Riley Sweeney Lynch — the son of famed director and Twin Peaks mastermind David Lynch — is venturing into filmmaking with Black Earth, an independent, heavy-metal romance film already two years in the making. Billed as “a story of two lost souls falling in love in a dangerous world,” it follows the story of Jack (Jack Kilmer), a small-town metalhead bartender who forms a relationship with Mimi (Dasha Nekrasova), a mystery girl on the run from a spiritual gang leader. Lynch has raised $20,000 on Kickstarter for his proof of concept for the movie; it’ll be shot early next month in rural Wisconsin.
“Like many of us, Jack and Mimi both want to belong,” Lynch explains in the synopsis. “Jack wants to leave his small-town home and to join a metal band, but his lack of self-confidence has rendered him inert, while Mimi desperately searches for a home she’s long forgotten. It is my hope that this film will have a positive impact on anyone who feels stuck, or homesick for a place that they can’t recall.”
Lynch, a huge metal fan, says that heavy music plays a critical role in the film, both thematically and plot-wise. “It’s the music of the other, the outcast,” he writes on Kickstarter. “Jack is an outsider in this small town, metal is his one source of happiness, [and] guitar gives him purpose.” He’ll be curating the soundtrack himself, of course. “I want to create a very specific sonic atmosphere to set the tone of the film,” reveals Lynch. “Music plays a large role in Jack and Mimi’s relationship, and I feel it is important that I take the helm and create the soundtrack myself.”
Check out Lynch’s video explaining Black Earth below, and scroll down to view the official poster. Contribute to the project here.
