LUCID

A biomedical engineer transfers a traumatic memory into his dying wife,

only to awaken her from a coma to carry the burden in his place.

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WHAT YOUR SUPPORT COVERS

FINAL SOUND MIX & ORIGINAL SCORE

Your contributions will help us with the costs of having an original score and recording sessions, sound mix post-production, foley design, dialogue cleanup, sound design, stereo mix, and the final Dolby mix needed for theatrical release.

FESTIVAL SUBMISSION FEES

I made this film for anyone and everyone to enjoy. However, getting it into prestigious festivals will help boost its visibility amongst industry professionals and help our team gain recognition to keep making movies. You would be supporting an independent multi-cultural production and helping us amplify diverse voices and storytelling.

PRODUCTION FEES

Any donations that surpass the above expenses will go toward costs that incurred during the production phase. This includes labor (crew + cast), permits, insurance, catering, camera + lighting rentals, location costs, transportation, wardrobe, set design, and props.

Total cost:

~$3,000

Total Cost:

~$2,000

Total Cost:

~$31,000

STATEMENT

We all know what it feels like to suffer in silence in order to protect the people we love from painful truths. LUCID is a sci-fi drama about how unresolved trauma finds its way into the lives of the people who are closest to us.

Coming from a deeply personal place, this film expresses the importance of acknowledging our darker parts in order to appreciate the good.

The realization that sparked the film:

The act of repressing our own sufferings for the comfort of others is a universal experience.

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FILMING IN BANGKOK

After spending much of my adult life away from home in the pursuit of a dream, I’ve felt a growing desire to return with something to contribute and build with my community. This film is a perfect collaboration opportunity between the incredibly talented Thai local crew and my beloved Los Angeles network.

Shooting the film against Bangkok's backdrop highlights Ric’s challenges around isolation and escapism as an American far from home. Ric is confined by the codependency of his marriage where dreams, traumas, and responsibilities become intertwined.

I believe this is a story that a lot of immigrants like myself can relate to; the endless search for a sense of belonging and the ways in which we mold ourselves to fit in.

How can I protect the meaningful relationships in my life from secondhand emotional injury?

The question I'm asking with this film:

THE TEAM

Instead of (only) giving you the spiel of our credits,

I'd rather tell you the stories about how we met .

Faye Tamasa

Director / Writer

I was born and raised in Bangkok and moved to the US by myself back in 2011. I've juggled a few different career paths including architecture and photography before landing in film. I consider Lucid to be my official directorial debut. After living and working in LA for 11 years, Full transparency: I decided to sell my car, sell all my belongings, withdraw most of my savings, and move out of my LA apartment to go live in Bangkok in order to fund this film.

Prior to writing and directing Lucid, I've directed music videos, social media advertisements, and other narratives for various clients including 74 episodes of family drama for Jay Shetty, and three vertical dramas for ReelShort.

I've also been acting for film and TV for the past decade. Some of those credits include Station 19 (ABC), Song Sung Blue (Hugh Jackman & Kate Hudson), All Souls (Mikey Madison), The Gray Man (Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas), and upcoming Ally Clark (Viola Davis).

Luna Zhang

Producer

I met Luna in a short film I was cast in back in 2022 called Dancing in a Forbidden World where Luna was the executive producer on the project. We had kept in touch over social media and crossed paths in person a couple of times through the years at LA film events.

I knew I wanted to eventually work with Luna on my own directorial project. However, I also wanted to make sure I had something really solid to present. While I wrote many short films and had ideas for other scripts, Lucid finally felt like the one to reach out to her about and everything aligned. We had such a great time shooting in Bangkok together and I could not ask for a more committed and compatible collaborator.

Luna's work has premiered and screened at leading international festivals, including Sundance, Cannes Marché du Film , Tribeca Film Festival, the Hawalian International Film Festival, and the St. Louis International Film Festival.

Rapatchanun Cochaputsup

Director of Photography

I met Rapatchanun (Sam) around year 2006 back in Bangkok before I moved to the US. I was hired on as an on camera talent for a billboard print shoot in which Sam was the hired photographer for the project. We stayed social media friends and witnessed each other's career progression through the years. Eventually, we both ended up working in the film industry. Me as an actor, he as a cinematographer.

When FX's Alien:Earth shot their first season in Thailand, Sam served as the 2nd unit DoP on the project.

Lucid wasn't based in Bangkok yet in its early stages but once I had the idea of shooting it back home and what that would mean for the story, I knew I had to reach out to Sam to see if he'd be interested in working together.

After 20+ years of not having seen each other in person, this project reconnected us and I honestly can't imagine anyone else bringing this vision to life other than him.

TRUST
THE
PROCESS

Everything below this section: whether you're a filmmaker or just curious about what really went into the making of this film, here's a glimpse of it all.

***WARNING*** SPOILER ALERT

some of these documents will reveal what happens in the film.

INITIAL PITCH DECK

This is the initial pitch deck I sent out to my head of departments to gauge their interest in the project.

The team member page was added after my DoP and Producer agreed to come on board.

The deck was then sent out to few investors potential financiers that I'd like to believe are still pending but...

I moved forward with making the movie anyway.

LOCATION SCOUT

During the location scout, we started planning where to move / add furniture, the blocking of each scene, camera movements, and tested out framing and compositions of each shot as much as possible.

These shots were taken by our director of photography, Sam.

STORYBOARD,
SHOT LISTS & OVERHEADS

Using images from Shotdeck to illustrate framing and composition ideas, my DoP Sam and I sat down and went through each scene together, planning all the blocking, camera angles, placements etc, even played around with acting out the fight scene at the end together.

