*** Please help us raise the "Buzz Factor" for Opening Our Eyes at The Awareness Film Festival which screens May 6th in West Hollywood.***

This is a very easy yet effective move you can do to help us rise to the top of the Buzz scale for this festival.

• 1 >  Go to: http://awareness.festivalgenius.com/2012/films/openingoureyes_gailmooney_awareness2012 
• 2 > Register your name, etc.
• 3 > View the trailer            (important)
• 4 >  Give it a star rating   (important)
• 5 > Click "Add to iCal "     (important)

That's it.... If enough supporters and fans do this it will bring us to the top of the 'Buzz" list and attract more people to come see OUR film from all the others at the festival!

For those of you in the L.A. area, please come out to the Awareness Festival and see Opening Our Eyes on Sunday May 6th at 3 pm at the Macha Theater.

Filmmaker/Producer Erin Kelly will be in attendance, accompanied by Exec. Producer Angel Burns! 

Thank you all for continuing to be such wonderful supporters!

March 4, 2012

I got the best email yesterday. It was from a young man who had attended a seminar I had given at Yale for ASMP on “Should I Be Thinking of Video”. I remember that evening well. I had recently returned from a 3-month journey circling the globe with my daughter creating a documentary on people making a positive difference in the world.
I was still very much in the same head-set that I had been for the past few months – one full of peace and belief in myself. I had just come off an intensive period where I was “walkin’ the walk” and I was practicing what I preached.

The young man, Brian, wrote, that he had attended my seminar with his father, who was a photographer and that he, himself had grown up wanting to make movies. So, my seminar was a perfect combination for them. Then Brian wrote “That night you inspired me.” My heart jumped when I read it. He went on to remind me of things that I had said that evening – about overcoming fears in order to realize your dreams – in my case traveling the world to make a movie. Leaving the known behind – for the unknown. Telling yourself “yes” instead of giving yourself reasons not to.

Brian said that he had recently landed his first job of his career as a structural engineer. He loved it, but he also had a great desire to travel. That night he went home and furiously “googled” anything about traveling the world and beyond. He came across the website of “Engineers Without Borders” and as serendipity would have it, they were having their monthly meeting that week.

To make a long, but interesting story, short, Brian went to that meeting that week, and talked with some people during a break who were organizing a trip to a village in India.

©Brian Skelcher

Then they invited him to go with them in February. He was astounded. And then he did the same thing many of us do in similar situations – he started giving himself every rational reason why he shouldn’t/couldn’t possibly do something like this. In Brian’s case – how could he ask his new boss for 3 weeks of time off?

That night when Brian heard me speak, was about a year and a half ago. In the email he sent to me yesterday, he talked about spending the last year editing his 15 hours of footage, down to a 40 minute piece. He told me that it hadn’t been easy and that he frequently read my blog posts where I had written about my similar experiences with post-production – magnified. What I had shared had helped him through it – angst and all.

My favorite line in his email read:

“So, I’m finally done with my movie, although there’s things I wish I had done differently, I did my best and I’m glad it’s finished! The final product is one thing, but the journey to get there is another, and the past 18 months have been such an amazing experience for me! I owe it all to you! Sorry for the long email but I’ve been waiting 18 months to tell you my story!!”

Brian just launched a Kickstarter campaign to send another engineer to Nepal for a similar project. You can find out more about it here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/videotaping/welcome-to-abheypur-the-movie

I think back on that evening and the year and a half in between. I’ve gone through two tough winters, doing the kind of work that needs to be done, but nevertheless takes its toll on my heart and my soul. That evening, my spirit was alive and well. Brian and others felt it and it moved them to a place they wanted to be. And now, after a tough winter, that same “energy” has come back around to me through Brian’s email. It has reminded me to stay the course and stay on purpose. Thanks Brian.

For anyone living in my neck of the woods (Northern NJ) who has asked me if the film was going to screen locally - well it will.

Sunday evening 1/22/2012  Doors open 4:30 Film starts at sundown

Zion Lutheran Church, 11 Schooley's Mountain Road, Long Valley, NJ

Reserve your seat by calling 908-876-3547

Come see local hero, Maggie Doyne's story and 10 other inspiring stories around the world. Hope to see you there.

Gail

Last night I ran into one of our “backers” at a party and he told me that he had always enjoyed our updates on Kickstarter.  It reminded me that I have been a bit remiss – for a number of reasons.  Mostly, since the film has been completed, I have been very busy submitting it into film festivals, setting up private screenings, working on getting it translated and subtitled into Spanish, Portuguese, French and perhaps even Dutch.  I’ve had requests for screenings in France, Holland and have just been invited to give a TEDx talk in Sao Paolo, Brazil.  We recently changed the tagline to :  “It’s not just a movie – it’s a movement” and indeed it is just that – the start of a movement.

The other thing that has kept me busy, was setting up another campaign on IndieGoGo that we launched a couple of weeks ago.  If this film has a chance of being seen and getting distributed on a large scale so that we can really make a difference – we need to raise money for PR, Marketing, closed captioning, translations, festival submissions and 4 wall screenings. The “experts” say you should budget at least as much for the publicity, marketing and advertising as for the making of the film itself.  That’s tough for independent filmmakers who make films on a shoestring budget and rely on the kindness of others but an absolute must if the film has a chance of being seen.

There are a few things that you can do to help us out - some  merely require just the click of your mouse to look at the site or share the link with others.

•   You can contribute at IndieGoGo – every little bit helps and we have some really cool rewards – from t-shirts to reusable tote bags that can help keep our planet healthy.

•   You can even just take a look at our campaign at IndieGoGo. This in itself ups our IndieGoGo factor and that leads to more visibility.

•   You can share the link with friends and  co-workers and tell them what we are trying to do.

•   You can like our Fan page on Facebook

One thing I have learned from having a career in photography and video is how powerful they are in creating awareness and effecting change.  One of our subjects Paul Moulds, of  the Oasis Youth Support Network in Sydney, Australia told us that after a documentary had been made about Oasis and broadcast on Australian television – the word about this program spread, beyond  what he could have ever imagined.  In fact, it ultimately led to a connection with Sir Richard Branson and Virgin. So, by helping us and this film, you will be helping every one of our subjects and their causes – and that’s a powerful notion.

I hope by now, all of you who received the DVD have gotten a chance to watch it and agree that it’s power lay in getting seen.  We couldn’t have done this without your help and we are forever grateful.  You have all played a part in making this film happen.  Please help us spread the word so that this little movie – that has a big message – goes global.