Dear Open Secret Backers,

A note to tell you that the Web site for Open Secret is up and running (and evolving). Please go to www.opensecretfilm.com to stay up to date on what is happening with the film. New content and features are being added all the time. There's a mailing list you can sign up for, too. Other ways to stay in touch:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/opensecretfilm

Twitter: http://twitter.com/opensecretfilm

Of course, the number one thing you can do is spread the word about the film. No, it's not quite finished and, no, I don't really have a date for when the world will see it, but I'm learning how important it is to talk about this thing and keep making note to the world of any and all progress.

We're just a few days away from the final rough cut of the film and in a couple of weeks I'll begin holding private test screenings for feedback about what is and isn't working.

Please visit the site (or FB and Twitter) and stay tuned!

Steve

If you're on Facebook, please join my Open Secret page. www.facebook.com/opensecretfilm

It's a good way to stay updated on the film's progress.

Thanks!

Just an official thanks to you--all 111--who believed enough in me and my film to offer some financial support. The more than 8 thousand dollars pledged has allowed me to start editing the film again (starts on Thursday!) and for me to travel to Kansas later this week for one of the last shoots of the film. I wish I could say when the film will be finished and, most importantly, when (and where) all of you can see it, but it's simply impossible to know at this stage. But I am in the process of creating a web site (with the talented Mark Ferdman--my biological father's grandson and my half-nephew!) where I'll post news about the film.

Again, my deepest thanks in helping tell this story. It means a lot to me.

Onward!

For a while now we've (the film team) been trying to decide how much of my biological father's story to include in OPEN SECRET. Obviously, my father's history--a Polish Jew who survived the Holocaust--is very important to me, but we're not sure yet how much of his history serves the larger story of my family in Kansas. Still, for the past several years, I have continued to research the years that are the least known about my father--1940 to 1945, when he was imprisoned in forced labor and concentration camps. An incredible resource as been the International Tracing Service collection held by the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington. About two years ago, I submitted a basic search request and the researchers there went to work--at no charge to me--and uncovered a trove of documents pertaining to my father. Nearly all of them were from just after the war (when he entered a displaced persons camp in Germany) but one of the documents gave me information that nobody--not even my father's closest family members--knew: the actual camps where he was held. You can see that information in the annotated image.

One of the best things about making this film is all the discoveries I've made along the way. Even if they don't end up in the final movie, what I've learned about my catholic family from Kansas and my jewish family from Poland definitely informs the final product and has been an incredibly rewarding and rich experience.

Hello everyone,

In just a little more than two weeks, my grassroots effort to fund a portion of my documentary film OPEN SECRET comes to an end. I gave myself 65 days to raise a minimum of $5,000. Not only did I exceed that mark by $1,500, I reached the minimum in 8 days. Obviously, I underestimated the interest and enthusiasm for this story. Now, I come to you one last time asking you to help end this fundraiser with a bang. Even though I hit my minimum goal long ago, I can still raise funds until the donation window is closed, at midnight on February 16th. The amount raised so far is just a small percentage of what I will need to finish the film (you can read a little more about my budget here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/422298104/open-secret/posts/4479 ), so despite the cliche, every bit counts and every dollar raised goes toward the cost of production. To see what's been raised so far, a short fundraising trailer and how to contribute go here:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/422298104/open-secret

After you've watched some footage and read my previous updates, look for the green "Back This Project" button and if you're ready to help, click it. If you have an account with Amazon.com, donating is a breeze. If you don't have an account with Amazon, you'll have to create one to contribute. If that sounds like a hassle, please just get in touch with me directly to make other arrangements. And, finally, I ask that you please spread the word to your friends, family and co-workers who might have an interest in this story.

My sincere thanks to all of you and to the 85 people--some of whom are complete strangers--who have already contributed to the film. And before I go, I wanted to share this note from Open Secret producer Charlotte Stoudt. When I told her was going to make one last plea for donations, she asked if she could share with you what the story, and working on the film, has meant to her.

________________________

When Steve first told me about his extraordinary family history, I was hooked. It was an amazing story in and of itself, but there was another reason: I am also adopted. My adoption occurred under very different circumstances, but Steve and I bonded over our lingering feelings of incompleteness that comes with not being raised by our biological parents. Soon after we met, I began looking for my birth parents while Steve hunted down records of his birth father’s odyssey through the Nazi concentration camp system.

All along the way, Steve and I swapped stories of bureaucracy, impatience and secret hopes. I wanted, just as Steve wishes at one point in the movie, to have a coherent story of my origins. For all relevant parties to report the same incident. To agree on the details. Of course, the reality was quite different—just like it is in OPEN SECRET. I finally met both of my birth parents. But they hadn’t seen each other in forty years. Their stories were completely contradictory. At first I was disappointed. Then I realized their differing points of view were a kind of gift. I felt like Dorothy, waking up after a tornado trip to Oz and finally getting it.

Working on OPEN SECRET has been like hitting the yellow brick road again, but this time on someone else’s journey. Steve’s dogged faith, twisted Midwestern humor and sheer menschiness make the trip unforgettable.

People are excited about OPEN SECRET in a way that really gets my attention. I think it’s because they feel implicated in it. On one level or another, Steve’s documentary seems to be telling all of our stories. Adoption is only one way in. When you see the film, I hope you’ll recognize a part of your own story. To me that would be the real measure of OPEN SECRET’s success.

A deep thanks to everyone who has supported the film so far. We absolutely could not tell this story without your generosity and enthusiasm.

Charlotte Stoudt
Producer, Open Secret

Just a short holiday plea to let you know that fundraising will continue for 50+ days. And, if you've already contributed, please pass along my Kickstarter page to people you think might be interested in contributing. Thank you!

The audio is out of synch in the last half. This is, by no means, a reflection of my film making skills. UPDATE: I fixed it! I can make a film!

It only took 8 days, but I have reached my funding goal of $5,000. My deepest thanks to all of you who contributed.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Kickstarter not only requires you to set a minimum dollar amount for your fundraising, but it also requires you to set a maximum number of days to reach that dollar amount. I gave myself 65 days to raise $5,000, (I was worried that wouldn't be long enough!) which leaves me with 57 days of fundraising left. Those remaining days can't be canceled. So, before I can put the money raised as of today toward the film, I have to wait nearly two months. But--and this is the interesting part--I can continue to raise money! So, if you have been thinking about pledging and now think you missed your chance, think again! In fact, this is a great time to pledge and show potential distributors the support this film has.

Thank you to the 68 backers of Open Secret and we look forward to adding more to our ranks.

I started filming Open Secret in 2003. I bought a camera and went to Kansas to start the process of unraveling the family secret. I had no idea what I was doing. I had done hundreds of radio interviews but I'd never shot video before. I discovered pretty quickly that for every one variable in audio recording, there are at least four when recording video: light, focus, white balance and, ironically, sound. Well, the first time out, sound was about the only thing I got right.

After that first trip, I applied for a grant and the application required a short trailer. So, I fired up my editing software and cranked this out:

http://www.vimeo.com/872784

You never see my parents faces in this because they were usually out of focus. The only thing I could really shoot well were landscapes. And the audio does sound pretty good!

Oddly (to me), this little trailer actually did get me my first funding. The person who gave me the support fell in love with the visuals and the story she saw emerging.

61 backers and getting nearer to the goal. Thank you!