By the ST5 Team
Well everyone,
After 36 days, and 148 contributions, I guess all that's left is to say thank you. Thank you for proving to a couple of young filmmakers that the last 3 years have been worthwhile. Thanks for showing us, and the security certificate families that we are all ready to talk about these issues, and right these wrongs.
We raised just over $18k during this campaign, which may not be a lot in the life of the average documentary, but means everything in the life of THIS documentary. We wish to sincerely thank Hot Docs for this chance, and in particular, Elizabeth Radshaw, Stephanie McArthur, Chloe Sosa-Sims, and Patrycja Cieniewicz for their truly personal support, hard-work, and encouragement during the last few months.
We want to take this last opportunity to talk briefly about crowdfunding, and why it so important for emerging filmmakers. What we did this last month cannot be quantified. The money can, but the value of Doc Ignite vastly exceeds the money raised. We have no real idea how many people just learned about our project, and are now waiting to see the film. Sure, our FB and twitter accounts exploded, and we know we are reaching tens of thousands every week, but what exactly does that mean? The answer, is the aforementioned EVERYTHING. It means everything.
In a time when audiences are more fragmented then ever, and old models of funding and even distribution make less and less sense, crowdfunding just fits. It's a lot of work, but then filmmaking has always been so, and the results when it works are incredible. Right now, there are thousands of people waiting to see ST5. A film with little to no money, about a contentious issue, has a small but devoted audience behind it before it even enters post-production. This is an enviable position to be in for any film.
What this will ultimately mean for the film's distribution is anyone's guess. But it is seriously exciting. So we encourage all filmmakers out there, regardless of experience and funding, to embrace THEIR CROWD. Take the time to build a relationship with your audience, and they will not let you down. They don't ask for creative control, or rights of any kind. They simply want to be let in. Don't be afraid to share, both in good times and bad. Doc Ignite is a wonderful initiative. It is an organic reaction by Hot Docs to our climate, so please take advantage of it. And even without Doc Ignite, do not hesitate to start your own crowdfunding effort. That's how ST5 started, and it led to the success of this campaign. We thought we were at a disadvantage having crowdfunded already. We could not have been more wrong.
We feel our crowd now, we feel the support. It gives us confidence, and to a young filmmaker, confidence is invaluable.
Thank you all once again, we promise to make a good film. An honest film. Where we go from there (re: security certificates) will be up to Canadians.
Sincerely,
Amar and Noah
By the ST5 Team
Hello Everyone,
Well, we are officially entering the last week of this campaign, and to say it has surpassed all of our expectations is truly an understatement. We are blown away by the support you've given us, and after 3 years working on this film, we've never been more confident that we are telling a story Canadians want to hear.
Thanks to you, we have already achieved our goal of raising $15,000 towards finishing the film. In this final week, we hope you will help us spread our message as far as possible. Any and all additional contributions will go towards making a better, more polished film. Thus far, The Secret Trial 5 has been almost entirely funded by ordinary people like YOU, so every penny helps. Any funds raised during this final week will be put towards things like:
We've proven to ourselves that we can do a lot with a little, so while raising a little more money would be helpful and incredibly appreciated, what's just as important is growing our community. So please, take the time to "LIKE" us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (@secrettrial5), and use the incredible exposure Hot Docs brings with it to teach every Canadian about security certificates.
Our goal has always been to create broad awareness about this issue while we make the film, and this Doc Ignite campaign has allowed us to do just that. So let's make this final week count!
Thank you,
Amar and Noah
By the ST5 Team
We stopped by Newstalk 1010 yesterday to speak to host Tarek Fatah about our film. Tarek is known to be controversial. This is a great example of why we are making this film, blanket statements were being thrown around left, right and center. Warning, it gets pretty heated! Take a listen!
Noah Bingham
We are hitting the mainstream! Here is a clip of producer/director Amar Wala on Global TV's The Morning Show discussing The Secret Trial 5 and our Hot Doc's Doc Ignite campaign.
We have until Feb 19 to continue to raise funds. The more we raise the MORE we can do to spread the word and raise awareness about these important stories! Please encourage others to become a part of this project.
Noah Bingham
We've reached our Hot Doc's Doc Ignite campaign goal in just 3 weeks! Thank you ALL for the support. We couldn't have done this without YOU!
We still have 2 more weeks to go! The more we raise, the more we can do. Please continue to spread the word!
