About this project
HANDY - starring FRANCO NERO.
$37,249
451
-Dear backers...friends...it has been an amazing run...
I will never forget this kickstarter, so much pressure, so much tension, so much networking and so many videos. I worked a lot to make you laugh and smile...but without you ALL THIS was not going to be possible.
I leave you all my channels just in case you need to contact me further for all your future needs and questions.
Thanks again to all of you,
Vincenzo and Handy
- my personal youtube channel (subscribe :-)
- my personal facebook page (like :-)
- Handy's facebook page
- my personal twitter
Making Of Handy (Extract) - Il Dietro le Quinte di Handy (estratto).
ITALIANO: (for English, scroll down)
(for English, scroll down)
Ciao, spero ti sia piaciuto il primo video col trailer! In questo secondo video (clicca qui) descrivo i premi (ti consiglio di vederlo).
L'unica regola di questa raccolta fondi è la seguente: Qualsiasi premio sceglierete o cifra darete...la vostra carta di credito NON verrà caricata se io non raggiungerò i 30.000 dollari entro giorno 13 giugno.
Ovvero, non prendo nemmeno 1 dollaro.
Quindi potete puntare tranquillamente sino a giorno 13 giugno 2015 senza che venga preso il vostro contributo.
Perché ho scelto questa modalità invece di un'altra?
Per tutelare chi punterà su di me oltre a dare un segnale di indipendenza.
Quindi se raggiungo 30.000 vinciamo tutti, se non raggiungo 30.000 perdo solo io. Potevo andare su un'altra piattaforma di raccolta fondi e qualsiasi cosa la gente mi avrebbe potuto donare, l'avrei racimolata.
Qui no, o tutto o niente.
Garantisce voi. Non me. Ma mi va bene.
Mi metto pure questo sulle spalle oggi.
La possibilità di fallire.
30.000 o niente.
Ho fatto questo film per portare una immagine diversa dell'Italia e della Sicilia all'estero e cercherò con questi soldi di portare HANDY nei cinema americani in maniera indipendente.
Questa è stata la mia scelta perché vorrei che questo film rappresentasse un cambiamento per come viene vista la SICILIA all'estero.
Molti film tra cui "il Padrino" (per quanto io lo ami) ha dato un'immagine sbagliata di noi siciliani, di noi italiani.
Noi abbiamo una terra stupenda....e TUTTA la nostra Nazione lo è.
Quindi è vero, se non raggiungo 30.000 fallirò io in primis come immagine di questo progetto e chi ha lavorato su questo film, amici e tanti bravissimi talenti (Andrea Galatà, Gianfranco Tortora, il mio compositore Sveinung).
Gente che ha dato tutto per questo film, gente che si è spinta oltre.
Quindi perchè ho deciso di fare un film proprio sulle mani? Perché tutti le abbiamo e possiamo fare grandi cose con queste, aiutando il prossimo invece che attaccarci a vicenda.
Aiutare ad alzarci invece che puntare il dito.
Mi sono rotto le ossa per 4 anni per fare questo film con quei pochi risparmi che avevo (13.000 euro) per lanciare un messagio.
Ero io, il mio computer, la mia telecamera i miei genitori e alcuni amici che non mi hanno mai mollato. Ci vogliono un casino di soldi per portare un film nei cinema in maniera indipendente (affitto cinema, marketing, doppiaggio - o perlomeno i sottotitoli...etc) e solo così potrò farcela...altrimenti non me lo faranno passare perché non ho mai avuto la fortuna di conoscere qualcuno che potesse "cambiare le cose", non ho le connessioni giuste e tanto altro.
Magari qualcuno di importante ci aiuterà in futuro diventando il nostro eroe...ma sino a quel giorno dovremmo contare sulle nostre forze.
Sono solo un ragazzo al suo primo film e tenterò nel mio piccolo di fare solo film che possano renderci orgogliosi del nostro essere italiani all'estero, guardandoci indietro tra 10, 20 anni, 30 anni.
Handy, è uno di questi film.
Non è un capolavoro, lo so.
Ma è quello che sono riuscito a fare col poco che avevo...e col poco con cui vorrete partecipare so di poter fare molto.
Confido in quei pochi che vorranno agire, anche semplicemente condividendo e spargendo la voce o ancora di più...contribuendo :)
In cambio, come già detto, ci saranno dei premi in base a quanto verrà versato.
