Izumi Ishimoto and Alex Morales were once in love and now cannot forget each other twenty years later. Now 20 years have passed and they have moved on with their lives, but so has the world. Set in a boring and bureaucratic version of NYC, Izumi and Alex go about their mundane existences while quietly refusing to give into mandates of the new dystopian society – namely undergoing a surgical treatment that renders the brain incapable of dreaming. A mysterious company called the Sandman Corp., led by the equally enigmatic Dr. Esperanza Haddid, who boldly claims to have developed a technology to create alternate realities or dreams by scanning people’s’ memories. The opportunity to reconnect with each other is a temptation the two haven’t felt in years.

Director’s Statement

When I first read Call the Sandman I was immediately intrigued by how well the story and characters captured the sense of loneliness when living in a major city. As people there is no greater comfort than our shared intimacy and it is through these collective experiences that we create the fabric of our dreams. Izumi and Alex’s intimacy is what grounds this unusual story and the world they inhabit. I am happy to bring this unique little gem of a story into reality the way Izumi and Alex make us believe it can.