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Canary in a Coal Mine: A film about life with M.E.

Ember

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Our big push to the finish line
$200,000 is a big number in our lives and in the world of Kickstarter. However, in the world of professional, feature-length documentaries, it is a realistic but modest budget.

Some sample budgets of documentary films that have played at top festivals and gone on to have theatrical, TV, and online releases:
  • Under Our Skin (Lyme disease documentary) - just under $1 million
  • 5 Broken Cameras - $250,000 (Oscar nominee) - (shot using mostly home-video footage)
  • The Invisible War - $850,000 (Oscar nominee)
  • A Small Act - under $500,000
  • The Gatekeepers - 1.5 million euros (Oscar nominee)
  • Searching for Sugarman - $1 million (Oscar nominee)
  • Inside Job - $2 million (Oscar nominee)
Is it possible to make an excellent film for much less? Of course. And that’s what we’re trying to do!
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2,022 backers
$170,396 pledged
4 days to go

OUR GOAL: $200,000 and 6509 backers by November 22nd
 
aimossy

aimossy

Senior Member
Messages
1,106
fingers crossed they hit the 200,000 mark.
was great how Stephen Fry tweeted for the thunderclap ME and canary!:balloons:
 
Ember

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
graph.png


Steep climb...

2,337 backers
$195,015 pledged ;)
48 hours to go

OUR GOAL: $200,000 and 6509 backers by November 22nd
 
Ember

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Canary in a Coal Mine
GOOGLE HANGOUT ON AIR

We're organizing a Google Hangout On Air this Thursday at 2pm ET (11am PT, 7pm GMT).

https://plus.google.com/u/1/b/105719055640347233972/events/cl63kitkehhifa3u7aok5n8kn7k

Join the makers of Canary in a Coal Mine Director/Producer Jennifer Brea and Producer/DP Kiran Chitanvis. Omar Wasow will moderate.

Ask us anything and everything you ever wanted to know about M.E., us, the film.

Join/RSVP here: https://plus.google.com/u/1/b/105719055640347233972/events/cl63kitkehhifa3u7aok5n8kn7k

Once we're live, the streaming video will be embedded on the event page...as well as our Google Plus page: https://plus.google.com/ Canaryinacoalminefilm
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Ember

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
beaker said:
The one time I will be out at an dr. appt.
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I expect that I'll have to miss it too, beaker. With only $3,000 to go now, this hangout should be a celebration!

2,370 backers
$197,090 pledged
40 hours to go
 
aimossy

aimossy

Senior Member
Messages
1,106
:cry: i will have to miss it too.hope when I wake up it has hit the mark.jen looks so done in.what an amazing thing she is achieving.she seems so truly touched by this.i think she will do a great job at telling our story and giving a voice to us thru this her article in huff got me tearful.thank you Jennifer Brea.:love:
 
Ember

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Highlights

Canary in a Coal Mine
26 minutes ago
When I look at this number, I am both amazed and devastated. On the one hand, it's a testament to how powerful, as a community, we can be and on the other, a statement of just how much we have suffered.

I am so glad, that with this campaign and this film (and all the other crazy plans we are hatching), we might be able to take all that bad and invert it into something amazing. In fact, I think we already have!

We are not going to hit 6509 (that crown is worn by Bridegroom and I am more than happy to let them keep it! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bridegroommovie/bridegroom-an-american-love-story). We are, however, poised to enter into the top 20 of documentaries on Kickstarter in terms of both backers and funding.

Making it over $200,000 is an incredibly rare feat, reserved for documentaries EP'd by Robert Redford (Be Natural) or based on YouTube videos that went viral (1 million+ viewers) before the film was even conceived, and are now getting Oscar Buzz (again, Bridgefroom). I'm having someone try to figure out just how rare.

I am so proud to be part of this community!
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Ember

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Canary in a Coal Mine
about an hour ago · Edited
You are cordially invited to a virtual wrap party!

Starting NOW through Monday, on Google Plus.

https://plus.google.com/u/1/b/105719055640347233972/events/cph6dvhv0o4mtfhec26lsf8a4as

Suggest music videos - post selfies!

Post a photo, comment, or video in honor of the massive, incredible milestone we have just reached: $200,000+ for a feature-length documentary about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (http://j.mp/canarykickstarter) and maybe, the start of a new movement.

And we're not done yet - there's still twelve hours to add your name to this incredible foundation we've built.

We never anticipated how intense and emotional the experience of this Kickstarter campaign would be. We've received dozens of emails and comments from people describing this as a "coming out" experience, an experience that has already helped many to feel more visible in their communities or even within their own families.

- How has participating in this campaign or sharing the videos affected you and those around you?
- What has been your favorite moment of this campaign? Or favorite video?
- What do you hope for for your future? - What do you dream of for our future? - How do we get there, together?

This is an opportunity to reflect, but also to celebrate. Get creative! Embrace whimsy. The sillier, the better.

You can also post your photos and video to Twitter, hashtag, #seeME
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2,521 backers
$210,067 pledged ;):)
8 hours to go
 
Ember

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
With $212,266 and just two hours to go, Canary in a Coal Mine is now the 9th most-backed documentary in Kickstarter history!
 
Ember

Ember

Senior Member
Messages
2,115
Congratulations to Jen and Kira at $212,962!! Considering that Kickstarter and Amazon payments take about 7-10%, the cushion above $200,000 will help to defray their campaign costs. Including $2,500 from last week's special jury prize, they raised over $215,000.

Much work ahead...
.
So this invitation probably holds: “If you are interested in making a tax-deductible donation or investing in the project in a deeper way, email jen@canaryinacoalminefilm.com. We'd love to have a conversation.”
 
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