It's been a long time...

(copyright photo by Amy Peck)

A lot has happened since i posted my last update. Back in June I participated in a panel discussion for New York Women in Television and Film and Women Make Movies. The comprehensive, all-day seminar explored the diverse sources of funding available for independent film and video makers, including grants, television pre-sales and on-line communities. It was a great experience and I met a lot of really talented filmmakers. I also got some great ideas about fundraising from some of the incredibly talented filmmakers who participated in the event. After the panel I spoke at length with Women Make Movies founder Tracy Holder and coproducer of an American Masters biography of theater producer Joseph Papp. She raised $10,000 for her documentary by selling buttons. Needless to say I am now working with a very talented graphic designer who is helping me to design original merchandise to help fund my first feature documentary. More to come on that soon...

Just this month my fellow Profluence filmmakers received some excellent news regarding our first film Blind Faith: A Film About Seeing. The film won the honourable mention award at the 2010 Picture This Film Festival. The film will screen at the festival in Vancouver this February. This is our second award for the film, which won Best Soundtrack at the 2008 Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto. Blind Faith is actually available for viewing in it's entirety at Snag Films, an affiliate of IndieWIRE. Check it out here and please feel free to leave a comment and a rating! One of our subjects, Victorine Fludd, had her artwork featured in a recent exhibit at the University of California, Riverside and in a related Time Magazine article. You can view an online selection of some of the featured works from the exhibit here.

Finally, the photograph I included above was taken by a very talented photographer, Amy Peck, whom I met while filming at the United Nations. We were both there for the 15th Commemoration of the Rwanda Genocide. To date it was the most emotional shoot I have ever done. There were no dry eyes during the ceremony and many of the UN representatives broke down when addressing the crowd. UN Ambassador Susan Rice concluded her remarks by saying "We bow our heads to mark the memory of those who were slain. And we bow our heads to mark the sorrow of all who stood by."