Finally! The Wolf & The Medallion premieres online – The Joy Trip Project

Finally! The Wolf & The Medallion premieres online – The Joy Trip Project

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Three years after it’s premiere in 2011 the groundbreaking film “The Wolf & The Medallion” will premiere online at the web site It’s A Short on May 12, 2014. A new distribution platform dedicated to sharing short films over the Internet, the subscription service which launched in March aims to help talented filmmakers earn money for their work as artists while creating an audience of committed viewers who love great movies of less than 30 minutes in length.
When climber and artist Jeremy Collins first presented his ambitious multi-media project at the 5Point Film Festival in Carbondale, Colorado audiences raved over his monumental achievement. A short film, “The Wolf & The Medallion” perhaps set a new standard in independent adventure storytelling. As his tale unfolded on-screen Collins produced an exceptional experience as a live stage show complete with a six-piece music ensemble, an interpretive dancer and the dramatic rendering of a painting/sculpture created in real-time under the lights of a crowded theater.
It was a unique performance that was utterly compelling and profoundly inspiring. But with only two performances in Carbondale, two in Boulder and one in Kansas City where Collins is based only a handful of fans have had the opportunity to see the live production. And the short film was screened at just few festivals including Banff, Adventure Film, Wild & Scenic and some other international reviews overseas. Unlike most films which can now be streamed over the Internet, “The Wolf & The Medallion” has yet to play online. That’s about to change.
Now in the midst of a very successful Kickstarter campaign to fund his next creative project, a book and a film now in production called Drawn, Collins has agreed to release his 2011 film to a worldwide audience. Working with itsashort.com he hopes to give his many fans and those not yet familiar with is work the chance to experience his unparalleled style of performance that blends his passion for creative expression with his love of adventure.
Having preserved this very personal and intimate presentation of his talents Collins said he held off on sharing his film online with a general audience until just the right moment in time.
“As vulnerable as it is to put a piece of art on the wall and say “here is my art, world, what do you think?”; sharing my film online with the VIRTUAL world is even more so,” he told The Joy Trip Project. “Creating The Wolf & The Medallion was so important to me on so many levels, and I have held it back online because it just didn’t feel like the right venue. I was nostalgic for the live show with the musicians and performance aspect. After three years of requests and such a recent outpouring of support for Drawn, I decided it was time to let it have its online premiere.”
Although Collins might have easily shared his film on popular websites such as Vimeo or YouTube he made the decision to launch his premiere on itsashort.com. Though completely unknown in the social media world he respects the site’s commitment to supporting artists in their work by offering those who share films in its growing library a share of revenues generated by subscription fees and rentals. As a professional creative he understands the importance of earning a living through his work as an artist and he can hardly afford to simply give his work away for free. As other online film distribution platforms begin to charge viewers for high quality content online, the landscape is gradually changing to favor the interests of those who make it possible.
Itsashort.com creator Christine Boulware wants to help independent artists and filmmakers to not only realize their dream projects but also to earn a living.
“Our goal is to be the Netflix of short format online content,” she told the JTP. “That platform to distribute and reward the work of these wonderful films that are so often overlooked had never existed online until now.”
With an original film score composed by Andy Michael “The Wolf & the Medallion” details the events of a 2010 climbing expedition to the Valley of Keketuohai on the China/Mongolia border. High walls of sheer granite in this region resemble the classic routes of Yosemite. Typical of any trip to pioneer a new climbing area, a few misadventures with fellow climber Mark Jenkins frame the story’s narrative to be told as an illustrated letter to Collins’ then 4-year-old son Zion. But camera footage of the journey recedes in the wake of a dramatic and truly extraordinary cartoon dream sequence.
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Father and son are set adrift in an open boat to be left stranded and shipwrecked on a desert island. A fight for survival leads to salvation as the boy becomes a man to rescue them both. In the end Collins passes along the wisdom of his years as a climber, to share with Zion the importance of living life to its fullest. He warns his boy and the audience watching to beware of the ever-stalking presence of complacency, the wolves in our minds that chase us like rabbits though wilds of one adventure after another.

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