Kickstarter

Through Kickstarter, a way fund creative projects publicly, you make a donation and receive a reward.  (Donations can also be made anonymously).  Please review our pledge categories to the right, select which, if any, you wish to make, click on it, and follow the prompts to officially pledge via Amazon.

Kickstarter is all or nothing, meaning your credit cards will only be charged should we meet our goal by our deadline.  If we do not meet our goal by our deadline, your credit cards will not be charged, and we will receive NO money.

How will you receive your reward?

When our funding goal is met, Kickstarter will generate a survey which we will then email you requesting a mailing address (and, if applicable, t-shirt size) so that we can send you your tangible rewards by their listed due dates. (You'll have our heartfelt thanks already, the moment you pledge)!!!

Regarding Anonymous Backers

When you set up your Kickstarter account, you can use any name you wish to and change your profile status to "anonymous."  As an Anonymous Backer, you can still receive the rewards offered under your equivalent price pledge, only your name will not be publicly listed.

What is the specific cost breakdown of the $125K?

Certain movie theaters in Manhattan enable independent filmmakers to screen their films publicly by renting the theater for a short time.  One quotes a one-week run packaged deal at a cost of $11K, which includes their theater rental, publicist, and promotion.  We’re aiming for two-weeks ($22K), and in keeping with the staunchly independent way in which Nigger was made, have added to this cost that of our own grass-roots marketing campaign, outreach, and publicity ($7.5K) which begins with word of mouth, social networking, marketing materials, mailings, and culminates with two tiny 2”x3” New York Times Ads ($4722 each x 2 = $9,444), and two Village Voice Ads ($1349 each x 2 = $2,698); the cost of our pledge reward materials ($5K), the Kickstarter / Amazon service fees 5% each ($6250 x 2 = $12.5K), legal counsel/ representation (5K), select film participants travel/ lodging (10K), and our self-distributed nationwide DVD release ($50K).  

Completed Works -- 5 short documentaries by thea (pledges $125 & $250)

As shorts, these five documentary films by thea have never been officially released. This is the first time, via our fundraising campaign for Nigger, that they are being made available, as pledge rewards, to the public.

"Love in an Elevator,” (NYU graduate student film, 16mm, b&w) about a Jewish woman and a Catholic man dating each other in a New York City nursing home screened in over 20 film festivals and won best short documentary film at the Cleveland International Film Festival and the Jamerican Film Festival; “En Los Ojos, (In The Eyes),” (NYU graduate student thesis film, 35mm, b&w) celebrating the faces and places of New York City with ambient sounds (no voice, narration, or dialogue) screened, among a few other places, at the Karachi International Film Festival in Pakistan; “DIScerning disABILITY (a.k.a NorMal),” where people with and without diagnosed disability speak of its notion screened at the Buffalo Niagara Film Festival and won an award at the WorldFest Film Festival; “A Truth about Tupac,” where people speak about Tupac Shakur and about Truth also won an award at the WorldFest Film Festival.

Have we made any money from the film?

Yes, in these past seven years while making Nigger, we have made a total of $2,250.  Earlier drafts of the film were twice invited by Syracuse University to play for university and high school students respectively.  Of this $2,250, $250 went to a promoter who helped enable one of these screenings.

Do we hope to profit from the film?

Yes -- only we don't expect to.  Nigger is seven years in the making, and seven years is a long time!  None of its producers or consultants have been paid anything at all.  So yes, we hope to make millions and millions of dollars so that we can pay those contributors (especially the films co-producers whose unwavering and unconditional support cannot be measured in financial terms) that which they deserve.  If Nigger makes any profit at all the first few millions of dollars (literally) are already spoken for!

(In this vein we'd be delighted to follow Tim Schafer's "Double Fine Day," recent Kickstarter example.  How totally awesome was that!  We pledged, just to be a part of that wonderful momentum -- and we're not even 'gamers')!