About this project
THE CAMPAIGN
We have dedicated the last two years of our lives to making “Cargo.” It’s a fictional feature film that deals with the issue of human trafficking — specifically, sex trafficking of young women into the U.S. According to the U.S. Department of State, over 17,000 women and children are smuggled every year into the Unites States alone.
Our film is now finished and ready to hit the screen. With this campaign we are hoping to raise money to release “Cargo” in a theater in New York City in order to spread awareness of the issue of sex trade in our society. By producing a narrative feature with a compelling story about the sex trafficking, we are hoping to attract the attention of a much wider audience than the typical documentary film could reach.
THE MOVIE
A young Russian woman, smuggled into America by human traffickers (Natasha Rinis), and a notorious Egyptian transporter, hired to drive her from the Mexican border to New York City (Sayed Badreya, “Three Kings,” “Iron Man,” “Independence Day”), form an unlikely bond that transforms them and threatens to derail the traffickers’ plans.
WHAT ARE WE RAISING THE MONEY FOR?
The film is now finished. Now we need to raise $23,700 to release it in a movie theater in New York City. We are hoping to open on October 21st at Quad Cinema, one of the oldest independent film venues in Manhattan.
A theatrical release is very expensive. To bring “Cargo” to the New York audience, we need to rent the theater, advertise the screenings in New York City newspapers, hire a publicist, arrange press screenings, create a website, print and distribute posters and postcard, etc.
We will not recoup these expenses by selling tickets, but a theatrical release in New York will generate press attention and critical reviews that would help us bring our message to a much larger audience and open “Cargo” in other cities across America and around the world.
OUR SUPPORTERS
The release of “Cargo” is supported by a growing number of non-profit organizations, such as FAIR Fund, Human Trafficking Awareness Council, Freedom Week, Captive Daughters, and COVA. We will be adding our partner non-profit organizations here as they join our campaign.
THE TEAM
The team behind “Cargo” consists of filmmakers who have consistently focused their attention on human rights issues. Our previous credits include the Oscar-shortlisted documentary, “Living in Emergency,” telling the story of “Doctors without Borders” (co-produced by Chris Cooper) and “Saints and Sinners,” an award-winning documentary about the struggle of gay Catholics who strive to be faithful to their religion (produced by Abigail Honor and Yan Vizinberg).
Please look through the incentives on the right and contribute to our campaign to release “Cargo” theatrically. For more information about “Cargo,” please visit the film’s official website: cargomovie.com.
FAQ
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CAST
Natasha: Natasha Rinis
Sayed: Sayed Badreya
Lukasz: Philip Willingham
Misha: Alex Trubetskoy
Val: Misha Kuznetsov
CREWDirected by Yan Vizinberg
Produced by Abigail Honor, Chris Cooper, Yan Vizinberg
Written by Lee Peterkin, Yan Vizinberg,
Director of Photography: Yan Vizinberg
Editor: Abigail Honor
Music by Michael Whalen
Re-recording Sound Mixers: Dominick Tavella, Jacob RibicoffSound Design & Supervision: Jacob Ribicoff
Costume Designer: Nadezhda Fadeeva
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234
Backers
$25,235
pledged of $23,700 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on October 12, 2011.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
Eternal gratitude of our crew and of thousands of people trying to tackle human trafficking around the globe.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film (we will add your name to the credits before the premier night).
Pledge $35 or more Pledge $35 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film (we will add your name to the credits before the premier night) + a free download of the movie soundtrack CD (music composed by two-time Emmy Award-winning composer Michael Whalen, sample track: http://bit.ly/ogoPyh).
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film + 2 tickets to a screening of “Cargo” in New York City!
Pledge $75 or more Pledge $75 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film (we will add your name to the credits before the premier night) + a free download of the soundtrack (music composed by two-time Emmy Award-winning composer Michael Whalen, sample track: http://bit.ly/ogoPyh) + 2 tickets to a screening of “Cargo” in New York City + a free download of the 1080p high-definition copy of “Cargo” for your digital library!
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film + 2 tickets to the PREMIER screening of “Cargo” in New York City!
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film + 2 tickets to the premier screening of “Cargo” in New York City + 2 exclusive passes to the after-party with our cast and filmmakers.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film + 2 tickets to the premier screening of “Cargo” in New York City + 2 exclusive passes to the after-party with our cast and filmmakers + a WALK-ON part in our next feature film.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film + 2 tickets to the premier screening of “Cargo” in New York City + 2 exclusive passes to the after-party with our cast and filmmakers + a SPEAKING ROLE in our next feature film.
Pledge $1,500 or more Pledge $1,500 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film + 2 tickets to the premier screening of “Cargo” in New York City + 2 exclusive passes to the after-party with our cast and filmmakers + information about your brand/company included in all press materials about the film.
Pledge $2,500 or more Pledge $2,500 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film + 2 tickets to the premier screening of “Cargo” in New York City + 2 exclusive passes to the after-party with our cast and filmmakers + information about your brand/company included in all press materials about the film + an Associate Producer title in the film.
Pledge $5,000 or more Pledge $5,000 or more
Our eternal gratitude + a DVD signed by the director and actors + personal “Special Thanks” credit in the film + 2 tickets to the premier screening of “Cargo” in New York City + 2 exclusive passes to the after-party with our cast and filmmakers + information about your brand/company included in all press materials about the film + official Co-Producer title in the credits of “Cargo” and on IMDB.
Project By
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Persona is a film and commercial production company. We are dedicated to producing dramatic feature films and documentaries that reflect on the human condition. Our latest project is “Cargo,” a feature film that tells the story of a young Russian woman who is human trafficked into the United States.
