The Project

We did it! We funded our goal of $100K!  We now have enough pledges and seed money to start the filming!! Wooohooo!

Please keep sharing the project. We will continue accepting pledges here until the kickstarter campaign ends 8:33am on Monday morning. Thank you for building this forgiveness community. We couldn't have done it without you. We love you! Shawne, Teresa & The entire Project: Forgive Team

ATTN MEDIA: Thank you for your story requests. Please head here for immediate support in writing a story: www.shawnetv.com/media

Life happens.

We lose our jobs, we face bankruptcy and foreclosure. Some of us are dealing with a divorce, others of us are facing life threatening illnesses such as cancer. Culturally, we see deep political fighting, immigration issues, war, despair and violence. In the face of all this, how can we find the courage to forgive and cause a new realm of possibility, a new conversation?

We want to find out, so we're making a documentary that will dive into a simple, yet complicated inquiry. The film will include exquisite stories of courageous forgiveness from celebrities, thought leaders, and people whose stories have yet to be told. Just like the one that inspired us to create the film.

The Inspiration

A few years ago, a man named Gary received news that his wife Judy and their children, twelve-year-old Alex and nine-year-old Sam were hit by a drunk driver and did not survive. Project: Forgive Producer Shawne Duperon, is a friend of Gary's. What's more, the driver turned out to be yet another of Shawne's family friends, Tom Wellinger.

How do you make sense of this type of tragedy? When looking at Tom from Shawne's perspective, a conflict appears. On one hand, Tom is a drunk driver who took a family. On the other, Tom is a loving and kind man who made a horrific mistake.

A dilemma and a movie were created in that moment.

The ability to hold two very different perceptions at the same moment is where the breakthroughs lie.

Gary's ability to forgive Tom, inspired us to examine what we describe as an internal emotional maturity that our planet hasn't yet experienced. Project: Forgive explores how to hold conflicting thoughts and emotions at the same moment, allowing for miraculous breakthroughs regardless of any circumstance. 

When Marianne Williamson (www.mariannewilliamson.com) saw the video, her only word was "Wow."

Sonia Choquette (www.soniachoquette.com) and Master Charles Cannon (www.mastercharlescannon.com) pledged support for the project as well. The national media coverage is starting to come in. The world is ready.

The film is a deep inquiry through stories of forgiveness from the forgiver and from the forgiven, stories of success, and stories still in progress. Each of these stories will unveil the power of true forgiveness.

You, too, can play a critical role in the creation of this documentary with your Kickstarter pledge and story of forgiveness.

We Want Your Story

If we asked you to describe your greatest moment of courageous forgiveness, what would it be?

Maybe it was the courage to forgive yourself after losing a job or a failed business. It could have been the strength to leave a relationship and face the uncertainty of being alone. Maybe the security of the financial future you spent decades building was torn from you in the recession or by an unscrupulous fund manager.

Of course these pale in comparison if you've faced a life-threatening illness, witnessed your own child suffer or if you yourself were a child who saw death too soon or faced the indignities of abuse. Yet it's from events like these that emerges the greatest stories of hope, strength, courage - and the most amazing qualities of humankind.

And we want YOUR story. We will use every story we receive. No story is too big or too small. If inspired to share, your story will be added to the voices of others of remarkable grace who've found the other side. If your story doesn't appear in the film itself, it will be used for the book and DVD series we're also creating. This conversation is that important.

When you pledge any dollar amount, you'll automatically receive an email to send us your story, if that's something you're called to do

The Funding

Documentaries that include a theatrical release, celebrities and high-end production cost big money. We can start filming right away with $100,000. The money will go toward production, editing, and appeals for the additional funds to complete the project.

Any amount raised over the target will go toward making Project: Forgive even better. More money means more production value, more interviews, and an increased ability to spread the conversation of forgiveness.

As a backer, you'll take a front-row seat to the documentary's progress.

As a story contributor, you'll be forwarding the mission of laying down the swords for a new realm of possibility WITHIN the conversation of forgiveness.

Why Kickstarter

Crowd-sourced fundraising sites like Kickstarter have been an incredible boon to the independent documentary film community.  They democratize the process by allowing you, the consumer,  to support movies you want to see developed, while giving us, the production team,  the freedom to experiment, take risks and share deeply moving material without anyone else compromising our vision.  It's the kind of creative luxury that most major, established film studios simply can't afford.  At least, not until now.

Every month tens of thousands of amazing people pledge to projects from the worlds of music, art, film and technology and other creative fields. Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before it's time expires.

About the Project

Over a six-to-eight month period, our team will develop the film Project: Forgive.  Where it goes from there will unfold in real time for you,  the backers, to see.

We will document the creative process and release monthly video updates exclusively to Kickstarter backers. This documentary series will strive to make you as much a part of the film process as possible by showing the film creation from start to finish, with all the passion, humor, and heartbreak that happens along the way.  We're committed to total transparency with this project, ensuring it is one of the most honest depictions of film making ever conceived.

There will be a private online community set up for the backers to discuss the project with us and submit your thoughts and feelings about the film's content and direction, sometimes even voting on decisions when the production team can't decide.  We'll also be choosing stories from you to highlight in the film, along with the eventual DVD's and books. Once the film is finished, backers will receive the completed version for download.

For fans of documentaries that promote global conversations, this is your chance to prove there is still a large demand out there for a unique film experience that inspires forgiveness and love, something the world is craving.

Today Gary, who lost his family, says...

"I have never felt so loved. I feel more blessed
than any person should be."
-- Gary Weinstein

We are blessed by you allowing us to share our vision. Thank you for contributing your stories to the film. Thank you for your pledge support.