Today I’m with Marta Masferrer, the director of Conlang: the movie, a 15 minute short film about a fictional conlang community (people who make their own languages). Even though her next film isn’t related to languages, she wants to also have official Esperanto subtitles for that too. Read on to learn how you can help Asternauts! (In Esperanto: Kosmernaŭtoj)

Why did you decide that you wanted Esperanto subtitles officially for Asternauts?

To be completely honest, after all the incredible support I got from the Esperanto community in raising funds to distribute my last film, Conlang, I thought it would be a nice way to just say thank you! Plus, as far as I understand, there are simply not enough movies out there made available with Esperanto subtitles. And while Asternauts may not be specifically about language, I feel the message it brings about believing in something truly extraordinary again will speak to the Esperanto community.

How can supporters know that the subtitles will be high quality and not just an afterthought?

All of the subtitling will be done by the same amazing translator who did the subtitling for Conlang. It’s all high quality… he’s the real deal! I’ve also toyed with the idea of dubbing the film in Esperanto… but it would all depend on if there is a demand for it 🙂 I love the possibility of working with fluent Esperanto actors to do this!

Concept art illustration by Tom Schirdewahn

Could you give more details about the support you received from the Esperanto community for Conlang?

The support we received for Conlang from the Esperanto community was just incredible. We had screenings in The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil and all across the USA. Other huge supporters were Filmoj sen Limoj, Radio Verda, Libera Folio, Esperanto USA, Esperanto-Jugend Berlin, and Varsovia Vento. With the money we raised, we are able to buy the distributions rights to be able to make Conlang available to the public via amazon.com and some smaller retail shops… but we hope to find a distributor in the near future!

I also heard that you tried to incorporate Esperanto into the script of Asternauts, but it didn’t really fit. Could you elaborate more on that?

Yes, we did! There is a scene where secret service agents arrive to retrieve this mysterious “fallen object” from Earl and Joel’s pasture. We thought it would be wonderful if the agents spoke Esperanto. But since we want the agents to appear simply as American government agents, we were afraid that having them speak in Esperanto would cause some confusion among our viewers.

If you would like to learn more about the film, please do check out our Kickstarter campaign. And hopefully we can have an official screening of the film in Berlin with Esperanto subtitles next spring!

Concept art illustration by Tobias Trebeljahr

In any case, thanks so much for remembering us!

She’s already raised $17,590, but now there are only 3 days left for the film to raise $2,410 more and make her goal. She will either raise the money and the movie will happen or if she doesn’t make it, the film won’t happen, so your support is very appreciated. Also note the Esperanto pledge option on the right!

Update: Thanks to the Esperanto community, her project has now reached $20,000, but you can still donate money as either a preorder or to help the movie even more. Thanks to everyone for your support!