Indie Spotlight: ‘2040’ Gives Kickstarter The Satire It Deserves

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here. 

This edition of Indie Spotlight is sponsored by Tongal.

Here at Tubefilter, we love to highlight Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns we want to see funded. At the same time, there are plenty of projects on both of those sites that probably don’t deserve to see the light of day. 2040 is a satire of that second group. It follows its main characters as they attempt to crowdfund their titular film, barely succeed, and then watch it fly out of control anyway.

2040 stars three of its four creators–Brendan Fitzgibbons, Hailey Giles, and Arturo Castro–as the respective filmmaker, producer, and lead actor of an indie romance in search of Kickstarter funding. By the end of the pilot, the 2040 team secures the money it needs, but future episodes will see the project take a turn for the worse. “When they’re forced to bring on Hollywood producers to back the film,” co-creator Adam Rothfeld told The Huffington Post, ” it slowly turns into a futuristic Michael Bay action flick set in the year 2040.”

2040 works on multiple levels. It accurately mocks several Kickstarter trends by featuring a ludicrous pitch video and having its characters worship noted Kickstarter user Zach Braff. It also includes some well-crafted cutaway gags inspired by Arrested Development; the best one shows off Castro’s work as the model for an adult diaper company called “Dumper Jumpers”. At its most brainy, it parodies the inherent danger in turning over a creative property to Hollywood suits.

All of these comedic threads work because the quartet behind 2040 is very funny. Viewers may particularly recognize Castro as Ilana Glazer’s roommate in Broad City, but each of the leads excels his or her role, and I am therefore eagerly awaiting episode two.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT:

• Fossey-Fosse. The son of zoologist Dian Fossey and Broadway legend Ray Fosse uses his parents’ combined professions to unlock the secrets of mating rituals in the animal kingdom.
• Chocolate City. Three brothers living in DC must overcome a series of trials–including a mysterious murder.
• Fancy Free. The stylish lead singer of an Australian indie band hosts a crafting series.
• Hollywoodland. Four gay men who live in Hollywood banter back and forth, mostly about pop culture.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.

This edition of Indie Spotlight is sponsored by Tongal. Tongal is changing the way creative work gets done, by making it accessible to people everywhere. For brands, studios, and causes, Tongal’s innovative platform provides continuous access to a global network of creatives, offering fresh ideas and insights, and top filmmaking talent to bring them to life. Tongal’s collaborative, merit-driven process enables everyone to focus on the work they do best. The result is outstanding content delivered with great speed and efficiency. Tongal is based in Santa Monica, California.