Sino ad oggi le raccolte fondi sono state utilizzate per "creare" i films, oggi voglio provare ad utilizzare una raccolta fondi per portare questo mio film al cinema...ci riuscirò?
Non lo so ancora.
Se dovessi riuscirici spero col cuore che questo sistema possa essere utilizzato in futuro per portare il proprio film al cinema dando giustizia al proprio lavoro di artista.
Perché ogni artista merita il proprio spazio senza farsi "sfruttare" da determinate offerte e condizioni di distribuzione non "chiare".
Ho visto registi indipendenti fare films straordinari e non avere il giusto sbocco solo perché non avevano avuto la fortuna di trovare la persona giusta.
Tutto questo deve finire. Questa modalità (qualora dovesse funzionare) potrebbe essere un piccolo inizio per dare giustizia a tutte quelle persone che lavorano sodo senza essere giustamente ricompensate per quanto danno...indipendentemente dal lavoro che si fa.
Vorrei che questo film simboleggiasse un segnale di indipendenza ed è per questo che ho scelto di fare partire questa raccolta fondi il 25 di aprile, il nostro giorno di indipendenza italiana.
Grazie per avermi letto...
Grazie di cuore...anzi, di mano. :)
Vincenzo Cosentino.
25 Aprile 2015.
Articoli e Recensioni (clicca per leggere):
- Wired - Indiewire - AMFM - Daily Pilot - Blogo - SociArt - Barbadillo - AgoraVox - Cleveland - Heartland
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ENGLISH:
Hi everyhand...I mean everyone!
I hope you liked the main intro video at the top and I am happy that you and your hands are still here with us!
(be prepared for the second video, hold your hands)
My name is Vincenzo Cosentino, an Italian filmmaker hailing from Sicily who COMPLETED his first (self-produced) feature film named Handy (in English) starring Franco Nero (Django, Camelot, Keoma)....but now I need your "hand": I am setting up a minimum goal of 30.000 dollars to release my movie in cinemas...and without your help/hand...I can't.
I gave all of myself to make this movie, I faced so many rejections before bringing it to life. I wish I heard about Kickstarter when I began making this movie, probably I would have had your help and support 5 years ago when all this truly...began. I want to bring a new and fresh image of Italy with this movie, I tried to make a movie that could bring people together.
I will try my best to create a great campaign, even if I won't get funded.
Here, you will have fun.
In exchange for your help I will give a lot of rewards (you can see some of them in the video below)
Articles and Reviews:
- Indiewire - AMFM - Daily Pilot - Cleveland - Heartland - Wired - Blogo - SociArt - Barbadillo - AgoraVox
*REWARDS VIDEO*
SECOND VIDEO:
DESCRIBING THE REWARDS
(video che descrive i premi)
.
THIRD VIDEO:
FRANCO NERO's interview about HANDY. -
This interview was recorded right after we finished filming his part in 2009. Looking at this interview now makes me a little bit nostalgic but I am happy to see that Franco was happy to be in my movie even if I didn't have a real film crew. He believed in me and this gave me a very important motivation for the next years in finishing Handy.
A movie filmed in MORE THAN 20 COUNTRIES around the globe.
One of the greatest things about Handy was the support I had from film festivals, since I made my very first short films.
Film Festivals were so generous to pay for my travels, food, hotels when they were selecting my short films for their annual events...and I thought to do something special during those travels...I decided to film my right hand everywhere I was going. So...yes, the footage you see in the movie is real, I was really there filming my hand in more than 20 countries around the globe :-)
It's NOT only about hands.
It's more about us, about people.
See, Handy might seem only a comedy but it is not.
My movie is all about the "hand concept" of how we (the humans) use our hands. We can use our hands for war and cruel actions or we could use our hands to love and help the others.
This movie is shot from the point of view of our hands.
Think about it, when someone uses a gun...he is actually forcing his hand to pull the trigger. From a hand point of view...this is "slavery".
So, what your hand could/would do if "he" was able to break free and live his own life?
Most of the people you will see in the movie are not just talented actors, they are my close friends too. They have been really helpful, incredibly helpful.
SOMETHING FRESH
Many people thought (and still rightfully think) that I was crazy to make a movie almost by myself with no money for all these years...but the truth is that I was moved from the inside by the will of creating something new.
The will of creating a movie with a deep message inside it.
