Kickstarter

UPDATE: AS OF FEBRUARY 26, 2012 WE MET OUR GOAL!!! THANKS SO MUCH TO THE AMAZING AMAZING PEOPLE WHO SUPPORTED THIS FILM FOR BELIEVING AS MUCH AS WE FILMMAKERS DO THAT THIS FILM HAS TO BE MADE!!! THERE IS STILL TIME TO DONATE AND GET YOUR NAME IN THE CREDITS!!! THERE ARE STILL MANY EXPENSES TO COVER---MUSIC, COLOR CORRECTION, AND FESTIVAL SUBMISSION FEES AMONG THEM! SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT!!

"All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing."  

- Edmund Burke

We all know about The Holocaust. We all know of the more than six million lives that ended as a result of the Nazi’s campaign against Jewish Europeans. But what many of us don’t know is that countless American businesses and leaders looked the other way as The Holocaust took place. The New York Times was one such bystander.

Inspired by Laurel Leff’s award-winning book, Buried By The Times, this film explores how The New York Times handled reports of the Holocaust during World War II.  It also explores why The Times—a Jewish-owned newspaper—buried more than one-thousand articles in its back pages. Was it simply an oversight? Or did the publishers and editors fear an American Anti-Semitic backlash?

Through interviews and testimony of Holocaust survivors, historians, journalists, and American citizens who lived through World War II, Reporting on The Times encourages audiences to re-evaluate America’s place as “The Great Liberator.” The film also asks viewers to consider the power of the press in creating change.

WHO’S IN THE FILM

Laurel Leff, Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University. She is the author of Buried By The Times: The Holocaust and America’s Most Important Newspaper.

Alex Jones, Laurence M. Lombard Lecturer on the Press and Public Policy and Director of the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. He is the author of The Trust: The Private and Powerful Family Behind the New York Times.

Henry Feingold, Historian of American Jewish History. He is the author of The Politics of Rescue: The Roosevelt Administration and the Holocaust and Bearing Witness: How America and it’s Jews responded to The Holocaust

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, Senior Rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun of New York City. He is the author of Were We Our Brother’s Keepers?

Rabbi David Posner, Senior Rabbi at Temple Emanu-El of New York City.

Natalia Aleksiun, Professor of Modern Jewish History at Touro College Graduate School of Jewish Studies.

Hacia Diner, Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. She is the author of We Remember with Reverence and Love: American Jews and The Myth of Silence after the Holocaust.

Marion Kaplan, Professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University. She is the author of Between Dignity and Despair: Jewish Life in Nazi Germany.

Esther Peterseil, Holocaust Survivor. She is a resident of New York, NY.

Estelle Laughlin, Holocaust Survivor. She is a resident of Lincolnshire, IL.

Max Glauben, Holocaust Survivor. He is a resident of Dallas, TX.

Jean Benson, American living during WWII, She is a resident of Chesterland, OH.

Gladys Debuccio, American living during WWII, She is a resident of Queens, NY.

Jay Moss, Jewish American Soldier in WWII, He is a resident of The Bronx, NY.

WHO’S MAKING THE FILM

Emily Harrold, Director/Producer

Emily is a senior at New York University majoring in Film Production and History. She is a member of the history honors fraternity Phi Alpha Theta and was recently selected to take part in the Emerging Jewish Artists Fellowship at NYU’s Bronfman Center. To see samples of past work visit www.emilyharrold.com.

Jake Holm, Co-Producer

Jake is a senior at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He has produced everything from animated sniper dramas to raunchy comedic web series. He is currently the festival director for NYU’s First Annual Jewish Student Film Festival and is interning at Cinetic Media.

Megan Abell, Co-Producer

Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film and TV Production from New York University. She is also an actress and esthetician. She works at Ark Media in Brooklyn, NY and Dermatology and Cosmetic Skin Care in Pittsburgh, PA.

Lloyd Moss, Composer

Lloyd Joseph Moss is a film composer with a degree in film scoring from UCLA. He plays guitar, piano, bass, and ukelele, among other instruments. Indie Slate Magazine featured Lloyd in their Fall 2011 issue. Lloyd is currently scoring a romantic comedy feature entitled Last Man on Earth. To see samples of past work visit: http://gallery.me.com/rockpiano

Parrish Tigh, Editor

Parrish is an NYU alumna with a specialization in documentary editing.  She has worked for such companies as Colbert Report and BBC America and many independent film projects. If she is not editing in a small, dark room, she is baking for the masses!

Nicki Doyamis, Cinematographer

Nicki graduated from The Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in May 2011. An aspiring cinematographer, Nicki shoots both narrative and documentary. Her work as played at such festivals as The Boston International Film Festival.

Nayantara Parikh, Cinematographer

Nayantara is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She currently works as a freelance cinematographer and camera assistant, living between New York City and New Delhi, India.

