Kickstarter

Dear Kickstarter Backers:

THANK YOU for taking the time to look over our project as we hope we can share this vision with you.

My name is Vladimir and I am the producer of a movie that my younger brother Zoran wrote called Along the Roadside. We were born and raised in Serbia. We grew up during the time of political turmoil and wars and we both dreamt the same dream - the dream of stepping on the biggest stage in the world and sharing stories with all people. The first in the line of those stories (Along the Roadside) uniquely pairs Varnie, a self-proclaimed “sailor who has left one shore but hasn’t yet reached the other” and Nena, “life is a state of mind” kind of girl, in a road trip to Coachella music festival.

ABOUT Along the Roadside:
Genre: Comedy/Music/Romance
Short Synopsis: When Varnie’s life isn’t going as planned in Oakland and his girlfriend becomes pregnant, he takes off to Los Angeles in the hopes of finding a better life latching on to his dreams. On his journey he meets Nena, a colorblind girl visiting from Austria who is looking for a ride to her favorite band’s concert at Coachella music festival. The two set out on a once-in-a-lifetime road trip crossing paths with many characters that are as unpredictable as they are.

“Universally funny and uplifting story, presented in a form of a road movie, serves nothing more than as a vehicle for the 2 main characters to meet each other. Extremely touching and emotional, and always presented on a subtle base, while offering some bitter moments of life too. All completely spontaneous and magical filled with simple, raw, down to Earth elements from everyday life.” -- Words of Lazar Ristovski, iconic Serbian actor/director/producer, after reading Along the Roadside

Bottom Line: If you liked Sideways, Little Miss Sunshine, Rain man, Once, Garden State, La Strada and Y Tu Mama Tambian, then you will love Along the Roadside.

ENDORSEMENTS:
The story’s structure, being a road trip, is predicated upon one the most ancient narratives known to history dating back to Homer’s Odyssey, and yet, it is, as all the readers who covered the script agreed “unique,” “genuinely refreshing,” “iconoclastic,” “hilarious,” “smart,” ”beautiful,” “poignant” and “bound to engage audience.” 

Along the Roadside is also officially endorsed by: Two time Oscar® winning FX producer (Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Watchmen, The Passion of the Christ, Collateral and many more) and our producing partner Harvey Lowry (www.harveylowry.com); 1995 Palme D’or winning movie Underground lead actor Lazar Ristovski, who is committed playing in our film; Script Supervisor (Avatar, Thelma and Louise, 48 Hours, Into the Wild and many more) Luca Kouimelis; and Co-Producer of last Year’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “Like Crazy” Marius Markevicius and this year Sundance Documentary Finalist Nominee with The Other Dream Team (2012). Our Cinematographer is Award Winning Director of Photography Josh Silfen (www.joshsilfen.com) who recently shot Silver Tongues and is excited about our project.

MUSIC:
Much like in classics like Amadeus and The Sound of Music, or newer cult classics like Garden State or Once, our film puts strong emphasis on the music. So much that music becomes the character. Along the Roadside will have a most wonderful music and songs. We have commissioned a young composer Cole Bonner who produced a demo soundtrack specifically for the film upon reading the script. Cole is an extraordinarily gifted singer, virtuoso violinist & guitarist, composer and Songwriter.

COACHELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL:
This movie is a "love letter" to Coachella Music Festival which to "Along the Roadside" is something like Brando’s Colonel Kurtz to "Apocalypse Now" - A big magnet seated in the final act, attracting the characters from the beginning of the story. 

THE THEMES:
Nearly 40 percent of babies born in the United States in 2007 were delivered by unwed mothers, according to data released last month by the National Center for Health Statistics. The 1.7 million out-of-wedlock births, of 4.3 million total births, marked a more than 25 percent jump from five years before. (CNN)
The children born to unwed parents are more likely to face disadvantages including increased likelihood of poverty and greater high school dropout rates. Along the Roadside attempts to curve that line a little bit UP as one of its protagonists confronts this issue head on. Please read more regarding this important matter by visiting (www.fatherhood.gov)

Our lead female character is colorblind. By making Along the Roadside, we want to raise awareness of Visually Impaired people in society and enhance their contributions, just like other senses are enhanced when one is diminished. Our protagonist’s colorblindness is also metaphorical in that she sees - as Sartre would’ve put it - all shades of gray or simply put – she sees the World differently. Through my employer I was recently invited to breakfast sponsored by the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Rochester, NY where the Representatives from the United Way talked about how much organizations like the ABVI (www.seegreatthings.com), Goodwill, and the YMCA depend on the United Way to help fund the many programs they run. I was inspired! The United Way is a great organization that does so much for so many and this is the second year I have pledged financial support. Along the Roadside team also supports The United Way (www.liveunited.org)

