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Logline

After being rejected from seemingly everything, Aiko finds themself living in The Woods with the so-called MBPS, and en-route to becoming one. And although it’s unclear if these people are dangerous, ridiculous, or both, Aiko can feel things for the first time. And that’s exciting. And strange.

Synopsis

In both the film’s narrative and production, M.B.P. characters and collaborators practice a philosophy that seems weird and extreme. Yet in its’ essence, this philosophy is simply one of embodiment–one that connects the seemingly disparate.

M.B.P. is thus both a fun, darkly comedic film about a teenage outcast, who finds unexpected connection in an Earthen community, as well as a regenerative, planet & people-care focused instructional manual.

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Meet the Filmmakers

Brielle Brilliant – Writer/Director/Producer
Brielle Brilliant (aka Pavli) is an artist-activist who makes genre-defying films and experiences. Their debut feature film, Firstness, won The Grand Jury Prize at Outfest 2021 and they are the author of The Spud (Featherproof Books) and The Curtsy Family (Thoughtcrime Press), which received The Lorien Book Prize in 2018. They combine their degree in Philosophy with their dance/Earthen practices to build and advocate for more inspiring, connective structures. They are a co-founder of Purpose Repair Shop and currently facilitate Locatings with Sua Yoo.

Lauren Sharifi, Gaby Leyner – Producers
Lauren Sharifi and Gaby Leyner are both independent film producers with Film degrees, and experience in various avenues of film and media. Lauren currently works as a Producer in the Production Department at Sony Music, and Gaby recently produced horror auteur Larry Fessenden’s seventh feature film, with Glass Eye Pix. Lauren is based in Los Angeles and Gaby lives in New York.

Car(o)l Hu – Producer
Car(o)l Hu is a first generation Taiwanese-American transdisciplinary artist and filmmaker. In the past, they have been known by c.hu, carl1network, one-half of the sculpture duo kukuchu, one-third of the wares collective pear ware, and writer and director of Blue God 1: Into the Dirt, Pink (2016) and Blue God 2: My Letter Tenderly (2018). They live and work in NYC and spend most of their time walking, welding and looking at the sky.

Yumiko Yoshioka – Actor/Choreographer/Teacher
Yumiko Yoshioka is a Japanese Butoh dancer and choreographer, known for her performance Le Dernier Eden-Porte de L’Au-Dela, — the first Butoh performance to be presented in a theatre outside Japan. She is a co-founder of the THÉÂTRE DANCE GROTESQUE (1988-1996), a core member of TEN PEN CHii Art Labor (1995-2015) group, and the creator of “Body Resonance,” a dance technique that integrates Butoh practice with Taiso gymnastics and various other Asian training methods. Yumiko continues to teach Body Resonance workshops, perform, and choreograph, and is currently based in Berlin and Tokyo.

Juan de Risio – Natural Builder/Teacher
Juan de Risio is an architectural designer and natural builder, who builds Architectures of Gratitude. Juan has a Bachelors degree in Architecture, a certificate in Vernacular Construction from Aprovecho, and has worked with and alongside SunRay Kelley and Antonio Bustos Garcia, amongst others. He has built community sanctuaries, houses, cabins, teahouses, temples, and Architectures of Gratitude for schools and cottage village coalitions. Juan currently lives and works in Floyd, Virginia, where he is an active community member, committed to expanding notions of self and ecological identity.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact fiscalsponsorship@filmindependent.org.