I Need your help
Will you stand with me? I need your help to complete a documentary film that is scheduled to be released in Indianapolis on Saturday, March 23, 2019, called We Are Family. Specifically, I need your help to make the story come alive through financing a sound track and final video production costs.
Why the story should be told
Racial divides continue in our nation. But in the darkness of division there are stories of hope. The We Are Family documentary tells the inspiring story of how a basketball team from an urban school in the heart of Hoosier basketball country united around an impossible dream, how they forged a bond as family and how they inspired a whole community.
After Arsenal Tech High School in downtown Indianapolis won the Indiana High School Basketball Championship in March 2014, Bob Kravitz, a journalist for the Indianapolis Star wrote:
“Landmark State Title proves inspiration to entire Tech community”
“From the time they are young, these kids who attend Indianapolis Public Schools are told they can’t. Parents try, teachers try, mentors try to lift them up and out of their circumstances, but the lowly graduation rates at schools such as Arsenal Tech do not lie, nor does the alarming drop-out rate.
On Saturday night at Bankers Life, though, the talented and composed young men of Arsenal Tech believed they could do something very special, something that hasn’t been done since Broad Ripple earned the IPS’ last state title in 1980. And they did, knocking off Lake Central, 63-59, winning the Class 4A state title, showing everybody, yes, they could.
Sixty years ago this week, Milan won one for all those small schools.
Saturday night, Tech won one for all the schools and the students who have been told they aren’t good enough to ascend the greatest heights.
Remember the Titans.”
We Are Family remembers the Titans by telling the story of that season. It explores the impact of this victory on the lives of the players, coaches, school and Indianapolis Public School community five years later. It proves that the relationships that are built when a team comes together as a family really do endure.
I believe that this story is important because it tells the truth about what happened – and what can happen – in inner city schools. I know this personally. For thirteen years our family lived in Indy we were a part of Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). Our kids attended IPS schools. And the IPS community became a family to us. This is my way of saying “thanks” to and standing in solidarity with IPS.
I’ve been working on this project for the last four years. Now I need your help to raise $25,000 to pay for a sound track and final video production costs to bring the project to completion. Will you help me tell this story?
Kickstarter Campaign Costs and rewards
To raise $25,000, I am launching a Kickstarter “crowd-funding” campaign on November 1st, 2018. The way Kickstarter works is that people sponsor a creative project through an on-line donation and receive a reward in return. If the project meets its goal that money will be debited. If the project does not meet its goal then that money is not debited. In other words, it is all or nothing!
Budget for the WE ARE FAMILY Kickstarter project
- $ 8,000 Musicians/Composers
- $ 2,000 Sound Track Mix/Mastering
- $1,000 Documentary Trailer
- $7,500 Video editing
- $3,250 Production Costs
- $ 2,000 Rewards Cost for art prints, shipping and handling, etc.
- $1,250 Kickstarter Percentage, 5%
Rewards for giving to the WE ARE FAMILY Kickstarter project
- Friends who support this project at $10 will receive a digital version of the sound track.
- Friends who support this project at $40 will receive a digital version of the movie.
- Friends who support this project at $100 will receive a digital version of the “uncut” movie: bloopers, extra footage, etc.
- Patrons who support this project at $200, $400, $600 and $800 get to choose a beautiful print of one of two of my brother Jed’s paintings – either “The Golden Hour” or “Good Morning Indy”.[i]
- Producers who support this project at or above $1,000 will receive the following:
- Named in the credits of We are Family as a Producer.
- Invitation to a VIP documentary release party in Indianapolis, IN on Saturday, March 23rd, 2019
- Public thanks at the release of the documentary in Indianapolis, March 23rd, 2019.
- Mega-Producers who support this project at or above $5,000 will receive all of the above plus:
The Team
I’ve assembled a great team of video editors/producers and musicians/composers to complete the documentary. I want to tell the story in a way that packs a punch. I’m thrilled that some of the contributors are IPS and Arsenal Tech alumni.
Two ways you can stand with us
Here are two ways that you can stand with us in bringing this story to completion:
- Contribute to the Kickstarter Campaign: On November 1st I will share the link to our Kickstarter campaign. Any amount of support helps!
- Advocate for the Kickstarter Campaign: Advocate for the project when the 30 day Kickstarter campaign launches on Nov. 1 by:
- sending a personal e-mail/text to five friends with the kickstarter link asking them to stand with us in this project.
- sharing the kickstarter project on your social media platforms.
Thanks for standing with us on this project!
We are Family is being produced by Sunnyshore Studio: http://www.sunnyshorestudio.com
You can learn more about our project here:
[i] Jed is a full-time artist who lived in Indy and was a big fan during that Championship season. He is offering us prints of these two paintings at his cost. To learn more about Jed and his art: www.Jeddorseyart.com
[ii]Sunnyshore Studio is located on Camano Island, in Washington State. Learn more here: www.sunnyshorestudio.com
[iii] In his work as a Presbyterian pastor, Jason Dorsey has developed a curriculum that helps people understand their identity and step boldly into their calling. It is called “Identity Mapping”. The Identity Discovery Session is a two hour session where Jason listens to your story and helps you name your Identity. In the Life Coaching sessions he helps you identify your roles and responsibilities in each sphere of your calling: personal, family, work, community and place and coach you