I tried to create something completely fresh for you.
I thought that (probably) I was not the only one to be fed up with all those Hollywood blockbusters (copy and paste) movies.
I wanted to make a movie that kids can enjoy while we (the adults) can taste its inside meanings, allegory, parody...all narrated from a hand point of view.
We all have hands and sometimes we forget how important they truly are for us in terms of emotions and feelings.
There are more than 6 billion people around the globe, we are different in so many aspects (language, skin, culture) but the thing we have in commons is.....HANDS.
Hands are the first thing you touch in a newborn.
You hold tight the hand of your loved one.
The wedding ring goes in the hand that you love the most and so on...
...So no, it is not a movie "just about hands", it is a movie deeply connected to who we really are...because, most of all,"Handy" is a love story.
I wanted to make a movie that could make people smile...but also think about our life and how we could improve it by using our hands for good things instead of bad things.
HANDY: 4 YEARS MAKING OF.
One of the particular facts of this movie is that I spent 4 years of my life on it because I didn't have the luck to find a producer to believe and invest in this crazy idea.
There is not much you can do if you don't have the necessary money/budget to make a feature film.
I could not pay film professionals in order to help me out so I had to cover many film roles....I had amazing friends who helped me out in many situations, but they were not from the film world.
I made the movie in Sicily, not in Hollywood :-)
There are a lot of amazing filmmakers also in Rome and Milan but I did most of the movie in Sicily. Here we have great people and locations but very few filmmakers around so my chances to find a filmmaker (willing to help me for free) were very little..well, let's say it was easier to find Jack alive at the end of the movie Titanic. That is why I was blessed on having amazing friends and family members. They were my little film crew, my amazing little film crew.
During my movie I had to create most of my sets basing on what I had, which was almost nothing. I had to push my creativity a lot in order to find solutions and alternatives to create what I had in mind.
I wanted to complete this movie because I wanted to prove myself that it was possible. I thought about all the young filmmakers like me who had been rejected by film producers.
I took a small video camera and I recorded just about everything I did, explaining everything to a "virtual you". I wanted to give strength to this "virtual filmmaker friend/dreamer" by saying:
"if I can make it, you can make it."
Trust me when I say that this was the main reason why I didn't give up after the first 2 years and a half.
I spent most of the time on the Visual Effects software because I was spending about 25/35 minutes per frame to make the hands look real. If you consider that in every second there are 25 frames, you can imagine how much time I have spent just on visual effects. I had a very small 13inch laptop and that was one of the major factors of my never-ending movie.
If I could have had 1 dollar for every time my little laptop crashed.....this project would have been funded on day 1 of this crowd funding campaign LOL (then luckily, I was able to buy a new laptop...so the last 6 months I looked like a Ferrari compared to the previous 3 years and a half, but don't get me wrong...I still love my first laptop. A LOT).
Making this movie was a nightmare. I had to learn how to use all the software and programs. I learned how to edit, how to do the visual effects, how to use the camera properly for a visual effect movie, creating most of the props you see in the movie, creating the dolly, the crane...I mean...you name it.
Then I was lucky to meet a great composer (Sveinung Nygaard) and a great audio mixer (Gianfranco Tortora). They helped me a lot making a great soundtrack/sound mix...and now finally, Handy is here. :-)
There were MANY times where I wanted to say "I quit and I will start doing something easier". But the message that this movie was bringing along with its story was too important...and this drove me forward to complete it.
The script and the actual story were really hard too.
I had to write a story about an inanimate character, creating emotions around a hand, giving a soul to his 5 little fingers and when I got accepted in Film Festivals I was really happy...because I made this movie practically "locked up" in my house in Sicily so I didn't know what people could think about it. I was scared. I felt better only after my world premiere at the Austin film festival where I could see people happy about it.
I remember that I was feverish that day and I wanted to escape from the cinema because I could not handle the pressure of my 4 years work concentrated in just one night, in just 80 minutes.
If you are a filmmaker or an artist or more simply a dreamer, you know that feeling.
That feeling of stepping into the unknown, when you expose your soul to people you have never met before.
For the audience it is just 80 minutes movie...for you that movie/painting/art work is your life.
That is why I think I got fever the day of the Austin premiere.
4 years pressure inside a "80 minutes pill". All at once.
Sbam, Dead Hand Walking.
