Foreign Letters friends,

I posted an album of behind-the-scenes photos on my facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php...

Please "like" me while you visit that page because I never got over wanting to be popular in high school ;-)

If you worked on the film, you'll appreciate these. Or you might just enjoy them anyway. (If you worked on this film and your pic isn't in this album, you have an open invitation to step on my big toe next time you see me. Better yet: step on Nichole Taron's toe. She's my incredibly talented associate and she picked these out.)

Some of you have been involved from the start, have been waiting to see this film for a long, long time. I had hoped to finish it this fall, but because I needed to raise more money (and I worked on other films), my updated plan is to complete the film before the year is up. Best things come to those who wait...? I hope so.

see you at the movies!
xoxo
Ela

Dearest backers,
Thanks to you, we completed an incredibly successful funding campaign. I could not be more pleased. With 184 backers, and over $19,000 pledged, we raised 160% of our goal!

As you'll see when you watch the film, "Foreign Letters" is a story about the power of generosity. It is poetic that generosity is in fact the power that brought this film to life.

Speaking of generosity, since the campaign ended, I've received numerous emails from late-comers who still want to contribute. For this reason, I've set up a paypal donations button on my site at: http://thierproductions.com/foreign_letters_support.html

In the next few days, your name will appear on the film's website. Please click on the "backers" tab to find your name, and be sure that your name appears here exactly as you would like it to appear in the film's credit roll. If you used a pseudonym, didn't include your last name, etc, please write me a message to let me know how you want your name spelled. Even if we know each other, don't assume that I'll get it right. I may get help compiling names and credits, and my helpers aren't likely to know you. Unless you tell me otherwise, you will be credited exactly as your name appears here.

Thanks again for your support. Although I'm a writer, I can't find words to describe how grateful I feel.

with love and appreciation,
Ela

Thanks to all of you, we reached the 12K goal and are now guaranteed to receive the pledges that have been made! What a relief to know that this much of the post-production budget is COVERED! I can't begin to describe the elation that I feel.

There's just a little over a week left to this campaign. Let's give it one more push and see what we can do to get as close to the full post budget as we can get.

If you haven't yet spread the word to your own friends, I'm happy to offer you an excuse to get in touch with folks :) Or if you've already done that but think that a gentle reminder might help: now is the time.

I would happily post here the detailed post-production budget to explain, line by line, why 24K is the actual goal. However, the only way to create a film on a micro-budget, is to attract experienced and talented people who donate their time as a labor of love. It is out of courtesy to the busy professionals who are donating their services at a fraction of their rate (or entirely as a favor), that I can't make the budget public.

What I AM at liberty to say is that if I raise under 24K, I'll still complete the film, but will have rights to show it only at festivals. The music used in this film is phenomenal. But I'll still need to raise the full amount at some point, in order to buy additional licensing rights that will allow me to distribute the film.

That time might as well be now. I won't have the gumption to start yet another campaign in three months' time! ;-)

Love to all,
Ela

From speechless to speechful...! I just created a videotaped talk in which I go over the top four reasons to support artists. Feel free to use this video or any portions of it, in any way that you want, to help garner support for your own projects, or simply to ponder your own or others' creative pursuits, whatever they may be.

Video can be viewed here: http://www.vimeo.com/14253213

with love and appreciation,
Ela

Dear Backers,
I'm speechless. In just a week and a half we raised $9,610. I wouldn't have imagined that level of support in my wildest dreams.

You made that happen. When I launched this campaign, I had no idea how many people would back my efforts. You meanies destroyed this grim picture I had that I was going it alone. I was really wedded to this perspective and you took it away from me!

There are 30 more days to this campaign. As I explain in the video, my post-production budget totals 24K. When I launched this campaign, I didn't have the confidence that I could raise that much, so I halved my goal. Thank you for proving to me that I wasn't being practical, I was just plain chicken ;-)

Thank you, also, for passing the word to your friends and your friends' friends. Please do continue to do that. Your support has given me the confidence to shoot for the full 24K.

I can't wait to share this film with you when it's complete. I've poured all of my heart into it, and you backing it means more to me than all the money in the world.

with love and appreciation,
Ela