Posted: Monday, April 8, 2013 12:15 am
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i-based, Emmy-winning filmmaker Stephanie Castillo is celebrating a successful online fundraising campaign that will allow her to begin producing “Night Bird Song,” her 10th documentary.
In an April 2 press release, Castillo described the campaign finish at Kickstarter.com — an online fundraising site — as a “white-knuckle, nail-biting morning.”
“With just two hours before our deadline, we were still $8,300 short of our goal,” she said.
In the final hour of her 45-day campaign, a large number of pledges — big and small — came in to put Castillo above her $50,000 mark.
The film, which she plans to begin shooting this summer, will focus on the life of jazz musician Thomas Chapin.
Castillo’s friend and brother in law, Chapin emerged in the 1980s with a highly original style.
“As he rose to prominence in the downtown New York City scene and on the big jazz stages around the world, I had a chance to showcase him and his trio in Honolulu in 1993,” Castillo previously told The Garden Island. “I produced a short video for PBS Hawai‘i of the Thomas Chapin Trio performing at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Sadly, he passed away from leukemia five years later at age 40.”
Castillo’s new film will focus on Chapin’s life and legacy cut short.
“It was a wild ending to a 45-day wild ride, but so worth it,” Castillo said of the fundraising effort.
A total of 224 backers, pledging an average of $232, brought in a total of $51,552. Many, if not most, knew Chapin or had some connection to him, according to Castillo.
“Every name I did not recognize, I emailed and got these amazing stories back,” she said. “Thomas’ friends and fellow musicians were showing up … I saw the great reservoir of will, the great desire to get this film made, and it has inspired me to get it done.”
Moving forward, Castillo said she plans to finish her research interviews and begin conceptualizing the 90-minute documentary.
“This will tell me where I will be shooting, who and what,” she said. “It’s going to get very exciting, and if all goes well we will have some great footage to show to bigger backers, who will provide the big funds needed to complete the film.”
Read more: http://thegardenisland.com/business/local/castillo-reaches-fundraising-goal-to-shoot-documentary-on-jazz-musician/article_4e475e5e-a015-11e2-a9df-0019bb2963f4.html
0 Comments:
Post a Comment