ABOUT US:
Vladimir Lisinac is an international business grad from Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly, currently working as business consultant. In 2007, Vladimir and Zoran formed Metakwon Filmworks, Independent Film Production Company with hope of making great films people love. That day is finally here and the film is – Along the Roadside. Zoran is one of 7 people who got accepted at the prestige Belgrade’s Danube Film Academy which he graduated 8 years ago before moving to USA. Since then he’s been working at the hotel in Santa Monica where he had written Along the Roadside script (at the front desk) which, with your help, we will turn into a Great Movie. He is ready to give his “two weeks notice” and take a plunge into his dream – filmmaking! 

EPILOGUE:
It is the blend of different cultures and perspectives that Along the Roadside spring from and as the World becomes more and more open, united, economically and culturally interconnected, the questions of “how its residents relate to each other?” and “how are they in touch with their environment?” become instrumental in preserving our humanity, our truth and understanding which are essential to lead a meaningful life. With its story, original characters and all the humor, Along the Roadside aims to become a great film people love... a film that’s memorable- that stays with you, moves you and ultimately inspires you, in some way. 

We need your help! Although the desired budget for Along the Roadside is $250,000 with your help and the help and instruction of our potential investors we have set the modest threshold at $50,000. We have serious investors waiting on the sidelines to see if  we can be succesful at raising initial $50,000 ourselves and if we do, that will open the floodgates to much larger funding  towards our film. Please keep in mind that each and every dollar raised through our Kickstarter Campaign will go directly towards Principal Photography of Along the Roadside $250,000 goal. So, please even if the $50,000 threshold is met, keep on supporting!

Sincerely,

Vladimir Lisinac and Zoran Lisinac

Let’s get started!

Follow us at www.twitter.com/Metakwon
And visit us at www.facebook.com/AlongTheRoadside

FAQ

Do you have to reach your goal? Yes. We need to reach or exceed our goal in order to keep any of the pledges for the film. If we don’t reach our goal, no one will be charged for their pledge and it will be as if the whole thing never happened. It’s all or nothing!

Will the funds be held and unavailable to me during the wait period? Absolutely not. Funds are at your disposal and untouched until May 7th when we reach our goal and then your account will be charged via Amazon for the pledge.

What happens if you exceed the goal amount? So happy you asked! If we exceed our goal, we will use that money just the same – for Principal Photography of the film all the way to the final cut and into Post Production. Remember, our budget is more than our Kickstarter Campaign goal (minimal amount we need to raise to start production). 

What’s the release date? As of now, we’re aiming at Sundance Film festival release in February of 2013 or Berlinale Film Festival in March 2013.

Will the DVD be playable on my player/computer? Yes, we will be making the DVDs region free.

Can I give my reward as a gift? Yes, you can purchase a pledge and gift it to someone else. They will be notified about the gift and who it was from. We can even ship them their reward if you leave us a note.

Is my pledge amount publicly displayed? No. Only I will be able to see your pledge amount.

What if I don't want the incentive and I just want to support the project? That's totally cool. There is a button that you can select if you don’t want any reward. Also, if you want some of the rewards but not everything listed at a given level, that's fine too. Thanks!

Can I increase my pledge once it's been made? YES! Once you donate to the campaign, you may want to change your incentive reward to a different one, or increase your pledge amount. To do so, come back to this page and sign in. 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.

Who does the money go to? Every dollar (minus the fees for Kickstarter’s & Amazon's involvement) will go directly to Director Zoran Lisinac’s movie budget - i.e. Your money goes directly to the Principal Photography of this film.

$50,000 seems like a low number for a movie budget. Doesn’t it? You are correct. We have dedicated investors who have agreed to fund the remaining budget once we raise the initial $50,000 capital. The $50,000 figure is what is required to start Principal Photography this June, and once the goal of this Kickstarter campaign is met, it will open a flood gate of the remaining funding by our larger investors. Meeting this goal is imperative for this film to be a reality.

Is Metakwon Filmworks a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization? Unfortunately neither this indie film nor its production company is set up as a non-profit. Donations are raw gifts. Non-tax deductible.

How do we contact you? Glad you asked! You can contact us directly at MetakwonFilmworks@gmail.com. We check it every single day. We will get back to you. We promise!