Tag Archives: IndieGoGo

“The Bicycle City:” The true story of how bicycles are bringing hope to a poverty-stricken city

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For a war-torn, impoverished city in Nicaragua, the words “pedal power” have taken on a dramatic new meaning. In director Greg Sucharew‘s independent documentary The Bicycle City, we meet a handful of individuals from the city of Rivas — a small coastal town in the second poorest country in Latin America — where an influx of over 20,000 donated bicycles has dramatically impacted the development and future of its people. For the past twenty-one years, Dave Schweidenback, founder and CEO of the New Jersey-based non-profit Pedals for Progress (P4P), has passionately overseen his organization’s acquisition of over 130,000 donated bicycles with the intention of getting them into the hands of some of the poorest communities in the world. As you can imagine, the shapes, colors, sizes, styles, and characteristics of these beloved cycles are as varied as the people who eventually own them. What happens once they arrive to this particular destination is the basis for Sucharew’s film, which highlights how Rivas is lifting itself out of poverty with the help of P4P’s donation program. We proudly lent our financial support to The Bicycle City‘s recent IndieGoGo campaign, and we simply cannot wait to see the final product. The film is currently in post-production and plans to undergo a second round of fundraising — a visit to their site will bring you to a “Donate” page where you can pledge your support with your dollars OR via the Pedals for Progress bicycle donation program. Either way, you’re guaranteed to make an impact on one or both of these stellar projects!

Pedal passion! "The Bicycle City" film crew, left to right: Gissel Rosario, Greg Sucharew, and Frank Trotta.

We hope you’ll take some time to visit The Bicycle City at TheBicycleCityFilm.com as well as Pedals for Progress at P4P.org. We’d like to extend a special thanks to our dear friend, Lowell resident, and fellow bicycle fanatic Marianne Gries, who first introduced us to The Bicycle City via an enthusiastic Tweet many, many months ago. We truly love hearing about any and all film projects, so please pass your discoveries along to us so we can stay informed on the great film that’s out there.

The Bicycle City. Trailer from Greg Sucharew on Vimeo.

Indie filmmaker Alexia Anastasio seeks fabulous redheaded femmes for her new project!

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LFC's Brett Cromwell & the magical Bill Plympton.

There’s absolutely NO shortage of great indie film projects out there, especially among the hundreds of IndieGoGo and Kickstarter ideas in queue. One of these impressive film artists seeking our collective financial support is Alexia Anastasio, whose current documentary Adventures in Plymptoons! showcases the brilliant work of Academy Award nominee, animator, and filmmaker Bill Plympton. We had the extreme pleasure of meeting both Anastasio and Plympton in person this weekend at a screening their film at Gloucester’s Cape Ann Community Cinema. This dynamic duo won us over with their exuberance and charm and of course it was a thrill for Suzz to finally meet Plympton — an artist she’s followed and adored since his late 80s debut — in person. She did her best not to gush.

Alexia Anastasio -- the reds have it!

We invite you to check out Anastasio’s current documentary project Ginger Girls: The Secret Lives of Redheads, which now has fiscal sponsorship via Fractured Atlas and is accepting donations under the name “I Believe Productions.” A self-proclaimed freckle-faced “ginger” herself, Anastasio will interview and photograph 500 girls from around the world, all of whom are blessed with natural red hair, in the hopes of capturing their personal stories (their “trials and tribulations of love, youth and successes,” according to Anastasio) and learning what separates these feisty, beautiful lasses from the rest of the gals. Anastasio’s Kickstarter bio snapshot reads as follows: Alexia is an artist, actress and filmmaker. She was featured in HBO’s Bored to Death, VH1 “If you like…” commerical and Vetiver “Everyday” music video. Her work on the feature documentaries include, Editor of “Vampira: The Movie,” Associate Producer of “The Wild World of Ted V. Mikels,” Producer of “7 Deadly Sins: Inside the Ecomm Cult,” Co-producer of “Beyond the Noise: My Transcendental Meditation Journey,” and Director of “Adventures in Plymptoons!,” a documentary on Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton among others.

Learn more about our newfound indie film friend Alexia Anastasio at AlexiaAnastasio.com and explore her Kickstarter project Ginger Girls HERE. We hope you’ll share this post with the beloved Gingers in your life! [And if you're reading this, Alexia, it was an absolute PLEASURE to meet you on Saturday -- we'll be in touch!] 

