Our Manifesto

Figurati.

Control is supposedly grounded in wisdom, and wisdom in age. I’ve spent much time tracing the silhouettes that leak beneath the closed doors of opportunity, allowed only to look at the faintest abstractions of it. Opportunity is governed by control, and those with control refuse to relinquish opportunity to potential—to those they presume to be lacking in wisdom simply because of age. However, eventually control splinters and systems change, and as the Hollywood machine begins to gut itself once again, it has become particularly clear to me that control is not bound by wisdom nor age but rather by a system of suited manipulations of authority. 

“The industry is dead.” You’ve heard that well-dressed panic a hundred times over the last hundred years. Whether it was the introduction of sound, digital cameras, or social content, those with control and those lacking taste and foresight have been left behind time and time again with their false piety to a purposefully fluid medium. Wisdom is not guaranteed nor exclusively given with age but rather something inherently tied to instinct. The youth of today, all coiled in the constraints of  "can'ts" and "shouldn'ts," possess a bristling energy and instinct that has gone entirely untapped across the history of both commercial and narrative filmmaking. Young filmmakers, their eyes pressed to the slits of closed doors, harness a distinct ability in their recklessness to connect with broad audiences free of the presiding suited manipulations. Film is beginning to democratize, and as mediums and audiences begin to overlap, a distinct and new opportunity is arising for those who have been relegated merely to “potential.” People crave honesty, and in a world of ever-growing artifice, something honest and raw that has hand-carved edges, imperfect handwriting, and warm distortions has never been more important or more desired. 

Figurati embodies this driving, DIY ethos with blistering sincerity. We want to continue the decentralization of opportunity and extend it to the youth who have proven themselves in talent and reckless determination. In Chicago, nineteen-year-olds are running the world’s independent music scene. In LA, independent studios are just now beginning to relinquish slivers of opportunity to young directors because of the brand potential of a young star. The system is changing, it's democratizing further, and our residing powers don’t like it. Figurati is going to be at the center of this new wave of youth rebellion and its takeover of the film industry. We want to platform and enable the young voices of potential and apply their instinct, talent, and hunger to the narrative and commercial spaces, revolutionizing the work audiences see by simply returning it to something that feels “human.” We’re introducing an entirely new business model for the indie production house, something that crosses mediums, crosses audiences, and prioritizes an honest and quality product for brands and audiences alike. 

Figurati in Italian is the word of a million meanings. One important translation, however, is “Why not?” Opportunity is decentralizing; your age, your ethnicity, and your socio-economic background will no longer determine the amount of light that leaks beneath the closed door. The system is changing; we want to change it because we want it to be honest for both creatives and audiences. We want people to care about what they watch again. The revolution lies in the western setting sun, and the first brick through the glass doors will be signed:

Why not?