A documentary about Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi, a wildlife organization that provides sanctuary to victims of the illegal animal trade. Read more
This project will only be funded if at least $12,600 is pledged by .
A documentary about Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi, a wildlife organization that provides sanctuary to victims of the illegal animal trade.
About this project
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The Story
Our documentary will tell the story of Communidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY), a Bolivian wildlife organization set in the Amazon that gives sanctuary to victims of illegal animal trafficking. Since 1996, volunteers and backpackers from all over the globe have traveled to its refuges to help animals in a truly unique and life-altering way.
Volunteers work directly with CIWY’s rescued wildlife, which consist of hundreds of species of birds, small mammals, primates, and big cats. These animals have been rescued from a life of abuse and neglect from circuses, poachers, and people’s homes. CIWY tries to provide the best possible life for its animals by allowing them to roam, under supervision, for 8-10 hours a day in their natural habitat.
Illegal animal trafficking continues to persevere in Bolivia, an issue that the government addresses, unfortunately, with little priority. CIWY has stepped in as a true pioneer for wildlife management in the country, starting out with just one spider monkey back in 1996 and eventually evolving into Bolivia’s leading wildlife care administration. Jane Goodall is an active supporter of the organization and publicly named CIWY’s co-founder, Juan Carlos Antezana, as one of her heroes in 2006.
At CIWY’s three wildlife reserves—Parque Machía, Ambue Ari, and Jacj Cuisi—volunteer duties include animal socialization, feeding, maintenance, exercise, and rehabilitation. Basically, volunteers have the access to play with monkeys and run after a jaguar through the jungle with nothing more then a thick rope between them. Sounds pretty wild, right? We want to take our cameras down there in hopes of sharing CIWY’s essence and story with a wider audience.
Our documentary will provide a look at CIWY's methods, its passionate and diverse volunteer community, and the deep relationships forged between animals who are given refuge and the humans who take care of them. We believe larger awareness of this organization and its mission could make a huge difference in educating people about the illegal animal trade and, in the long run, help improve the conditions for so many animals in need.
Why film this documentary now?
Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi currently faces a large number of struggles. Parque Ambue Ari is surrounded by farms that practice “slash and burn” agriculture techniques, which greatly puts the refuge at risk for fire and over-population. CIWY’s staff has also been stretched thin to properly care for all of its animals, especially during the rainy season, when volunteer numbers drop to dangerously low proportions. Without any monetary support from the government, CIWY is constantly battling to find sufficient funding to keep up with supplies, medications, transportation and proper care for the influx of abused exotics that are given refuge at its three parks. We believe this documentary will give CIWY the publicity needed to bring in more volunteers and support for the organization!
Rewards
CIWY Artist-in-Residence JP Miller has graciously allowed us to use some of his exclusive photographs from his time at Parque Ambue Ari for our $1,000 tier reward. These stunning images will be made into 20 x 30 inch prints on metallic pearl paper. Our donors can choose one image of the following four that they like the best!
Who We Are
Back in 2009, the co-directors, Liz and Sara, met online (yes, we met on CIWY’s Facebook page) and decided to throw caution to the wind. We traveled to Parque Machía, CIWY’s founding park, where we spent three months as volunteers. Our first trip out of the country at the ripe old age of 20, the experience made a profound impression on us both and awakened an overwhelming passion for travel and adventure. Flash forward six years, and here we are. Liz is a 2015 National Geographic Young Explorer who is currently pursuing a Masters degree at NYU, and Sara works as a professional filmmaker in Chicago, IL.
Still in close contact since that first trip, our deep and lasting friendship roots back to the days we spent in the jungles of Bolivia, where we shared the adventure of volunteering with CIWY together. Now, we have begun to co-direct and produce a documentary about the organization that sparked so much inspiration.
Our team also includes an amazing cinematographer and documentarian, Jesse Rosenberg. As an award-winning filmmaker, he will be bringing an unbelievable amount of depth and talent to this project. Check out his reel here.
Why We Need You
Shooting a film is not easy, nor is it cheap. Even with support from our sponsors (THANK YOU LOWEPRO, GOAL ZERO, SEAGATE, and NY Times photographer Noah Friedman-Rudovsky for providing us our gorgeous campaign photo up top!), we still need to raise additional funds for visas, plane tickets, transportation, professional video and sound equipment, and safety gear, not to mention backups of everything—you know, in case a monkey runs off with our stuff. Believe it or not, the local animals confiscating our equipment is just one example of the type of situations we are constantly thinking about and meticulously planning for. We have created a solid budget of the absolute essentials we need to get the ball rolling on this baby of ours and that’s where you come in.
How Can You Help, You ask?
Make a pledge today via Kickstarter. Any contribution, no matter how small or large, will make a huge difference. And all contributions will be rewarded! Please check out our special rewards to the right. We think you’ll dig ‘em and we want to share this process with you! Be a part of our team!
You can also help spreading the word by telling your friends, family and social networks about our film and this Kickstarter campaign. Please send the URL of this page with a heartfelt endorsement to everyone you know! "Like" and Share us via Facebook and Twitter, and by email or blogging. Encourage people to follow us for updates along the way! (not to mention the adorable photos and videos of CIWY’s many resident animals!)
If you want to do some volunteering of your own, check out what it's like to work at Inti Wara Yassi here.
And finally, if you have other great ideas on how to help or just want to say hey, let us know! We're so excited to have you be a part of this wild endeavor with us.
Risks and challenges
Obviously there is an inherent risk and challenge when traveling to a foreign country while towing a bunch of expensive camera equipment with you, let alone remote jungle locations. Couple that with close encounters of the furry, wild kind, and well, you see where we're going with this. We need extras of EVERYTHING.
We plan to tackle these challenges with proper insurance and a buffer built into our budget just in case any unexpected obstacles arise. Being seasoned travelers and professional filmmakers, we are used to being flexible, adaptable, and figuring out creative solutions to problems quickly. We know that preparation is key, thus we will prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Having the full support of CIWY is also an invaluable resource in terms of traveling safely throughout the country.
Special Thanks to: Mark Craig, Susan Harrington, Cole Richardson, Anthony Davis, Simon Small, Paul Lazaar, Erin Hughes, and Rasmus Brix!
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