video camera I started making experimental short films in my spare time with my cousins and friends from school. After a period of time in Film School, I went on and made several award winning short films that have played around the world and yet none of them have ever entered into the fantasy genre until the short film that I am making now, A Promise of Light.

EF: Tell us about your journey. What has it been like?

Timothy: It has been my experience in life that no road is ever smooth, especially when it comes to making a film. In knowing this though, you know that a project is worth making when despite all of the obstacles you see ahead, you decide to make the film anyways. One of the creative struggles we faced from the start was knowing that we were going to be needing someone who specializes in practical effects, more specifically, large form puppetry. One of our main characters in the film is a giant alien creature who is inspired by the genius of Jim Henson, and most specifically the creatures that he designed for the film The Dark Crystal. So trying to find the right person to design, build and then puppeteer the character was a big challenge, and yet through persistence and reaching out to people within the puppeteering industry we were led to an amazingly talented artist, (Matt Ficner) who has jumped at the chance to be a part of the project. Our biggest challenge that is currently facing our production is finding the right investors who love both the fantasy genre and the style of film that we are making!

EF: You seem like a highly-creative individual who likes to take risks! Tell us more about some of the projects you have taken on.

Timothy: The producers who I have worked with in the past have always been a little cautious in asking about what idea I want to make next, specifically because they know that my films are uniquely ambitious for their size. From staging battles during the War of 1812 to period horror films there seems to be a pattern which each successive film outdoes the last in terms of vision and scope. One of the things that stands out most in my memory as a highlight from my resume of films was being able to film an adaptation of “The Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” by Charles Dickens. The King Goblin costume was eight-feet tall and seeing him being performed in a graveyard at night, surrounded by fog was a thrill to direct.

EF: So what are you working on now, Timothy?

Timothy: This next year will see our team of filmmakers completing the short film, A Promise of Light. It’s our hope that by early 2020 the film will be ready to send out to festivals where we can start generating interest for a feature film version of the story. Aside from that, there are a few other stories rolling around with various collaborators both here in Canada as well as New Zealand, that will be ready to start filming in the next year as well, so there’s always lots of exciting projects to get behind and help get made.

Follow on Timothy on Social:

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