DEFY Media and New Regency have selected the sci-fi short Polis from director Steven Ilous and screenwriter Daniel Perea as the winner of their Prototype short film competition. The filmmakers will be awarded a feature film development deal with New Regency.
Set in the distant future, Polis tells the story of a young telepath named David Porter whose search for his mother threatens to uncover a utopian society’s horrifying secrets.
Ilous comes from a visual effects background, having worked on the Matrix sequels and Robert Zemeckis’ The Polar Express. Perea was an undergraduate at Emerson College when he was discovered through this contest. Perea and Ilous then developed the project together.
Prototype was established to utilize DEFY Media’s digital platforms in an effort to discover up-and-coming directorial talent and connect them directly with Hollywood. Eight promising filmmakers were awarded $20,000 each to direct their own action, sci-fi or effects-driven short film.
“We were overwhelmed by the degree of talent that we found through the Prototype competition and it was a challenge to select just one winner,” said Pam Abdy, New Regency’s president of production. “As a company that puts a premium on the strength of our filmmaker partnerships, we are excited to have found the emerging talent of Steven and Daniel through this process and can’t wait to see what they create next.”
