Leslie Foster, director of the documentary “Until We Have Faces” contacted me today, filled with excitement and frustration.
In February, we had Leslie on the podcast to discuss documentary filmmaking. Part of that discussion included the documentary he is currently working on, Until We Have Faces, a film that “explores the complexity of violent homophobia in Jamaica and the hope, bravery, and endurance of the amazing LGBT community there.” As we wrapped up the episode, we promised to keep you in the loop as the Traveling Muse team progressed into the next stage of post production.
The excitement in Leslie’s appearing-faster-in-my-Gmail-chat-bar-faster-than-I-could-read-them texts came from how well the documentary is coming along. It’s editing together quite splendidly. On top of that, they have reached out to some notable (and for the time being, yet-to-be-announced) celebrities. These celebrities would be lending their voices, their faces, and their own experiences to the stories of LGBT Jamaicans who wanted to share their stories but feared what might happen should they appear on camera. I’ve seen Leslie’s short list of artists he’s reached out to and their involvement would bring a lot more attention to the documentary and ultimately, to this terrible subject.
There was an inbetween-the-lines frustration lurking behind Leslie’s texts, however, and I poked and prodded till he admitted that fundraising wasn’t going as well as he would like. As the production team looks over the expenses they have in the future, they’re still $30,000 away from being able to complete post-production.
I would love to think there’s someone out there reading this right now going, “thirty thousand dollars? That’s it? Where’s my wallet? I think the change I got back from my lunch out should just about cover that.” The truth of the matter, however, is that $30,000 is not only a lot of money, it’s more than most of us will ever see in our bank account at one time. But that $30,000 is needed for the film’s music to be composed and recorded, for color correction, sound design, and then (maybe most importantly) for the marketing and festival submission fees.
Go to this website. This one right here. Read what others are saying about this project. Watch the two movie trailers they’ve posted there. Then click on that little DONATE button. A dollar. Five dollars. Ten dollars. Whatever you can spare. The silly, cliched truth is that every little bit helps. And I’ve seen our numbers. I know how many people are listening to our podcast and visiting our site. We Lovers of Movies could have this film financed in a heartbeat.
Do your part and have our eternal gratitude.
[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/31942232]