KICKSTARTER

Thank you so much to everyone who has pledged! Your support and generosity for my thesis film is deeply appreciated! While we've passed the goal, any additional funds will only serve to make this film stronger. This is an ambitious project on a small budget, and my production will make good use of every dollar donated!

Thanks,

Lucas 

Director of Ghosts of the Aral Sea

Welcome to my kickstarter page! This film, which is my graduate thesis documentary, is a true passion project for me.  This documentary will seek to examine the consequences of the disappearance of the Aral Sea, once the world's fourth largest inland sea, on the local fishing communities in Central Asia. I will speak to medical professionals, fisherman, and farmers as they grapple with the complexities of the disaster.

For thousands of years, the Aral Sea provided fish, water, and transportation for the people of Karakalpakstan, but everything changed when the Soviets diverted its headwaters for their thirsty cotton crops –white gold. Over a period of sixty years, the Aral Sea began to diminish, and within the last decade, it has all but vanished.  In its wake: extreme summers and winters, poisonous dust storms, and mass exodus. Dozens of fishing boats, moldering in the salt flats and lining its barren shores, serve as a striking reminder of the irreparable tragedy of the Aral Sea. 

Funds will be used to cover production expenses: the cost of travel, equipment and living expenses from June through August.  I will also be working with a translator and production assistant during that time. Needless to say, this is still a very tight budget for such an ambitious film, so please spread the word and donate what you can!

Throughout production, I'll also be maintaining a donor-exclusive production blog and posting videos to keep my supporters up-to-date! 

The film will have a theatre premiere in NYC in 2012, and DVDs of "Ghosts of the Aral Sea" will also ship to donors at that time.