Berks County native and current Los Angeles resident Joseph Lisa debuts his new web series prologue “Cypher” during a free screening at the Reading Movies 11 and IMAX on Sunday, July 29, at 4 p.m.
“I spent my grade school years in Hamburg before relocating to Leesport,” Lisa said. “Returning to Berks, at least for the time being, is a much needed breather but I intend to return to Los Angeles in the very near future.”
Lisa graduated from Schuylkill Valley High School as well as Berks Career and Technology Center studying communications media technology in 2011. He earned a bachelor’s degree in digital filmmaking from The Los Angeles Film School in 2018.
Lisa is a professional filmmaker and cinematographer. He is the writer, director and producer of three feature length films, five short films and a wide variety of music videos, commercials and promotional videos.
“I have worked on projects involving talent such as Fantasia, Justin Timberlake and Adam Sandler as well as for brands such as Google, LA Fashion Week, Vevo, and Coachella,” said Lisa. “Being a visual storyteller allows you to engage with your audience on another level. Finding new ways to blend art and technology together is what I truly enjoy.”
The free admission event aims to give the community an exclusive glimpse at the show and to meet the team behind it’s creation. A featured panel will include writer/director Joseph Lisa, actors Matthieu Lange and Alexa Marie as well as executive producer Jason Connor Mara.
Having debuted at the Reading IMAX in the past, Lisa felt it was a great fit for this most recent project to do that same.
“I wanted to make sure that as many people could see this as possible by making the event free admission. Following the event we will also be hosting a Q and A with myself as well as some of the talent involved, flying in from Los Angeles such as actors Matthieu Lange and Alexa Marie as well as fellow executive producer Jason Connor Mara.”
Synopsis of the series is as follows, “Mason is thrown into the mysterious world of the Cyphers, a group of vigilantes with a goal of stopping out of control corporate influence. Their weapon – technology.”
“I feel that it’s important to tell stories that not only entertain, but spark a curiosity in a larger topic relevant to our time,” said Lisa. “This is exactly the intention with the prologue of our new web series ‘Cypher’. Themes of where technology is going to potentially lead us are explored and some possible outcomes of that implementation. Finding a way to blend this discussion into a narrative that also entertains the viewer took quite some time and I’m truly proud of the result we will be showing to the public.”
Following the screening there will be an opportunity for the members of the audience to help fund the next chapters of this story.
“This is not at all required or pressured to attend. First and foremost our goal is to let as many people experience this first chapter of our story on the big screen, the way it was meant to be seen,” he said. “We filmed this prologue using state of the art technology and optics and I truly think it will show.”