Editing Team

Evan Johnson, Assistant Editor

Avital Siegel, Assistant Editor

Tom Mishra

Keana Monroy-Gill

Kristina Rathjen

Siddhi Sundar

Archival Researchers

Jane Arbogast

Michelle Sibio

Production Team

Rupeshi Shaw, Assistant Producer

Lucy Ross, Assistant Producer

Madeline Aaron

Stephanie Myers

Jenny Min

Madeline Wall, Art

OUR GOAL FOR THE FILM

We want as many people as possible to see the film. Although the film focuses on how The New York Times under-reported the events of the Holocaust, we believe the film has a far-reaching message. Starting with film festival screenings across the country, we hope to connect with audiences and begin conversations about the role of the press—whether it be in print or online—in creating change. This film also aims to create discussions on how America can take an active role in preventing genocide. One of the things about history is that we can learn from our mistakes to shape a better future. Americans may have been bystanders to the Holocaust, but that doesn’t mean we have to by bystanders to today’s injustices.

ABOUT KICKSTARTER

Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Every month tens of thousands of  people pledge thousands of dollars to projects in the fields of music, art, film, technology, design, food, and others. The catch to fundraising is that every Kickstarter project must be fully funded within a certain amount of time—for us sixty days.

WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T REACH OUT GOAL

If we don't reach our goal in sixty days, we don't get any of the money raised. Donors pledge the amounts, but credit cards are not charged until the goal of the fundraising campaign is met. Help us make sure we meet our goal by spreading the word.  Everything helps!

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This film is only possible with your help. We want this to be your film just as much as it is ours. The more people who participate the more chance we have of getting the story out. To help out please Twitter about the film, "Like" us on Facebook, email this Kickstarter link to others, and let your friends, family,  community, and co-workers know about the film and this campaign. We would love for people to get involved on a personal level. Email reportingonthetimes@gmail.com to get more information and become involved.

FREQUENTY ASKED QUESTIONS

What's the status of the production?

Reporting on The Times is simultaneously in production and post-production. More than 90% of the film has been shot, but we are still completing interviews. Currently, we are in search of Jewish Americans who may have read The New York Times in the 1930s or 1940s or who remember hearing of Nazi persecution of Jews during World War II. We are also in the beginning stages of editing the feature film. Our goal is to have the film finished is Summer 2012.

How is this project funded? What's the funding for?

Making a feature-length project is expensive. There are numerous costs involved including production insurance, equipment rentals, location permits, salaries, travel, post production facilities, and lawyer’s fees. Luckily, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts provides us with insurance, equipment, and post facilities. All members of the crew are also working on deferred salaries. This has been a major help in keeping costs low! However, we are now at a point in which we must pay licensing fees for archival material that will be in the film. This is very expensive, but it is important to making the film come to life. The money raised on this Kickstarter will be put towards paying these archival licensing fees. The more money we raise, the more material we can license and have in the film.

How do I contact you? 

You can contact us directly at reportingonthetimes@gmail.com. We welcome any note, whether it be about the film or not.

Can I pay with cash? Send a check by mail?

Sadly no. Kickstarter only supports credit card payments through Amazon Payments. However, if you would like to make a donation this way, we do have a system in place outside of Kickstarter that will accept checks. If you are interested in doing this or have more questions, please email us at reportingonthetimes@gmail.com.

Can I increase my pledge once it’s been made?
Yes. Once you donate to our campaign, you may want to change your incentive reward to a different one, or increase your pledge amount. To do so, go to Kickstarter and sign in. When you return to our campaign page, the green “Back This Project” button has been replaced with a blue “Manage Your Donation” button. Click it and you can enter a new amount, or choose a new incentive.

Can I continue to donate if you exceed the goal?
Yes. Kickstarter will allow us to continue to fundraise past the goal up until the deadline. Exceeding our goal of $6000 means that we can increase the quality of the archival material in the film, have additional funds to hire a lawyer, and possibly submit to festivals outside of the US.

Once I’ve donated how do I receive updates about the film?

We will send updates through Kickstarter during the campaign. After that, your email will be added to our list of supporters, and we will send out updates frequently via email. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

When should I expect to receive my rewards?

Since we must complete the film before we can send out many of the rewards, the expected date of delivery is December 2012. By then we will have had time to complete the film and prepare and mail the rewards. We will keep you updated on our progress via email.

How will you know where to send my rewards?

Once we meet our funding goal, we will send you a message through Kickstarter requesting all the necessary information.

I don’t live in the US. Will you ship DVDs internationally?

Yes, we will ship DVDs internationally. The DVDs will also be non-region encoded so they will play on any type of DVD player or computer. We will notify you when the DVD is on its way.

Can I Gift My Rewards to Someone Else?
Yes. If you want to donate to the film but give the reward to someone as a gift, go through all the normal processes of making a donation in your name. For billing purposes, this action must be in your name. After our deadline, we will send a message to you on Kickstarter. (It will be forwarded to the email address you provided.) We will request things such as an address from you at that time. Please reply with the name and address of the person who you wish to give the reward. We will make sure that person receives the reward.