Dear Brit,
My name is Olivier, from France. Five years ago, I was leading a very different life studying politics and philosophy, despite a lifelong ambition to be a creator. A few events inspired me to make a change, in particular seeing two films in the same week: the first was "The Tree of Life" by Malick and the second was "Another Earth." Discovering how you'd been able to create a philosophical, sci-fi feature with a DIY approach gave me the final nudge: I had a few thousand dollars in saving and with the help of family and friends, I started shooting the film I'd been breweing for years. It took 5 more years to shoot, edit and score, and you can see the result below. It is a feature called Ψ (psi), a blend of fiction and documentary exploring free will, choice, regret and our place in the universe. Now, there is one last step left to really complete it: contacting you and asking you to be the main voice of the film as its narrator.
First of all, what's it about? Ψ tells the story of a psychologist who goes to meet 5 "parallel lives" of one of her patients to try and understand how each one, having made different choices in the past, became who they are. Doing so brings her to question her own past and why she never pursued her own lifelong ambition to become an actress. We never see her in the film, but her voice guides us through it, reflecting on insights provided by real-world scientists (such as Max Tegmark at MIT and Barry Schwartz at Berkeley) as we journey through the 5 cities, discovering landmark works of conetmporary art (from Alexander Calder, Eila Hiltunen, Arman... - full list here).
Why you?
How would this go? 
The first reason is because of who you are and how your own experience and work inspired this project and connect to its themes:
  • the multiple paths you considered from an early age, between your interest in art and your focus on academics;
  • your studying at Georgteown, interning as an investment banker and questionning the life you were being prepared for;
  • the choice you made to go to LA and then to forge your own creative path, such as going on the road with the freegan community;
  • the themes you have explored in much of your work, and in particular "Another Earth" and "The OA". In fact, season 2 reveals just how close our interests lie: in episode 2 you speak of the Many Worlds Interpretations of quantum physics and quote Borgues' "garden of forking paths," which is one of the central leitmotifs in "psi." ​

This all feeds the second reason I'd like you to be the voice of this psychologist: in the current version of the film, she's called Natalie Forester and is voiced by a friend. But really, this psychologist would actually be… you - a parallel version of you, the Brit Marling you could be today if you had studied psychology at Georgetown instead of economics and not gone on to become an actor and filmmaker. So, when hearing her in the film fret over why she never pursued her passion, the audience, recognizing you in this world, would know how things would have turned out if she had.
  • This would only be voice-over.
  • The recording could take as little as a half-day.
  • It can be done at a time and place that is convenient for you (I can travel with my equipment).
  • I'm open to your suggestions on your character's lines.
  • ​I have a budget set aside for this process and production company to handle it. 
The film in its current form got a test screening at MIT in Cambridge and the reception was extremely positive, both by the audience and by the early critical reception. At this stage, I'm open to various outcomes for the film: sending it to festivals, looking for some form of distribution, or even releasing it for free online - it all really depends on what comes next.

Your subsequent involvement (promotion, etc.) would be entirely up to you. I quite like the idea of your participation being like a secret, something left to audience to decipher.
The full film is available below. This project has been a long journey that you helped inspire and so beyond the narrative and thematic reasons I mention above, if you were to become a part of it, it would bring everything full circle in the most perfect way.

In any event, I hope this project reaches you. ​Feel free to ask me anything about it's content, story, subject-matter, or what I hope I comes of it - it would be a real pleasure to exchange with you. ​

Thank you for your time and consideration,

Olivier

[email protected]
www.o-wright.com
+33.(0)6.51.53.53.62.
Watch the film here (password: psi2018)
link: https://vimeo.com/286524385​ password: psi2018

A word from Eve Brémond, producer

Hello Brit,

My name is Eve Brémond, I’m founder of Box Fish Productions, a production company based in France. I met Olivier in December 2018, through a mutual friend in our hometown of La Baule, a small town on the West coast of France.
 
At the time, he was finishing a film he’d been working on for over 4 years, called "psi," that he had made with no money and no prior experience. I was immediately intrigued. When I sat down to watch it, I could not believe what I had just seen: a true labor of love, but more importantly, a true vision.
From an artistic standpoint, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Both fictional and non-fictional, dizzying and controlled, dense and contemplative. None of it is random, not even the random parts. It’s a giant puzzle he has carefully crafted, with beautiful imagery and a deeper quest for meaning. We all wonder: what if? We all question our choices, our degree of control over our lives, our inability to be happy, our place in the universe. This film brings it all together in 86 mins, and this is why I think it deserves to be seen by a wider audience.
 
As a young female producer, this is the kind of story I want to be a part of, that push the boundaries. After seeing his film, I offered him my assistance in any way I could. He told me that the final piece of he puzzle he was preparing for, was reaching out to you, Brit Marling, to be the voice of the psychologist in the film. As I was already familiar with your work, it made perfect sense.
 
I am now here to assist with this process and help Olivier with the future of this film. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did, and that you’ll agree to be a part of it, too. Thank you for your time and consideration,
 
Eve