Short Film
The Cloaked Realm "Tunnel 23"
Directed by 
Marisa Cohen, Peter Issac Alexander
AFIN 2022 Nominee
- 2022
- 23m
-
USA - English
- Scifi
- Animation
Stills
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Credits
Written by
Produced by
Music & Sound
Synopsis
Environmental collapse and a toxic environment have placed a great deal of attention on the upcoming mission to Mars. Chief scientist Dr. Ruby Holloway confides in Thrace Commander Metis, revealing her concerns that something nefarious is brewing aboard the Thrace space station and on Earth.
Short description: In The Cloaked Realm episode "Tunnel 23," the crew of the A.R.E.S. assembles in the Thrace space station to prepare for their historic trip to Mars. Environmental collapse and a toxic environment have placed a great deal of attention on the mission. Chief scientist Dr. Ruby Holloway confides in Thrace Commander Metis, revealing her concerns that something nefarious is brewing aboard Thrace and on Earth. The two women launch a plan to uncover the truth and change the course of human history.
The Cloaked Realm is an adaptation and reimagining of history’s greatest but now forgotten science fiction stories. This hybrid anthology series explores the visionary work of authors whose groundbreaking ideas were decades ahead of their time.
Director's Statement
"Tunnel 23," and several subsequent episodes, are based on or inspired by visionary science fiction author Stanley G. Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey.” Largely forgotten today, in the 1930s and 1940s, Weinbaum was considered one of science fiction’s early greats. His tragic death at the age of 33, cut short what would have likely been a meteoric career, one that would have placed him in the pantheon of the all-time greatest visionaries. From Marisa Cohen: Animation has the potential to reveal vibrant landscapes and characters in a way that is completely unlike any other storytelling tool. The locations and themes explored in The Cloaked Realm are arguably best explored through this medium. For Season One, we carefully selected big and sweeping stories that toy with grand ideas and concepts that are still important and relevant today. The ideas contemplated by these visionary stories are made all the more remarkable when you consider they were conceived of and written so long ago. From Co-Director Peter Issac Alexander: While I grew up loving the giants of science fiction, such Wells and Verne, I was puzzled by why so many of science fiction’s early geniuses were relegated to the shadows. I realized that there were not dozens, but hundreds if not thousands of forgotten and mostly forgotten science fiction works. They deserved to be rediscovered. I became obsessed with finding yet more and more obscure, and even completely unknown, science fiction works from the past and distant past. These were stories likely impacted the science fiction writers of the day, and perhaps the innovators and visionaries of the time as well. Today, The Cloaked Realm stands as something that has evolved beyond the sum of its parts. It was our goal to use the project not just to shine the spotlight on science fiction’s forgotten titans, but to also do what science fiction does best - explore topics that are of vital interest to humanity while simultaneously contemplating the dangers lurking just over the horizon.
What makes this one special
- 12 awards at other festivalsLongleaf Film Festival · Oregon Shorts Film Festival · WorldFest Houston and 9 more
- Programmed at 24 other festivalsAcross 9 countries
Also selected at
12 awards, 5 nominations, 3 finalist placings, 4 official selections across 24 other festivals
- WinnerLongleaf Film Festival
- WinnerOregon Shorts Film Festival
- WinnerWorldFest Houston
- WinnerChain NYC Film Festival
- WinnerLove & Hope International Film Festival
- WinnerPrague International Indie Film Festival
- WinnerValencia Indie Film Festival VALEIFF
- WinnerBest Shorts Competition
- WinnerIndieEye Film Awards
- WinnerIndieFest
- WinnerLondon Directors Awards
- WinnerRed Movie Awards
- NomineeBorrego Springs Film Festival
- NomineeFilmQuest
- NomineeInternational Sound and Film Music Festival (ISMF)
- NomineeOrlando Film Festival
- NomineePasadena Film Festival
- Finalist34 Girona Film Festival
- FinalistEthos Film Awards
- FinalistFestival Internacional de Cine con Medios Alternativos (FICMA)
- SelectionBerlin International TV Series Festival
- SelectionBuffalo International Film Festival
- SelectionMontreal International Animation Festival ANIMAZE
- SelectionYoFiFest, The Yonkers Film Festival
Recorded by the filmmaker on their entry.
Directors' Biography
Marisa Cohen Peter Issac Alexander Directors
Marisa Cohen/Peter Issac Alexander Marisa Cohen Marisa Cohen has won nearly 100 awards in her career. Most recently, she co-wrote, co-directed, and co-produced the award-winning series The Cloaked Realm, which consists of 4-hours of hand-drawn animation and to date has been on official selection of over 70 film festivals. It was recently selected as part of a special exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Busan, South Korea. Additionally, The Cloaked Realm was selected for a screening and presentation at the 2023 FAN EXPO Portland, which featured a variety of celebrities presentations and panels including such science fiction icons as Michael J. Fox, Jonathan Frakes, Sam Raimi, Katie Sackhoff, William Shatner, and Ming-Na Wen. Marisa attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, and graduated from The University of Chicago with a degree in Cinema Studies. Peter Issac Alexander Peter Issac Alexander is a Portland-based director, producer, and writer. He is co-creator of the award-winning The Cloaked Realm animated series, which has been an official selection in festivals including the 34th Girona Film Festival, The Soho International Film Festival, Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, and FilmQuest. He also won a Silver Telly Award in May 2023 for his work on The Cloaked Realm. Peter has been interviewed by various newspapers and publications, including the Wall Street Journal, for his expertise in high-definition. In recent years, he has been a prolific ghostwriter and consultant on numerous scripts, books and other projects. He holds an B.A. in Creative Writing and a Master’s degree in History. Currently, he is working on Season 2 of The Cloaked Realm series.