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on February 1
Rachel Cook launched a project
The Microlending Film Project: Helping Women Help Themselves by Rachel Cook
The Microlending Film Project tells the story of mothers, wives, daughters - and entrepreneurs. Watch what they can do with $25.
- $5,999 funding goal
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19days left
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on January 14
Rachel Cook
Posted project update #8Music, a magazine, and more!
Post CommentHello again! Wanted to share some exciting news and give you guys a quick update on how the film is progressing ... so much has changed in a short few weeks. I was very excited to find out that the film will be featured in Duke Magazine this month! Keep an eye out for it. Also, save the date because we are holding a screening in the DCTV Studio in Chinatown on January 25th at 5:30pm. More details to come as the date approaches, but please mark your calendars as we would love to see you there.
As for the film itself, we are getting closer to picture lock as we nail down the structure of our stories and finalize sequencing. Right now, we are in the process of adding music. Though the images are beautiful on their own, it is amazing how drastically a few notes can change your reaction to a scene. Music has the power to frame our interpretation and heighten our reactions to even the smallest details. If you have any thoughts or recommendations of composers or styles of music you'd like to hear in the film, please send us a message!
I will leave you today with a few stills of another amazing woman featured in the film, Anupama Joshi. Anupama was the first female air force pilot in the Indian army. However, unlike her male counterparts, she was forced to retire from the army after only 15 years of service - less than the minimum # of years required to receive her pension. She quickly became a champion for women's rights everywhere as she took her case to India's highest courts and won. Though the army asked her to return to service with all her benefits in tact, she refused. In her time away from the armed forces, she had discovered the power of microlending and was already hard at work bringing change to the rural areas of India where she grew up. Once you meet her on camera, I hope you will all be as touched by Anu's story as I was - she is truly an inspiring woman.
Lots more where this came from - talk to you again soon, hope you're having a fantastic weekend!
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on January 2
Rachel Cook
Posted project update #7Gearing up for 2012...
Hello all and Happy New Year! It is so hard to believe how quickly the past year has gone. After quitting my trading job at the beginning of the year to work on the film full time, there is no doubt this has been the most fulfilling year I have ever had. 2011 was filled with so many adventures I never could have imagined, and we are so excited to share many more with you all in this next year. We have very high hopes for the film in 2012 and have been hard at work over the past month. We are getting closer to having a final product that we hope will make you very proud. The editing process has reached a feverish pace as the January 6th deadline for submission to the TriBeCa film festival quickly approaches. Our primary focus for the submission has been to piece together the beautiful footage and touching stories of our featured women in a way that creates a compelling and entertaining storyline. There is so much we want to say about microlending, fitting it all into 90 minutes is much harder than we ever imagined. We are also currently in the process of re-working our introduction, which features Pablina, the first brave micro borrower that we met on our journey in Paraguay. For years, she had to beg for loans while her husband was gone trying to provide for their growing family. She started selling her famous sweet cakes to make ends meet, but just as she was getting her feet off the ground, her youngest son developed a fatal stomach tumor. The story of how their family sacrificed everything to bring him back to health is a touching a example of the powerful recipe of an entrepreneurial spirit and the smallest of micro loans. More updates to come, happy and healthy new year to all of you - we have no idea where we would be if it weren't for you. Rachel & the Team
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on December 2
Rachel Cook
Posted project update #6Thanks!
Post CommentJust wanted to send a note to thank you all so much for getting us to our goal - and beyond! - yesterday afternoon. We appreciate it so much! We'll be sure to keep you posted regarding our progress with editing, festival submissions, and upcoming screenings!
Thanks again to all of you! You make the world a better place!
Warmest Regards Ever,
Rachel
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on December 1Funded!
The Microlending Film Project - Saving the World's Women by Rachel Cook
An independently produced feature documentary exploring microlending to women as a tool for alleviating poverty and changing the world.
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126% funded $9,189 pledged
- 127 backers
- Funded Dec 01, 2011
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on November 30
Rachel Cook
Posted project update #1918 Hours To Go!
Post CommentHi Friends!
Thanks so much again for your support and general awesomeness. :) Because of you, we've surpassed our goal - and ahead of schedule! We're overwhelmed with gratitude, and so excited that you have joined us in this final push to bring The Microlending Film Project to life.
We're going to continue reaching out to potentially interested pledgees to see if we can continue the great momentum we've got going through the end of our Kickstarter campaign on Thursday at 3:06 pm, Eastern Time. If you'd like to join us in continuing to let anyone you know who may be interested about our work, we'd really appreciate it! The link to our new Kickstarter page is here.
We'll leave you with a few stills from our India and Paraguay shoots (with special thanks to Director of Photography Steve Hiller for making these available).
Thanks so much again for your help in bringing these important stories to the world! We love you all, and we'll keep working hard to make you proud!
Warmest Regards,
Rachel and The Microlending Film Project Team
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on November 30
Rachel Cook
Posted project update #918 Hours To Go!
Post CommentHi Friends!
Thanks so much again for your support and general awesomeness. :) Because of you, we've surpassed our goal - and ahead of schedule! We're overwhelmed with gratitude, and so excited that you have joined us in this final push to bring The Microlending Film Project to life.
We're going to continue reaching out to potentially interested pledgees to see if we can continue the great momentum we've got going through the end of our Kickstarter campaign on Thursday at 3:06 pm, Eastern Time. If you'd like to join us in continuing to let anyone you know who may be interested about our work, we'd really appreciate it! The link to our new Kickstarter page is here.
We'll leave you with a few stills from our India and Paraguay shoots (with special thanks to Director of Photography Steve Hiller for making these available).
Thanks so much again for your help in bringing these important stories to the world! We love you all, and we'll keep working hard to make you proud!