So if you want to make a feature film be sure to have a strong stomach and bring an aspirin or 2. Maybe 3.
Ok, just bring morphine with you. Just to be sure.
FILM FESTIVALS:
Handy screened at film festivals in Austin, Cleveland, Atlanta, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Orlando, Fantasporto (in Portugal)...and these festivals were the greatest joy ever for me. Because it is really hard to be accepted in these film festivals...so this was a proof (for me) that I was not totally insane about making this movie.
BUT this was not enough to reach the FAIR distribution deal I was aiming for so I am here now to distribute Handy thanks to your help in order to be SURE that you can watch it in the best possible way...directly from the creators (me and Handy).
And, if you attended one of the Festivals, be aware that this will be an improved version of the movie with a surprise on it as well.
Plus there is going to be a new credit list with all the people and hands that will help me with this campaign.
It is one of kind movie and this is the only place where you can have it since there is no distribution available.
A MESSAGE TO THE BACKERS :-)
My next movie will be a normal one, I promise....but my first movie HAD to be something out of the box because I wanted to give people a little ALTERNATIVE.
I saw too many OUTSTANDING independent films and filmmakers during the festival circuit and WE deserve more. Because Independent filmmakers make movies for you...but most of the times our hard work disappear after the festival circuit.
I made this movie for you, for the audience...and If I never gave up on it...it was because I gave all myself to make this movie happen.
ALL the money will go in marketing, distribution, advertising, platforms, cinemas.
CREATORS I WOULD LIKE TO THANK.
It would be unfair to not say thank you to some amazing creators I have found here on kickstarter that gave me lots of good advices for this campaign.
I contacted many projects creators and only few replied, 3 among them all were REALLY helpful with their precious advices.
One person is my friend and amazingly talented filmmaker Gleb, I met him at the Atlanta film festival in 2014. Another person who was very kind was Sandro, an italian filmmaker who was really kind and extremely supportive.
The third person I would like to thank is Ann, I never met her BUT she was so helpful with her advices.
They made 3 amazing and already succesfully funded projects and they have been really supportive. Thanks a lot guys.
I hope I can join you in the Funded Projects Section!
And now please let me thank all my friends and, especially...my parents and the people who love me the most. At this moment I am completely scared about losing this "battle" because I don't know if I will succeed in this campaign, but I will try my best to make this campaign memorable for everyone who will join it. Thanks for reading my crazy thought guys...and thanks to all of you who will decide to join or at least share :-)
- my personal youtube channel
- my personal facebook page
- Handy's facebook page
- my personal twitter (I use facebook more though)
- here is the special group to all the people who want to support Handy.
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Related articles/references.
- Indiewire article
- Daily Pilot article
- Cleveland Film Festival article
- Heartland Film Festival article
- Atlanta Film Festival article
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Related video interviews where I talked more in depth about my independent movie HANDY.
Some of my past short films can be found inside my personal facebook page.
Risks and challenges
- The movie is done, it is a completed movie so you do NOT risk anything by backing a project or something that it is in my mind and that could go wrong.
You are actually helping me with something that exists. I am here to try to put my first feature film out there and without you....I can't.
The only possible delay could be due to the release date as I want to release the movie properly.
For example. If I collect 30,000 dollars I will be able to do just a really small theatrical release so I will be able to plan it easily and give you the movie sooner on DVD and Digital Download.
As you know, I can't give you the movie BEFORE the theatrical release.
If, by some sort of miracle, I collect more than 30,000 dollars it means that I will have to plan a bigger theatrical release and this could lead me to shifting the release of the movie by a month or two...but you will be CONSTANTLY updated.
- SHIPPING COSTS: I will mainly ship through express courier so that I can track each package and being SURE that you receive your reward.
Once you've received it, please send me a message here.
- The campaign has just begun and, at the moment, I can only count on my 2 hands and the hands of my closest friends...I am not the Warner Brothers or the Paramount Pictures...but I will work hard to give all your rewards on time and I will NOT leave you alone even after the campaign ends. I will CONSTANTLY give you updates. Even after MONTHS you will receive your reward!
You have my word, you have Vincenzo Cosentino's word.
A name that today means nothing to you, but you will see through FACTS how constant and determined I am in EVERYTHING I DO.
We will win this battle together. Yes, I am talking like Brave Heart, I mean...Brave Hand.
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Funding period
- (49 days)