Project Narrative:

In my short film La Fuente (The Fountain), a boy and girl meet at a Mexican fountain during three different stages of their lives. Their relationship evolves as they grow from childhood through their teen years to young adulthood.

You would think my audience would be children since my short film does not have the popular sex and violence of most of today’s films, which is true, but this film also will appeal to adults with its simple art of story-telling. Children’s stories have a moral that applies to everyone at all times.

I am using Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide by Chris Gore as a source for selecting appropriate film festivals, including children’s film festivals around the USA. Since my short film will be in Mexican Spanish, I will also submit it to a few film festivals in Mexico, and online distribution.

Public relations activities for my short film will include use of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks; posters and flyers for use at film festivals; and news releases to entertainment media.

Here is the timeline for completion of my short film La Fuente (The Fountain):

To finance this project, I have begun to seek funds from arts organizations, women’s organizations, and other public and private sources. I expect this to take several months.

Upon receipt of funding, I will select crew members and conduct a casting call, which should take about three weeks. I will hold a table reading with all of the actors, obtain signatures on release forms, make decisions about make-up and wardrobe, and select suitable music.

The filming location was going to be a fountain in the front yard of my next-door neighbors, who are Mexican. Their fountain inspired me to write the script, but we found out after scouting the location that it didn’t work because the fountain was too close the house and to a noisy street. I am still looking for a new location in the south Florida area.

When the film is complete, I will submit it to the film festivals I have selected, using electronic submission through FilmFreeway wherever possible to minimize costs and save trees. Then I will wait to see which film festivals accept my submission.

Budget:

My budget for this short film is $22,303.16. I will seek funds from smaller and larger grants and private sources. I will compile an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of expenses as I disburse them during all phases of the project.

Fundraising Strategy:

I wrote the script in May of 2009. At that time, I realized that I needed a fiscal sponsor to broaden my fundraising base, so I began looking for one and obtained it in September of 2009. My fiscal sponsor is From the Heart Productions

(http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/) and (https://chatterboxproductions.wedid.it/campaigns/9679-la-fuente-the-fountain)

As of August 26, 2011, I received my first funding of $5,000 from the Motorola Mobility Foundation Empowerment Grant.

I’m continuing to seek suitable grant providers through personal contacts and Internet research (including membership on e-newsletter lists of funding sources) for the additional funding.

Other Information:

The funds will be used for casting, pre-production, production, and post-production of the short film La Fuente (The Fountain).

I hope to get my short film into film festivals such as Sundance, Miami International, Hispanic, Latin, and children’s film festivals, and showcases such as Southern Circuit – Tour of Independent Filmmakers, and be part of short-film TV programming on cable or PBS.

Also, I want to showcase the production crews and acting talent of the South Florida area. I want to show that Miami is more than just a location, that projects can undergo development, production, and post-production – all within South Florida. I hope my feature films and TV pilots will help the local economy.

The film is consistent with the objectives because it tells a story with an appeal that is both culturally based and universal. The two characters – a boy and a girl who meet at a fountain – depict through brief and poignant encounters the human interactions that occur at various stages in their lives.

 

Thank you!
Marjory E. Leposky
website: https://www.facebook.com/groups/202797319773252/