This is a guest post by supporter kemp edmonds. a press release follows the post.
When I first met Andrew Lavigne and Jon Ornoy they were two guys with a dream to tell a story. At first it wasn’t clear what or who that story would be about. That was almost two years ago and now that I have had an opportunity to see some of what they documented in the quest to make this film. I know they have succeeded in telling a story that is full of hope, possibility and change. A true story about an amazing time in the history of humanity and Vancouver.
The shooting of the 30+ hours of film is complete but post-production is a very expensive process to get done right so it’s time that we turn this project inside out and that’s exactly what we intend to do with a social media campaign unlike any other.
The campaign turns to community at-large to support the completion of these amazing stories. In a Tweet and Toonie ($2) Torch Relay we hope to raise the $10,000 necessary to complete post-production of the film. Some stories need to be heard and this is one of them. This is a story about communities, for communities and now with our efforts, toonies or tweets made by communities.
For just $2 you can become a producer: your name will appear in a word cloud much like this. A $2 donation will show your name in size one font while a $200 donation will show your name in size 100 font. All fonts are proportional to the largest contribution. An image will be posted of the cloud and made available as a poster.
Enter to win a producer credit and copy of the film with a tweet: You can also enter to win a weekly prize of a DVD or digital copy of the film and a $20 producer credit (size 10 font). Each tweet represents an entry. winner will be chosen at random. All you have to do to enter the weekly draw is tweet one of these messages:
- I am a proud supporter and hopefully winner of a copy of the film #withglowinghearts and a producers credit! http://wghthemovie.ca
- Only $2 makes me a movie producer #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca
- I am entering to win a film credit and a copy of the film #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca
- Support local documentaries. Become a producer #withglowinghearts http://wghthemovie.ca
The film follows four different people who all work and live in Vancouver’s downtown eastside (one of the poorest postal codes in Canada) and how social media acts a beacon for social change for each person in different ways.
This vivacious and energetic 23 year old April Smith originally hails from Chicago, but after coming to Canada to attend UBC, she decided to stay and make Vancouver, specifically the DTES her home. Creating media and inspiring her neighbors is not only April’s way of healing her community but of healing herself as well. Using her favorite Social Media tool, Twitter @aprilfilms, she can reach out to her followers and give them information or encourage them to rise up.
If I can turn out more empowered, more knowledgeable, happy, positive people in this area, I’d like to be able to say that it’s a showcase, on my résumé, that I helped the community grow. Working with W2 and Fearless, if we can help bring together all communities to work and learn and grow from each other, that would be a wonderful, beautiful thing….
from Georgia Straight interview, April 10, 2009
One of three members of ahamedia.ca, a website birthed from a Fearless City workshop. She calls herself “a hyperlocal citizen journalist”, reporting from the DTES capturing events and profiling her neighbors, she shares the heart of her city with the world, cell phone in one hand and rallying her community with the other. Her story is at the heart of the message in With Glowing Hearts.
Garvin is a social justice advocate who lives in the DTES. He’s two-time winner of the ‘Hope in Shadows’ calendar photography contest, a unique project that gives a glimpse of the hope, spirit and courage of people living in the margins of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Typical of his generous nature, Garvin now gives training workshops to other residents wanting to participate and learn about photography. He is closely involved with important grassroots initiatives - Megaphone Mag and Hope in the Shadows Calendar and photo contest – to create positive change in his own life and lead those around him to see the power of real life social media.
The True North Media House is a virtual space for media creators to join together during the 2010 Winter Olympics. It began like this campaign and this film as an idea and a dream shared by a group of passionate individuals. Dave Olson and Kris Krug spearheaded the project and are featured prominently in With Glowing Hearts.
Irwin is the Executive Director of W2, a Dutch/Canadian artist and administrator doing cultural planning, cultural infrastructure development, and support for a media arts cluster in Vancouver’s inner-city. A long time DTES resident he has led such diverse ventures as the Under the Volcano Festival and Gallery Gachet.
The Press Release: