A Peace Corps Film "The Whole of the Moon" Needs Funding

This film (they are raising money to produce) is a dramatic thriller about a group of Peace Corps Volunteers working in the Congo in the late 1980’s. These initial funds will be used for the development phase of this project: hire casting agent, location scouts, music supervisor, shoot test footage, legal fees, meetings with potential distributors, begin with props, sets, etc.

Any funds raised over this amount will be applied to the shooting and production of the film! Target shoot date is Spring 2013 (but could be earlier if funds are raised). Probable location will be in Hawaii and/or Caribbean with a 2nd unit working out of South Africa.

They are in the early in the planning stages, but have, as they say, ” some amazing people  attached to this project” including an Oscar-winning producer and others who worked with  the “Lord of the Rings” films.

The plot goes something like this:

At is about “strangers in a strange land” agroup of PCVs are sent into the Congo (Zaire) in 1989. The story centers around these three characters: Michael, Garbriel and Sheila. Michael has serious culture shock and has a difficult time. Gabriel is at first very successful, but at times shows flashes of  “odd” behavior. (Well, so far, it could be anyone of us!)

During Training Michael makes a mistake and nearly causes the drowning of a young girl. Gabriel covers for him.  Gabriel and Sheila take Michael under their wings and get him through Training. After Training, all three of them are stationed together in a locale that has no roads, no electricity.

(Now the plot thickens!)

Sheila and Michael grow closer, i.e. get involved. Michael becomes more confident and successful, gets along famously with the HCNs. Gabriel, however, suffers from setbacks and comes down with malaria (why wasn’t he taking his pills?) He comes more withdrawn and more obsessed about not ETing. His behavior becomes dangerous and destructive.

Sheila and Michael convince him to take a break and all three plan a cross-country trip to the coast.  Next they meet another PCV, Robert, and spend the night at his apartment in the port city of Matadi.

That night all hell breaks out. Gabriel becomes unhinged and acts out resulting in a tragic accident; he is arrested and banished from the country. Sheila and Michael stay on, and live a few more years in Zaire, taking over the work that Gabrial started (We aren’t told yet what the work is; you see, this is a work in progress.)

The producers say that this isn’t an ‘art’ film, nor a ‘typical’ indie film. They write, “it is aimed at a wide audience who love adventure, romance, and dramatic story lines set in exotic locales.”

It seems to me  that I have read a dozen or more Peace Corps books that have better plots than this one.  But what can you tell, maybe it will be ‘the toughest film you’ll ever loved.”