The Future of the Action Thriller is Female!

    LONDON, ENGLAND, March 10, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Award winning film company Enlightenment Productions announced today that it is raising funds via a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to finish the pre-production development of their revolutionary new female-centric action thriller movie, The Artemis Protocol. The company is setting out to raise GBP50,000 on Kickstarter to complete this stage of development and create the foundation for an amazing cinematic experience.

Women are rarely leads in action films, and behind the camera, women direct fewer than 6% of movies in the world. When it comes to action movies, that percentage drops to something minuscule. The team at Enlightenment are looking to change that and bring gender parity both behind the scenes and in front of the camera with a cast of six lead women - diverse, complex and of different ages.

The Artemis Protocol is an all female action film, but it is quite unique in its genre. It is a meaningful, gritty thriller about a group of influential women who run a rogue organisation, using highly-trained female operatives. The story moves from militia camps in West Africa to the slums of Eastern Europe and takes on human trafficking from the perspective of women who will go to extreme lengths to make a real difference. The film's underlying theme is about trying to remain accountable when no one is watching and finding the courage to live with integrity when integrity might not be popular.

Enlightenment Productions is owned and run by two irrepressible and dynamic women, writer and director Shamim Sarif and producer Hanan Kattan, who together have a reputation for creating movies that champion strong female characters. Taking the road less travelled in an industry that traditionally likes stories and writers and directors to conform to a 'safe' movie-making formula. Together, they have released three award winning feature films and one hard-hitting documentary. Their first film, 'I Can't Think Straight', became a cult success and won 11 awards. Their second, 'The World Unseen', premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and went on to garner 23 awards worldwide, including 11 South African Film & TV Awards (SAFTAs). Most recently, Despite The Falling Snow, offering a rare female perspective on the cold war, releases in the UK on April 15th and stars Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible 5) and Charles Dance. The movie just picked up its first award at Manchester International Festival this past week.

Writer of the three previous films and The Artemis Protocol, Shamim Sarif said, "We've previously always funded development of our films ourselves and have already funded the first stage of The Artemis Protocol. But for a project of this ambition, we need industry buy in and we are working tirelessly right now to raise the industry investment to make the movie happen. To do this we need to deliver a visually compelling storyboard, complete with sequence and effects concepts, costume and set designs and to bring top level female acting talent on board. Which is where we will be investing the majority of our Kickstarter funding."

Check out The Artemis Protocol on Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artemisprotocol/the-artemis-protocol-a-new-type-of-female-action-m or visit the website artemisprotocol.com or follow on social media facebook.com/artemisprotocol twitter.com@artemisprotocol

The Artemis Protocol Synopsis
From their sleek London headquarters, a group of wealthy women run a secret organization named Artemis, using highly-trained female agents to sort out global issues that governments won't touch. The organisation is founded by a trio of successful women who couldn't be more different on the surface - British ex-rock star Kit, Chinese technology tycoon Li, and former US Ambassador's wife, Peggy.

Their primary method of attack is a covert team of younger female agents. With youthful immaturity and emotional scars, these women share disparate views and backgrounds.

Dealing in the shadowy world of international criminality, the women test their courage against human traffickers, while trying to keep the moral high ground. But the very qualities that make the young agents able to fight and kill can also taint the ideals of the women running the organisation - and both sides have lessons to learn.

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