About this project
What I see in the coffee community is a shift in attitude from a sort of fiscally minded industrial process entirely devoted to the maximization of profit ( a soulless money generator) to a living network of human beings who are aware of each other and are becoming more and more excited about sharing a resource we aren't in any danger of running out of:
Respect
This change of attitude has been coming on now for a number of years and I think many people here in the US have recognized it in the media as it has begun to get sucked up into the identity of large commercial chain coffee shops in response the very prevalent, now very popular, sense that attitudes (and consumer choices informed by them) favoring 'ideas' of responsibility and fair trade are Good, and rightfully so.
What I'm studying and what I want to document is what is going on behind those labels, behind this surge of marketing. I'm going to work with people who you might otherwise never know about, people who are working very hard to change the structure of the coffee business; changing the language of the business, how words like 'value' and 'quality' are defined. People who are mindfully changing the terms of success to include harmony, balance and sustainability and in so doing are raising the quality of life for all of us.
Enough support for this film will enable me to travel to Brazil for the time I need to do my research, hold the interviews and get the photography to complete this project.
The amount I am seeking here through Kickstarter is the minimum amount I need ( a figure based on past experience) to fund 5-6 weeks of solo work over seas. That's 5-6 weeks of spartan living and specifically this means paying for airfare, food, expendables (tapes, bulbs, batteries), 2 Canon lenses (a telephoto and a wide angle), and some equipment insurance to back me up in case my one and only camera or laptop or field recorder or one of my hard won, high dollar microphones has an accident or is "borrowed".
If I get more than this minimum I'll be able to first compensate a few artists who are graciously donating (at this point) their skills to provide me with some supplemental graphics and original music. Funding beyond that I would use to advance the project either in terms of post production and distribution (which I do myself) or in the actual production in Brazil (getting a better camera, or extending my stay, or bringing on an assistant photographer. wherever I can best put those resources to improve the final product).
Coffee is the stand out subject to me on this project for two reasons:
1. it is an entirely imported commodity here in Virginia.
2. Although it's not from my community, It's everywhere in my community; it's part of our identity.
I have to go to Brazil, and not to say, Sumatra or Kenya, because Brazil is where a lot of our coffee comes from and at this time, more specifically, single-origin Brazil coffee is now coming to us through the effort of a chain of individuals who are making the social and environmental impact of their business a high priority concern. Many of these individuals are in Brazil doing their work, which can only be done in Brazil. I need to go to them.
I want to draw peoples attention to this effort because it's important, and this one example I'm choosing to focus on deals with a number of issues that will come up when we begin talking about or try to gauge the sustainability of a community such as resource management or quality of life. Such issues are relevant and easily transferrable to the discussion of any trade commodity, on any scale.
I want to use my tools and skills to explore the diversity and commonality of the perspectives involved in this local/global direct trade and document the establishment what I hope will become one of many positive and widely influential models for developing and sustaining healthy trade relationships that are equitable on all levels of interaction; to each person, each group, each ecosystem, each business, each farmer, each consumer.
Thank you for your support and I'll see you on the other side!
~Seneca Haynes
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
72
Backers
$2,748
pledged of $5,500 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Unsuccessful
This project reached the deadline without achieving its funding goal on June 1, 2010.
Pledge $12 or more
1 copy of the film
Pledge $20 or more
1 copy of the film and a Fried Squid logo T-shirt
Pledge $30 or more
1 copy of the film, a Fried Squid logo T-shirt and a copy of my last documentary on sustainable urban agriculture
Pledge $50 or more
Exclusive invitation to the first screening of this film. Screening will take place in an independent Southwest Virginia theater. Filmmakers and some of the subjects in the film will be on hand to discuss the work. You will also receive one pound of Brazil Alta Mogiana coffee, one copy of the film on DVD and a Fried Squid T-Shirt.
Pledge $75 or more
Hands-on coffee roasting instruction (Blacksburg, VA area only). A local, independent shop will bring you into the roasting lab and demonstrate the roast process. You will take home a pound of your coffee. You'll also receive a copy of the film and a Fried Squid Logo Tee.
Pledge $150 or more
Coffee-of-the-month for one year. Backers selecting this option will receive one pound of coffee each month for 12 months from direct trade sources. Coffees can be shipped anywhere in the continental United States through novaroast.com. Backers will also receive a copy of the film and a Fried Squid Tee.
Pledge $500 or more
Name a blend. You. Immortalized in coffee. You will get to pick the coffees, the roast levels and the name. A small, independent roaster will work with you to finalize the blend and it will be available for sale through novaroast.com. You get a copy of the film and a T-Shirt.
Project By
Connected
Seneca Haynes is an Independent filmmaker working under the banner of Fried Squid Productions since 2004. A graduate of VA-Tech, 2003. Fried Squid produces narrative films as well as documentaries and educational media.
Media production is my artistic way, so my documentary work is not mere journalism. It is, for me, socially responsible scholarship and an active way for me to engage with the world. I ask questions, listen, observe and record. The process is entirely transparent and I endeavor to include all voices and perspectives without bias. Interpretation on my part, in the creation of the film, begins and ends with editing. In the editing process I take a large quantity of video and audio (hundreds of hours) gathered over the course of months, consisting of focused interviews, photography, research, and exploration, then I reduce that body of information down to it's best, most balanced presentation of the various perspectives and voices contained therein. This is more than just entertainment (although I do make an effort to produce a film with some aesthetic character) and more than superficial information passing across a screen.
This kind of documentary is not intended to be criticism, but rather to inform proper, intelligent criticism and analysis on the part of the individual community members that receive the film and for whom the film is intended. (Criticism and analysis, by the way, that are regularly necessary in any community of people who strive mindfully to maintain a standard of balanced, dynamic and compassionate growth.)
I believe that documentary film work can be wonderfully precise in its effectiveness as a tool for providing a sound basis in productive community dialogue and allowing for all the kinds of action that are of the utmost benefit to every single person touched by a particular subject. I think this holds true particularly when the film is made in and for specific local communities.
There is no shortage of journalists and filmmakers out there who will trip all over themselves looking for something "Wrong" to point their cameras at; sometimes for the sake of self aggrandizing exploitation, sometimes out of an honest concern for justice. However you might feel about that kind of media, I think it is important for me to let you know as I begin the preliminary stages of making this documentary that will bring me into Brazil, and into a community where I am at the moment a stranger, soon to be a guest, I want stress that I choose to do things differently.
I am interested in looking at good ideas, honest efforts and thoughtful, openminded explorations. I'm interested in refining and propagating the positive nature of Humanity. I'm interested in people who care about how their decisions effect others. I'm interested in groups who are actively developing models and language to reinvent what they do- whatever they do- as a sustainable process.
When I go into the field I go as a professional, as an artist, as a student and, given the nature of my work, an ambassador of my home community. Naturally I do not use personal or copyrighted images of any kind in my films without express written permission. I do not film without asking permission first. I do not utilize footage or audio to change meanings or put words in someone's mouth. I do not give or sell my b-roll documentary footage, audio or photography of people to ANYONE. Wherever I go, I go only with respect, only to places where my intentions have preceded me with clarity. A particularly beneficial attitude and practice when one wishes to go back later ;o)
