Not Bali

WORKING TITLE NOT BALI GENRE Family Adventure/Drama. DURATION Feature film, 90 minutes. TARGET AUDIENCE 15 to 35 Male/Female, with an affinity to family adventure. LOGLINE Reeling from a personal tragedy a broken financier seeks spiritual unity in remote Indonesian agriculture but must save his family when local extremists capture the plantation and enslave the foreign invaders. In the vein of NO ESCAPE and in the tone of JUNGLE. STORY A vibrant tropical setting and a powerful lesson for humanity predicated upon racial discrimination and economic plight. I just completed a redemptive family adventure drama which I believe may be a great fit for you. With international appeal, fast-paced thrills and a unique story, the audience will love this low budget project. CHARACTER BREAKDOWN Ashley, male, 35-50, high-pressure salesman with amazing hair, financier turned farmer. Utom, male, 35-50, Asian, rugged and scorned. Pokol, female, 35-50, Asian, grizzled and alert, martial arts militant and eco-warrior. Mary Ella, female, 8-10, insightful and uppity. Brad, male, 10-12, callous and clumsy. Nikki, female, 35-50, wise and withered. LOCATIONS AND RESOURCES SETS Coffee plantation Estate House Jungle Single Scenes Foreign airport terminal Metropolitan office Lagoon Commercial plaza RESOURCES Animal wrangler (snakes). Hand-to-hand martial arts fight scenes. OUTLINE ACT 1 Driven and infallible, Ashley Ross rides the crest of a successful cut-throat career in Manhattan finance as he’s on the verge of seizing the firm’s helm. High pressure and bad karma catch up with him and his overreaction to a pivotal mistake costs him his job and reputation. Never one to surrender his dreams, he seeks to regroup. He decides to reconnect with his wife and children before another push towards greatness. The last stability in his life collapse as his wife succumbs to disease. His life’s dream of being the managing director is a distant memory, the loss of his wife, and with the responsibility for two meek and apathetic children, he realizes a dire need for a clean slate. He’s presented with a lucrative venture and recognizes a chance for redemption rooted in his family’s historic success in agriculture. In a decisive move, he relocates with Brad and Mary to remote Indonesia and seeks the riches needed to launch his own firm. Utom blames the foreigners for the Indonesian economic collapse that cost him his family’s farm and skewed his view on life. He concocts a simple yet sinister scheme to reclaim the farm under a religious veil. He sells shares to foreigners, kills them and enslaves their children as pets to work the fields. He’s convinced the Elders his goals are altruistic, the Farmers to work the land and skim profits, and the Gardeners to spy on the owners. Pokol is a battle-worn veteran of the Timor war who tirelessly campaigned to rid the homeland of foreign invaders. She and her squad returned to the Java countryside where she once worked along Utom. She sees the foreigners everywhere and acts when her native people are mistreated or the land blemished. Her perfected guerrilla tactics make quick work of those she has targeted. There are multiple scenes of her squad attacking French, Russian and Chinese businesses which she blames for polluting her country and dehumanizing the people. Altruistic and spiritual, Pokol realizes her beliefs conflict with Utom’s insincere economic goals. She recognizes a shared goal of ridding the homeland of foreign invaders. ACT 2 Ashley and the kids arrive at the farm and acclimatize. The incredible landscape, the jungle and the animals provide an exotic departure from bustling city. Ashley overcomes challenges with the locals, with farm operations, but sees much work ahead. He embraces his wife’s love of Yoga and learns to work alongside the farmers. His soul mends as Brad and Mary show promise and strength. Ashley’s goodwill and hard work earn the respect of some of the gardeners who begin to distrust Utom as they see the foreigners in a new light. Mary takes to her new life with zeal. She learns the local language and communicates with the gardeners. She shows courage as she helps Brad escape a cobra. She modifies her city scavenger hunt to the jungle in increasingly perilous ventures in search of dangerous wildlife. She encounters Pokol while exploring and form a kinship. Brad develops apathy for the less fortunate after a river rafting guide rescues him. He realizes crucial Mary’s acclimatization was in overcoming local challenges. He pays brotherly attention to Mary and supports her personal growth. Nikki is an Australian expatriate and Yogi who runs the local hardware shop. She was on the verge to leave the country after a suspicious fire ravened the business and killed her husband. She decides this was her new home, rebuilt, and joined the community. She tells Ashely about the “jeer” the locals give the foreigners after they look away. Ashley and Nikki launch an Uber-like logistics service which offers much needed jobs to the community. He is unaware his success comes at the expense of Utom’s scam of skimming coffee shipments. Pokol has serious concerns with Utom after he demeans a soldier. Some of the Farmers grow weary as Utom sabotages farm operations for apparent personal gain. Ashley learns the farm has been repeatedly sold. His manager reports a threat by Utom and soon after goes missing. Ashley tells the kids his plan to return to New York to open a farm-to-table espresso chain and he’s surprised when the kids plea to stay. ACT 3 With the launch of the Uber business and skimming scheme lost, Utom enacts his plan to recapture the farm. He kills Ashley’s manager and prepares the farm for sale. He ambushes Ashley and both men are injured. The Farmers decline to aid Utom. He sends dispatch for Pokol’s help. With the Gardeners on his side, Ashley makes a stand and fights to protect the children from Utom. In a ploy previously used by Utom, Ashley is surprised to find his gun has no bullets. In an appalling act, Utom shoves an Elder to the ground after refusal to surrender a machete. In defense, Mary shoots and seriously injures Utom. Pokol arrives and sees both Ashley and Utom are injured and both plea for her help. She considers foreigners in a new light as the Gardeners, Farmers and Elders choose to aid Ashley. Pokol decides Utom is incorrigible and kills him. She sees Ashley as a communal member and decides he can stay. Pokol warns Ashley this is not Bali and they must exercise caution. In turn, Ashley tells Pokol this land is not Timor and not all foreigners have ill-intent. In a satisfying ending Ashley, Nikki and the rescued Pets, meet Ricky’s distant relatives in Bali. The relative is fascinated with the beauty and hustle of Bali. Ashley reminds him of the farm’s remote and isolated location. The relative decides Ricky is best raised by his new family.