Kickstarter

Hello Friends! My name is Josh Gilbert, and I'm a documentary filmmaker living in New York. You might have seen some of my work—several years ago I did a film called "A/K/A Tommy Chong" which highlighted the plight of the counter-culture comedy icon targeted by the government during a 12 million dollar, undercover sting, "Operation Pipe Dreams."

That project opened up a lot of eyes to the insanity of our nation's drug laws and the government's egregious disregard for the First Amendment. Although it was a long-shot from beginning to end, I'm happy to say that it gained lots of attention, won many awards, received tons of great press, and was seen by millions of viewers during its broadcast run on Showtime.

Jake: The Film is my current project -- a documentary-in-progress about Jake Waltuck, an 18 year-old young man with Aspberger's who dreams of becoming a professional filmmaker. You might have heard of Asperberger's--it's a mild form of autism that, in Jake's case at least, gives him superhuman focus on the topics he loves. His favorite topic of all is movies.

I believe in Jake's talent, and his story, too. The purpose of this documentary is to draw attention to a uniquely talented individual pursuing a common dream...in the face of some fairly uncommon obstacles. In addition to his goal of Hollywood stardom, Jake has to deal with all the normal things of growing up as well--romance, self-identity, finding a place in the world. He's a fascinating kid, living a fascinating life, and I've spent considerable money and time trying to move him in the direction he wants to go. In the face of such love and commitment to a dream, how could I not help? I recognize a lot of myself in Jake, and think you would, too.

I've been lucky enough to convince some other people of the specialness of this project, which I will complete if I have to sell yoyos on the subway. I recently received a grant from the Nathan Cummings Foundation, which has gone towards shaping the 100 + hours of raw footage I've shot. But I need a bit more money to finish the final edit—that's why I'm coming to the Kickstarter community. Your $15,000 will help get me to a first rough cut, which will not only help get this documentary to the audience it deserves, but also move Jake towards his goal of being recognized as a young filmmaker with a bright future.

Jake and I thank each and every one of you in advance, for helping us with a project that is profoundly close to our hearts.