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The short film 'The Lion and the Firebird' is an exciting new vision of the ancient past.

Set in 40,000 BC, it follows the story of an early human named Rising Fire and her daughter Hona, as they escape a violent band of warriors known as the Lion Men. They are saved by one of the last Neanderthals, now an extinct human species, and have to band together to fight the Lion Men as the future of humanity depends on their survival.

Rising Fire is played by Fil-Am actress Renia Gardner. "I almost fainted when I found out because this is my first lead role in a film so it's very huge for me and so exciting," Gardner said. "It was such an amazing experience because I had to learn a new language for this. I had to learn a made-up language for this. I had to do stunt work. I had to do combat training."

Gardner believes her background in dance, particularly her training in indigenous dance under the theater company Kinding Sindaw, somehow prepared her for this role.

Writer and director Daniel Byers noted that casting was crucial in making the movie believable.

"We wanted to cast people who we could believe were the people of 40,000 BC, which meant that these people had to move differently, right?... So in Nia, we found this amazing combination of characteristics. Number one, she's a great actor and number 2, she's a trained dancer and so she already has this ability to move with her body in a way that doesn't feel modern," Byers explained.

New scientific evidence and breakthroughs in understanding ancient human anatomy, language, and culture were critical in the creation of the film. The movie also received a science grant in anthropology from the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, that is given to films that enhance public understanding of science through the language of film.

To create the backdrop for 40,000 BC, Byers shot the movie at the world stage in Times Square, making history as the first low budget independent film to be shot entirely on an LED virtual set, which was popularized by the Star Wars hit series 'The Mandalorian.'

"Instead of a green screen, the entire world is projected into that area. So when the camera moves, the background moves and the background isn't just like a frozen background. The trees are moving; the grasses swaying. It's like it's very real," Gardner said.

Byers meanwhile added that "it allows storytellers to visit anywhere in time or space to tell their story, and that's something that's pretty prohibitive for a lot of people who wanna tell science fiction stories, fantasy stories, history stories, period pieces like ours, set deep in prehistory... There's really nowhere in the world you can go that looks like it did 40,000 years ago, where our story was set."

'The Lion and the Firebird' is now in its post-production stage and is expected to premiere in a film festival by fall of this year. There are also plans to distribute it on a streaming network for science fiction and fantasy films.