I had taken a bunch of videos of our locations in full 360 view so I was able to draw out the top down movements of everything. I'm old school and not the most tech-savvy so everything is drawn by hand in a sketchbook I carry around on set while we shoot.

PRODUCTION DESIGN

While there is an art deck that breaks down all the props and decorations scene-by-scene, I think it'll be more interesting to show you the two heavy design segments of the film which are the flower shop MIRAFLEUR and the memory device.

^ above: this is a quick reference sketch I made for the general layout of what I'd like the flower shop to have.

^ above: for efficiency, we found this empty room at the location in which we are also using for Ric & Mira's house. We decided to stage this as the flower shop so there wouldn't be a need for a company move.

^ above: although we didn't end up seeing the exterior of the shop in the film, this is the set decoration in its full glory. We mixed in fresh flowers as well as artificial flowers. Some store bought, and hero pieces were provided from our sponsor MU MO NE flower shop (Bangkok).

< to the left: this is the initial design sketch I made for the device. It breaks down the functionality and lists ideas about materials, textures, opacity, and also the symbolism of the device itself. The main conceptual idea was:

There needed to be a slightly "invasive" aspect to it, hence designing something that would go into your ear.

*SPOILER* This especially plays a part in Ric's decision to transfer the memory to Mira without her consent.

^ above: these were some of the prototypes I made- trying out different combinations of materials and pieces. Some other ready-made items I bought to modify were airtag covers, earphones, and small circular magnets that I stuck onto the clear puck light with superglue but those didn't look very good and I was told that the airtag one looked like a fried egg.

< to the left: in the end, I decided we needed to customize the device and get it 3D printed. Luckily, I had a friend from Architecture school in Bangkok (where I attended undergrad) who has a friend that owns a 3D laser print shop. He helped me create the 3D design and printed out the device for me.

SPONSORSHIP DECK

I discovered MU MO NE, a wonderful local florist in Bangkok over Instagram. I loved their designs so much that I decided to take a leap of faith and cold DM'd them. I almost fell off my seat when they responded with interest.

From there, I made this sponsorship pitch deck to show them how important their flowers would be to the film in which they replied with a YES. They were so sweet and attentive throughout the entire process. They even came on set to help and watch the whole scene come alive. Please check out their page & products and of course support their store the next time you find yourself in Bangkok.

STYLING & WARDROBE

I'd been curating boards on Pinterest for almost a year before we went into production. One of those boards was definitely wardrobe & styling. Some of the thoughts I had for Ric's character was that this guy who would show up to work in generic, solid, mainly dark and "serious" colored clothing. The version of him that the world doesn't get to see is the one he is with his wife, Mira. The flashback scenes with her would bring splashes of colors into his wardrobe choices as he dresses almost like her in those happier scenes.

FUN FACTS & EASTER EGGS

#1 Buddha Statue

This buddha statue was gifted to me by my dad when I had first moved from Bangkok to the US. It felt fitting that he would be placed on Ric's dashboard and reverse our roles as he is an American expat who moved to Thailand.

Thais believe that having buddha or other sacred buddhist relics on the dashboard would bless them with safety and protection on the road.

#2 Kaffir Leaves

The opening scene of the movie, Mira tells Ric to pick up some Kaffir lime leaves for dinner. When he arrives home, he's carrying a bag of Kaffir leaves despite going through the incident with his brother earlier that morning.

I wanted this so show how much Ric takes care of everyone else and sticks to his word regardless of his own emotional state or needs.

#3 White Lilies

We see Mira arranging a bouquet of fresh white Lilies (provided by MU MO NE) as her character gets introduced to the story. This is a foreshadowing of her presence in Ric's life but also vice versa as white Lilies are popular for funerals and expressing condolences.

#3 Tulips: deleted scene

The first sequence of the flower shop memory was going to start with the moment Mira and Ric walk into an empty shop before it gets populated with flowers. Here Mira is seen holding a bouquet of colorful tulips as they are symbolic of new life.

I wanted this to reflect her "new life" as someone who has finally achieved their dreams even though her days are fleeting.

#4 Ric dwells in loneliness: deleted scene

There's a short scene after Dr. Narin tells Ric that Mira is not waking up. Ric continues to grieve her in a close up shot. While AJ (Ric) gave a spectacular performance, I didn't leave it in because I felt like the wide shot felt lonelier. He then falls asleep crying next to her while Kai watches.

After that, he wakes up in the middle of the night and kisses her on her shoulder in which she couldn't reciprocate.

These didn't make the cut either due to time restraints.

#5 Ric finds peace: deleted scene

Outside of our principal photography day, I went out with AJ around my neighborhood and shot some scenes of him wandering around town with my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (we shot Lucid on ARRI Alexa Mini). This was originally going to be used for Scene 17 which happens right after he transfers the memory of Kai into Mira. I wanted to show him finding some peace for himself and existing out in the world again.

However, adding this scene would've 1) made the film run even longer and 2) my shots look very different from the rest of the film and they didn't feel like they fit. Even though quite a few friends have given me feedback about adding some of these back in, they didn't make the final cut.

#6 Mira breaks down: deleted scene

At the end of the film, Mira goes on to experience a full mental breakdown as she recognizes Ric again but it's too late. There was a lot of screaming and crying.

Being the writer, actor, director, and editor, I really had a tricky choice with this one when I decided to edit it out.

The whole movie had been so much about subtlety and repressed emotions that it didn't feel right to have such a big moment for Mira. Besides, we were also following Ric's perspective throughout the film and I didn't want to take away from that.