Indie film “GWAPA (Beautiful)” brings awareness to children suffering facial deformity in the Philippines

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This week we’d like to spotlight an IndieGoGo film project that came to our attention via fellow indie film supporter and Twitter friend, John Hoff III. We were instantly moved, and hope you’ll be as well, as this project will be coming to a close in just over 10 days and is in dire need of crowd funding help to reach its goal. The film, titled Gwapa (Beautiful), is spearheaded by Thirsty Girl Films, a self-described gritty group of passionate and award-winning filmmakers. Their fundraising page describes Gwapa as an “inspirational documentary” and their striking tag line, “Every child deserves the chance at a beautiful and healthy future,” nicely sums up what’s at the heart of this admirable project.

The making of GWAPA: ABOUT THE PROJECT
Gwapa, meaning beautiful in Visayan, is the fitting title of this vibrant, real-life story that follows two Filipino families and their struggle for a healthy future. Every year, 4,000-5,000 Filipino children are born with cleft lip, cleft palate, or both. Cleft lip and palate are two of the most common and curable of birth defects. Sadly, most clefts go unrepaired in developing countries. Just one surgery can change a child’s life forever. Gwapa (Beautiful) is Thirsty Girl Films’ first feature length documentary dedicated to bringing awareness to the high number of children born with cleft deformities in the Philippines and the great need for free reconstructive surgeries among the Filipino islands. This stunning and remarkable film will draw you into a powerful tale of strength, love, determination, and hope. Since many children need more than one reconstructive surgery, Gwapa (Beautiful) is told in two parts. Filming for the first part is complete, depicting the first round of successful surgeries that took place in early 2011. Thirsty Girl Films is raising funds to complete the film and come full circle so that they may go back to the Philippines in January to revisit the families as they undergo their second round of surgeries.

The above is just a brief introduction to what we know will be a truly remarkable film. We encourage you to read more about this project and show your support with a donation. We delight in giving to and discovering exciting film projects showcased on both IndieGoGo and Kickstarter – it’s a fantastic way to show your dedication to independent filmmakers the world over!

Learn more about GWAPA and Thirsty Girl Films’ IndieGoGo Project
Visit the Official Website for GWAPA (Beautiful) 

Lowell-inspired Kickstarter indie film project “Child Soldier: Sayon’s Story” gets full funding!

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Sayon Soeun's official transit photo taken during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Feeling like a philanthropic cinephile? If so, just give yourself a few hours to peruse Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, today’s hot crowd-funding sites. We’ve enjoyed investing a few dollars here and there on some amazing, diverse film projects, including our latest find, The Bicycle City. However, we’re quite excited to announce that the Lowell-centric documentary Child Soldier: Sayon’s Story has received FULL funding on Kickstarter and we have all of YOU to thank! So many of you have helped raise awareness for this film and its funding initiatives on your personal social networks and through word-of-mouth. We’re certain the filmmaking team — Director/Producer Janet Gardner of The Gardner Documentary Group and Co-Producer/Lowell resident Sopheap Theam — is ecstatic and ready to continue full steam ahead with this very anticipated project.

Though Child Soldier has reached its $15,000 goal, it still has just over 20 days to go until it receives funding on August 18. This means there’s still time to donate and give the filmmakers that little extra boost above and beyond their original ask. As any filmmaker will tell you, projects NEVER stay within budget — extra dollars means extra piece of mind. We’ll be right there with you as we plan on making our own pledge this week.

Here is the official synopsis of Child Soldier: Sayon’s Story, direct from its Kickstarter pledge page:

Sayon Soeun today: Cambodian activist, community supporter and Lowell resident.

There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers worldwide. This film shows how one of them came to grips with his childhood experiences, what he witnessed, and carried with him as he came of age. Child Soldier: Sayon’s Story tells the story of a former child-soldier under Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge. Abducted at the age of six, he is now a community activist in Lowell, Massachusetts. Sayon Soeun appears to be living the Khmer-American dream alongside his wife, her extended family, and a thriving Khmer community. However, painful questions persist concerning the years he spent under the brutal authority of the Khmer Rouge. After 35 years of absence, he recently made contact with three brothers and a sister he had assumed were dead. Sayon will follow up when he returns to Cambodia where he will search for the truth about a family he barely remembers and come to terms with his own experiences as a witness to genocidal crimes. He will be able to appreciate his cultural heritage, looted by the Khmer Rouge – the magnificent temples of Angkor.

We are great admirers of our dear friend Sayon, as are so many people here in the City of Lowell, which boasts the second highest Cambodian population right behind Long Beach, California. Supporting independent film is one of THE most rewarding things any motion picture fan can do — we hope you’ll be inspired to learn more about this admirable project, AND be inspired to contribute. Our sincerest thanks, and stay tuned for further updates as production continues!