Warmest Regards,
Rachel and The Microlending Film Project Team
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on November 30
Rachel Cook
Posted project update #1418 Hours To Go!
Post CommentHi Friends!
Thanks so much again for your support and general awesomeness. :) Because of you, we've surpassed our goal - and ahead of schedule! We're overwhelmed with gratitude, and so excited that you have joined us in this final push to bring The Microlending Film Project to life.
We're going to continue reaching out to potentially interested pledgees to see if we can continue the great momentum we've got going through the end of our Kickstarter campaign on Thursday at 3:06 pm, Eastern Time. If you'd like to join us in continuing to let anyone you know who may be interested about our work, we'd really appreciate it! The link to our new Kickstarter page is here.
We'll leave you with a few stills from our India and Paraguay shoots (with special thanks to Director of Photography Steve Hiller for making these available).
Thanks so much again for your help in bringing these important stories to the world! We love you all, and we'll keep working hard to make you proud!
Warmest Regards,
Rachel and The Microlending Film Project Team
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on November 30
Rachel Cook
Posted project update #519 Hours To Go!
Hi Friends!
Thanks so much again for your support and general awesomeness. :) Because of you, we've surpassed our goal - and ahead of schedule! We're overwhelmed with gratitude, and so excited that you have joined us in this final push to bring The Microlending Film Project to life.
We're going to continue reaching out to potentially interested pledgees to see if we can continue the great momentum we've got going through the end of our Kickstarter campaign on Thursday at 3:06 pm, Eastern Time. If you'd like to join us in continuing to let anyone you know who may be interested about our work, we'd really appreciate it!
We'll leave you with a few stills from our India and Paraguay shoots (with special thanks to Director of Photography Steve Hiller for making these available).
Thanks so much again for your help in bringing these important stories to the world! We love you all, and we'll keep working hard to make you proud!
Warmest Regards,
Rachel and The Microlending Film Project Team
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James Corcoran on November 30
Please don't include any farmed animals in this video. They are problematic for the families and for the environment and for the animals themselves. Below is a summery of some of those problems surrounding Heifer International
Beyond the Hype: The Reality of Heifer International
Heifer International (HI) is an organization that claims to work against world hunger by donating animals to families in developing countries. Its catalog deceptively portrays beautiful children holding cute animals in seemingly humane circumstances. The marketing brochure for HI does not show the animals being transported, their living and slaughter conditions, or the erosion, pollution and water use caused by the introduction of these animals and their offspring.
By definition, animals raised for food are exploited in a variety of ways. The animals shipped to developing countries are often subject to; water and food shortages, cruel procedures without painkillers, lack of veterinary care resulting in extended suffering as a result of illness or injury.A large percentage of the families receiving animals from HI are struggling to provide for themselves and cannot ensure adequate living conditions, nutrition, and medical care for animals they have been given. HI provides some initial veterinary training to individuals and the initial vaccines. But, long term care for these animals and their offspring is up to the individuals.
To make matters worse, animal agriculture causes much more harm to the environment than plant-based agriculture. The fragile land in many of the regions HI is sending the animals cannot support animal agriculture. Although they say they encourage cut and carry feeding of the animals to avoid erosion, the reality is often quite different.
The consumption of animal products has been shown in reputable studies to contribute significantly to life-threatening diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and a variety of cancers. Regions that have adopted a diet with more animal products see an increase in these diseases. The remote communities supposedly served by HI have no way of dealing with the health consequences of joining the high-cholesterol world.
While it may seem humane and sustainable to provide just one or two dairy cows here or there, the long term consequences are an increased desire for animal products in local cultures leading to an increase in production. These communities may be able to absorb the additional water use of one or two cows, what happens when there are hundreds or thousands of dairy cows, each consuming 27 to 50 gallons of fresh water and producing tons of excrement? The heavy cost to animals, the environment and local economies is not figured into HI's business practices.Animal Agriculture and Global Warming
Recently NBC Nightly News reported that global warming has reduced the Arctic Ice Cap by 25% in the last two years alone! According to the United Nation's Food and Agricultural Organization’s 2006 report, animal agriculture has surpassed all forms of transportation combined, to become the number one contributor to global warming!Animal agriculture is at or near the top of the worldwide list for water usage, water pollution, topsoil loss, air pollution, tropical rainforest destruction, desertification, habitat loss and species extinction.
If people want to make a REAL difference, the first thing to do on any "Save the Planet" list is to choose a plant based diet. The solution to world hunger and creating sustainable economies will not be found in fostering more dependence on animal agriculture. .
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on November 29
Rachel Cook
Posted project update #18We've raised $2K in the last day! 51 hours to go!
Post CommentHi Friends!
Thanks so much for your support of The Microlending Film Project! Because of you, we've managed to raise an additional $2K in the past 28 hours or so, and are getting closer to our goal!
If you don't mind, please spread the word to your networks so that we can be sure to make our goal before time runs out in 51 hours. Again, if we fall short at 3pm on Thursday, December 1st, we get $0 of what's been pledged, and we won't be able to finish with the project.
The link to our new Kickstarter fundraising page is: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1854708768/microlending-film-project-saving-the-worlds-women
I'll leave you with a few stills from our Detroit and Kenya shoots! Thanks so much again - you make the world better!
Warmly,
Rachel and The Microlending Film Project Team
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Rachel Cook
New York, NY
Rachel Cook has studied film at The University of Southern California and Duke University, and Economics and Business at Duke and The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She worked for awhile as an Equities and Eurodollar Futures Trader in Chicago while studying improv and comedy writing at the iO and Second City. This is her first feature!
So looking forward to seeing this film with a group of friends :-)