A Film In The Making

  • WHAT IF THE WORLD WAS PEACEFUL?

    Imagine a world without war, poverty, or hunger. A planet where freedom and prosperity are shared by all, and nature flourishes. Sounds like a fantasy? Waking Up is a film that dares to dream of such a future—a future where humanity thrives in harmony with itself and the environment.

    While dystopian stories dominate our screens, the short film Waking Up In Paradise has taken a different path, earning recognition from over 100 international film festivals and securing 63 awards. Based on scene 62 of the completed 118-page screenplay of Waking Up, this short film challenges the bleak narratives of the present with a vision of hope.

    Through the journey of a modern man awakening in this utopian future, Waking Up explores the challenges and opportunities of building a better world. Multi-billionaire Benjamin Michaels escapes cancer in 2015 through deep freeze. Waking up in an unexpected world he tries his best to adapt and understand it, only to find that a threat from the past is trying to change it all back again. It’s not just a film, it’s an invitation to envision what’s possible when technology and human collaboration come together for the greater good. 

  • Are you a producer or manager ready to bring a refreshing, optimistic take on science fiction to life?

  • Let’s turn this story into the feature film the world needs right now.

  • Contact Harald Neslein Sandø at haraldsando@gmail.com  to learn more about this transformative project.

  • The time for a brighter future on screen is now.

  • Main script registered in the US Copyright office Sept. 2021.

  • Film Freeway statistics Oct. 11.2024:

Waking Up In Paradise

Out of the 114 selections,  there are 22 “just selection”, 63 awards, 2 finalist, 25 semi-finalist and 2 honourable mentions. For confirmation of these numbers, please contact  filmfreeway.com. 

A DREAM

Writer/director Harald Neslein Sandø is the founder and creator of the project. It started as a dream about a new and better world in the late seventies, when Harald was in his early teens. He dreamt about a better world for Humanity, where everyone could thrive and prosper on a healthy planet. Being deeply interested in science fiction, he longed for a movie depicting a better future than most science fiction movies did. Although he never dreamt of being the one writing it, this is exactly what has happened. After discovering The Venus Project that had designed a world close to what Harald had imagined he felt the calling towards writing the story. Son of a Norwegian actor and director, Harald had started working with film a few years earlier.  The story as it is today has taken shape over several years, and now the screenplay is in its fourth draft, ready to be developed into a final shooting draft and eventually a full movie.

Proof of concept short film

The following scene is for demonstration purposes of the concept of the film. It was made on a zero(literally) budget by Harald and the two actors in 2011. It won the Official Selection in the Cinema Out Of Your Backpack festival of the same year.

UPDATE JANUARY 2024: In the fall of 2023 we shot a new short film called Waking Up In Paradise based on scene 62 of the screenplay. The film was shot in Sweden, finished in Spain, and has been sent to many festivals all over the world. So far it has won 13 awards out of 20 selections..! That was in January 2024. Now, in October it has passed 100 selections and 63 awards as seen above. Quite incredible, but true. Below is an ungraded teaser for Waking Up In Paradise. To see the whole short film, please get in touch on haraldsando@gmail.com, thank you.