Caldera (2012) from Evan Viera on Vimeo.

CALDERA is a project close to our heart, not least for being made by many dear friends and being the co-spawn of our time at Bit Films of Hampshire College. Now that the film has gone through festivals and entered the wilds of public viewing, congratulations again to the entire crew for all its well-deserved acclaim! (Below, some information from Evan reminds me how much debate Caldera has stimulated, and how interesting its been to see the way interpretations meet and diverge.)

SYNOPSIS
Through the eyes of a young girl suffering from mental illness, CALDERA glimpses into a world of psychosis and explores a world of ambiguous reality and the nature of life and death.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
CALDERA is inspired by my father’s struggle with schizoaffective disorder. In states of delusion, my father has danced on the rings of Saturn, spoken with angels, and fled from his demons. He has lived both a fantastical and haunting life, but one that’s invisible to the most of us. In our differing understanding of reality, we blindly mandate his medication, assimilate him to our marginalizing culture, and entirely misinterpret him for all he is worth. CALDERA aims to not only venerate my father, but all brilliant minds forged in the haunted depths of psychosis.

HISTORY
CALDERA was helmed by Evan Viera (Director/Composer/Co-Writer) and Chris Bishop (Co-writer/Animation Supervisor/Story Artist) and was produced at Hampshire College. CALDERA was the first film to go through the Bit Films Incubator Program, where founder and professor Chris Perry (co-producer/editor) invites orphaned independent films to be made on campus with the College’s students and resources. MANY students and industry professionals generously donated their time to the making of this film. (See Vimeo link for full list of credits and awards).