Kickstarter

SHORT PITCH:

What if a writer living under a brutal dictatorship discovered a sequence of words so perfect it could change the world and end all human conflict? And what if, before he could complete the book it would appear in, he was arrested, tortured and imprisoned? What becomes of the phrase, and what happens to the man? How many times might this have happened in world history? 

Help us to bring their powerful tale to life to remind the world that great thinkers have been jailed and tortured just for their ideas. Help us remind everyone that each of us has a voice which should never be silenced.

HOW KICKSTARTER WORKS: 

People interested in funding our project can pledge any amount, and if the goal is met, investors in the project get various rewards based on the amount donated (see the list of rewards to the right). If the goal is not met, donors are not charged anything, and the film plans may have to be cancelled. However, on the other hand, if our team raises more than the goal, the additional funds will hugely expand our currently limited filmmaking options and ensure an even higher quality finished product! Kickstarter makes the film an international community project, and everyone who contributes becomes part of it, helping it come to the screen and assisting new talent to make a mark! You can be part of our voice by contributing to our fund!

Director on meeting or exceeding our goal!

A Dream On Fire - The Director Speaks from Michele Seidman on Vimeo.

We did meet our goal but you can still help! Click the video link above to learn why a few more donors would lighten our load! Once shooting begins, all updates will be on A Dream On Fires Facebook page!

CREW DETAILS:

                    1. THE WRITER

Blair Bourassa is a Canadian author who has received two international awards for his fiction. His prize-winning short story "A Dream on Fire" has been published in both Europe and North America, and already been translated into six other languages by fans and supporters. He has also recorded a voiceover narration for the film project at Drop Audio sound studio in Lithuania, with the assistance of audio engineer Robertas Maliauka. You can learn more about the author and his writing through his personal website at http://www.voiceinthewilderness.eu/, where the full text version of "A Dream on Fire", as well as Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Afrikaans, Chinese and Lithuanian translations, are available to interested readers.

                  2. THE DIRECTOR

Michele Seidman is an actress, director, producer. and owner of The Actors Edge & Auditions-R-Us. As an actress, she has appeared in film, TV programs and commercials (including Empire Records, Little Mouth To Feed, Dawson's Creek, Arthur Newman, Golf Pro, and Another Life). She is also the director and producer of indie film Zombie Wrangler - The documentary. A founding member of the Cape Fear Independent Film Festival, Michele serves on the Board of the Hampstead Foundation, is a volunteer for the Cucalorus Film Festival, a former Associate Member of the Board for the Cape Fear Film Makers Accord, and the CBW/CFO for The National Women in Blues.

         3. THE CINEMATOGRAPHER

                       Will Sredzienski

                    4. THE ACTORS

                           Don A. King

                           Jim Hartner

                 5. THE COMPOSER

                              Erwan Coic

Additional project members include associate producer David Jimerson of Wrightsville Beach Studios (http://wrightsvillebeachstudios.com/), make up artist Ash Crist, and sound engineer Jeff Babb, among others! This project has already been a long time in the making, and captured the hearts of many interested artistic contributors! You can find out more about our cast and crew on our Facebook page here: 

http://www.facebook.com/adreamonfire! 

WHY THIS STORY MATTERS: 

The story itself is timeless, and has relevance to us all. What happens when creativity is imprisoned? May this project serve to remind us of the true value of artistic expression in our lives.

The additional impact will be in showcasing talents. The author's talent at telling a story and adapting it for the screen, the director's ability to put together the right team on both sides of the camera, and the cinematographer's ability to visually capture and stimulate your senses. Our team of talented actors will bring the struggles of the main character to life, while the production team weaves it all together. We plan to submit this film to festivals around the world to showcase talents and open minds. Our goal is to shoot at the end of this summer!

Note from director Michele Seidman:  This is much more to me than just a story that needs to be told. Many people know I have had a lot of health stuff weigh me down but I worked around all the limitations and took on the skills I would need and now is the time for me to put them in to action. Making this will give me the chance to prove myself to my team and the film world. By donating you are saying, "We believe in this project and we know you can make it happen". This film can be a calling card to more work for the team! I sincerely think our author has a future that is very bright and I think once others discover him, it will be harder to get rights to his work. I am proud he is letting me kickstart his foray into film.

WHAT WE NEED / WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING:

We are seeking $2,800 to make the project possible and have broken down the basic costs below. If anyone wants to see a detailed list of every department the expenses will be coming from, please email the director, Michele Seidman, at micheleseidman@aol.com! We need insurance, and have a crew and cast to pay, as well as locations, kits, wardrobe, transportation, cameras and sound equipment to rent. Even on a super low budget, all that inevitably adds up!

General costs for three-day shoot:
Equipment: $300 (We bartered for camera equipment, lights and a bit more, and got huge discounts)

Talent: $800 (for the actors)

Crew: $800 (including coverage of talent, B unit and establishing shots)

Insurance, location rentals, and food: $800. (Food: yes, I will be cooking a lot to make sure and keep costs down and so my crew does not eat cold pizza nightly. After all, a film crew is a small army and an army moves best when well fed). 

And a $100 buffer for any last minute details that might come up to hinder the completion of the project.

Which comes to a total of around $2,800. The final product however, thanks to the extremely high-quality equipment and talent we will have privileged access to, is expected to appear like a film that cost three or four times what it actually did. We are bartering and have already made some great deals! Our main shooting location, for example, is being rented to us for nothing! Between that and other bargaining, we have driven our costs as low as we can without compromising the story and final look. Our author and others have stashed some cash just in case it turns out we need a bit more to get this done right but we sincerely need your help to get the ball rolling.

If you are not able to donate in any way, you can still help by spreading the word about this project with others. So please feel free to post it to your social network walls, blogs, news feeds, etc. And don't forget to use the title "A Dream On Fire" in your posts!!!