Am I Don Quixote? is a visually stunning film where documented
reality bleeds into fiction and fantasy.
Perspective shifts from the eye of the filmmaker into the mind of its
star Carlos Svensson.
Svensson, a once
great circus performer and legendary horse trainer, saw his life come apart
when his wife took his son and abandoned him and the circus for a modern life
in her native Sweden. Svensson’s life
spiraled and from his greatness he collapsed to find himself broken and alone.
From his despair,
suddenly a chance at greatness again smiles upon Carlos. Just as the largest horse in the world finds
his way to this once great equine trainer, he learns of a production of Don
Quixote to be put on by his dear friend and hall-of-fame circus clown Giovanni
Zoppé. These turns of fate swirl
together in Carlos’s mind until an idea is planted…
I am Don Quixote.
The characters are
real, the footage is documented reality,
but this story is a dream.
Am I Don Quixote? proves that sometimes the only difference between
fantasy and reality is our own mind.
PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE VIDEOS BELOW FOR A TASTE OF AM I DON QUIXOTE:
Carlos Dances Salsa
It Is What it is
7th Generation Circus Star Julian Zoppe (age 1)
WHERE THE MONEY GOES
Every dollar given to Am I Don Quixote? will be put to use to help assure this film doesn't die in post production and then finds life after the final edit.
FINISHING ALL SHOOTING:
Pick up's, re-shoots and even the final scene have yet to be completed. Because all of this must take place on location wherever the circus may be this is a costly process with expenses ranging from equipment rentals to travel costs.
POST PRODUCTION AND EDITING:
The final process to creating a quality film and where many well meaning independent film projects die before they are completed. "Post" is a costly and labor intensive process. It requires skilled professionals spending countless hours laboring in dark rooms on editing machines and sound boards to complete the process. Costly processes like color correction and sound looping are integral to completion, it is in post production that films are made or abandoned.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
2008 Louisiana Filmmaker Of The Year, JIMMY FERGUSON, has
worked on over fifty films. He is an award winning cinematographer and
has photographed multiple award winning independent films. Furthermore,
over the past decade, Ferguson has written and directed numerous short films.
He is currently directing two hybrid docu-fiction feature films,
'Watch Me' and 'Am I Don Quixote?'.
Ferguson spent his childhood in both Belgium and The United States. He
was exposed to cultural differences and divergent perceptions at an early age.
It is this, he believes, that provoked not only his career as a
filmmaker, but also his study of philosophy (at the top rated program at the
University Of Pittsburgh). To him, philosophy and filmmaking are
inextricably linked.
Before relocating to Brooklyn, Ferguson became highly
respected in the film community in Louisiana (which is rated the number one secondary
market to produce a film). Ferguson served as co-moderator of the New
Orleans Film Meetup group with over 1,000 members. He has taught courses in
film production, and he has curated film series at museums and film festivals.
He has also spoken on various film panels including for the State of
Louisiana. Ferguson has also served as a juror to film festivals and as a
panelist for the Louisiana Endowment of the Humanities.
