Kickstarter

Since our last update, Mala Mala has been busy. We completed our 4th (December) and 5th trip (February) to Puerto Rico. The crew got back to NYC yesterday morning and we're really happy to inform that we've completed our story shooting! Our hard drives are jampacked with funny, sad, and exciting stories and sleep-depraved adventures. Now we're getting busy editing. We've pushed back the deadline on some of the backer rewards, focusing all our resources on completing the film and delivering it to festivals on time. But don't worry, soon as we're done check your mailboxes for lots of Mala Mala goodies.

Forever thank you for your support, it's what has made this incredible year possible. Below are some Behind the Scenes moments from Trip 5. Shout out to all our talented Assistant Cameras: Max Lakner, Christelle de Castro, Vasilios Sfinarolakis, Caleb Heller, and Zach Stoltzfus. Wouldn't have been the same without you. Eternal hugs and thank yous to our new subjects and all those that kept everything moving in the right direction on these past 2 trips. Hands up for vans and pickup trucks to the rescue (Andres de los Santos & Manuel Santini Jr.), extra hands and cameras (Edward Diaz), snacks, words of wisdom and encouragement, air beds and open doors. Hands down for flat tires at 5am, clowns, dead batteries, and broken tripods and monitors. And lastly, another round of hands up for our new subjects: Sandy and Paxx (& Audrey, the cutest couple in Hato Rey). Now lets get to work. A lot to be done. If you want to reach us, feel free to hit us up at danandantonio@gmail.com. 

<3 

The Mala Mala Family (it's been a year, we're officially a family) :) For updates check out  #malamala on Instagram. #loveyouguys #peaceee

It's time...

...for a MALA MALA Update!

We're happy to share that thanks to you we've wrapped our 32-day shoot in Puerto Rico. Now we're back in New York cutting through 100+ hours of footage to make something special for you to watch. We don't want to spoil any surprises, but we can't resist giving you a tiny peek at some of our new subjects and locations.

One of our new subjects, Soraya, discussing her new book on gender dysphoria and her journey to become a woman. Soraya is one of the first and few Puerto Ricans to ever win the legal battle of changing one's gender on a birth certificate and the first transsexual to run for office in Puerto Rico.

Meet Ivana Fred. A new Mala Mala subject pictured below on her weekend community outreach routine, handing out condoms & performing free STD tests on willing trans sex workers in Santurce.

April, months later, at a coffee shop in Old San Juan after a local newspaper interview. 

Samantha screen test in Moca, Puerto Rico.

And some of the crew behind-the-scenes:

Isabel Rullan, our producer, checking for water damage on her cam after the thunderstorm in the town of Isabela.

Adam Uhl, Mala Mala's Director of Photography, during our lunch break at El Hamburger, Old San Juan.

Dan Sickles, director of Mala Mala, happy in paradise.

Antonio Santini, director of Mala Mala, why so serious?

This time around we also had 3 amazing cinematographers assisting on the shoot: Caleb Heller, Vasilios Sfinarolakis, and Zach Stoltzfus. Thanks to them for being great sports & making this trip the most successful & fun. And thanks to all our cooperative subjects and of course to the backers that made the shoot possible.

There's a lot more where that came from. But we'll keep it locked in the vault for now. You'll be hearing from us soon.

Our gratitude and love,

The Mala Mala Crew

Hi friends, family, and backers!

We're prepping for our big month-long July shoot in Puerto Rico! We're very excited. We will keep you up to date with what we encounter and discover. After receiving many kind and generous messages from people who wanted to pledge but didn't make it in time last month, we launched an Indie Gogo fundraising profile for Mala Mala. This will cover the 7% fees Amazon/Kickstarter deducted for processing the transactions and will allow us to put the movie through the best quality post-production process possible. Thank you for your support!

Mala Mala on Indie Gogo http://www.indiegogo.com/malamala?a=665379

Our best,

Dan & Antonio

Dear Friends & Family!!!

You've been there with us this entire month. 30 days! Sharing our project with your friends and family, helping us with phone calls, email, & press, encouraging us with your kind words and overwhelming us with your generosity. It's been an incredible month, incredibly full of love and support. The only word to describe it is unbelievable. Thank you for believing in us, for giving us a minute to listen to our story: you have no idea how touched we are and the opportunity you have offered us & the community of Mala Mala. You have gifted us with a voice and the opportunity to tell the world what needs to be told. Your support is EVERYTHING and no words can express our gratitude. Mala Mala is our promise that being yourself is not weird or scary, that it creates the love & tolerance that makes you happy and proud to be part of your community.

The adventure begins now. We have a story to tell and a long road ahead. We couldn't be more excited. 

Our best, always with love,

Dan & Antonio & Isabel & Adam The Mala Mala Team

PS: We've been receiving messages with interest in pre-ordering the DVD, posters, book, etc. We are setting up a page where these can be ordered and we will share the link soon. Thanks again.

What an exciting day! $5 Mala Mala Happy Hour? 

Today from 6-9PM Dan Sickles will be at The Beacon Hotel in downtown DC answering questions about the documentary and screening the trailers. In support of Puerto Rican cinema, ConPRmetidos, a DC/San Juan based non-profit for the advancement of Puerto Rico's human potential, has generously offered to host this event. Please read more about their initiatives here. 

Please stop by and say hello!

27 HOURS LEFT! Crunch-Time!

Happy Thursday,

Dan & Antonio