US Festival PREMIERE! World Circus - Update 11

FESTIVAL PREMIERE!

The film will have its film festival premiere at the acclaimed Sedona International Film Festival February 27th, 2013, in Sedona, Arizona. 

"recognized by filmmakers and audiences as one of the top festivals in the nation (and named the “Fest to Impress” by MovieMaker Magazine), the 2013 edition will continue a tradition of honoring those motivated by passion for their art and driven by a love for making timely, moving and important films."

NOTES from Angela Snow - Director / Producer 

UPDATE! 

• If you noticed, the film did not screen at Sundance. Considering the acceptance rate was only 1.4% of submissions (harder than getting into Harvard, which has a 5.9% acceptance rate), with over 12,000 films submitted, I feel no regret. I'll save conquering Sundance for another film! 

• I have since submitted to 11 other top festivals. The amazing thing is, Sedona International Film Festival was the first to announce their films. The first answer, the first yes!

• The film has been viewed privately within the circus community to a wonderful response. Showing in Sarasota, Monte Carlo, and San Diego. 

• Recently, I realized that this past December (2012) marked 3 years that this film has been in production. Three years...that's IT! I can't believe it. Planning, filming, and editing, it feels like it has been 10 years.  

THE SCREENING! 

Two screenings of the film, followed by a Q&A, will take place at the Sedona International Film Festival -  Wednesday, Feburary 27th at 9pm & Friday, March 1st at 9am 

http://www.sedonafilmfestival.org/

If anyone is interested in attending the screening in Sedona, Arizona, please let me know, I would love to see you there! I plan to organize local circus artists to greet guests on Wednesday night and hope to be joined by the film's cinematographer, Ian Issitt, and music composer, Charles Newman. 

NEXT!

• Since the first answer from a Film Festival was a YES, I am going to take this good news as a sign of things to come - for future updates on film festivals, please visit the film's Facebook Page or Website. 

• Before the screening in Sedona, the film will undergo a few edit tweaks, final sound mix, and color correction, create a poster, plus, as always, take care of paperwork. My schedule is back to checking my calendar hourly to make sure I'm at the correct meeting at the right time.  

• We will continue to wait for answers from other festivals, as well as submit to at least another 10 festivals as their submissions open throughout 2013. Deals for distribution will be sought, screenings planned & DVD sales arranged. DVDs will be available AFTER the Festival rounds are made and distribution deals worked out. 
• January 2014 - plans are being made to screen during the 38th Monte Carlo Circus Festival. Hope to see you all there!

AS ALWAYS....THANK YOU! 

KEEP UPDATED & FOLLOW ON  FACEBOOK. Follow the film on TWITTER. Check out the WEBSITE. Spread the word.  

Finished! World Circus E-Newsletter Update 10

    Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, Children of all ages.... 

THE FILM IS DONE!!  

...or close enough to done that Friday September 21st, the film was submitted & shipped off to the Sundance Film Festival with fingers crossed that it will be accepted to screen this winter. An answer will come in December, so we have a while to wait. The film will be submitted to other top film festivals around the world to get the ball rolling for the film to be out in the world. 

NOTES FROM Director / Producer Angela Snow 

THE FILM

The film looks and sounds absolutely spectacular. It turned out just as I had hoped. A tribute to circus art, culture, and history around the world, as well as very personal stories and behind the scenes looks at the Monte Carlo Circus Festival.

WHAT HAPPENED 

 Some exciting things started to happen, and the film drew some attention from people that matter in the film world, so I put my head down and somehow raced to the finish line. 

The finishing Post Production team really put the cherry on top of all the work Ian Issitt and I did filming in Europe, Canada & the US. 

• EDITING: Emma Morris, award winning editor, whittled down the 200 hours of footage to tell a gripping, smooth, and deep story. That process took about 20 weeks. 
• MUSIC: Charles Newman, composer and engineer/producer for bands such as The Magnetic Fields, composed an amazing sound track to the film that enhances the visuals and story beyond what I could have hoped for. There are also a few tracks of music that will be from well known, and lesser well known, indie bands.  
• GRAPHICS: Vince Clemente, filmmaker & graphic designer, swept in & cleaned up all the graphics and text to really give the film all the pieces of a clean & professional film. 
• OTHER ESSENTIAL PEOPLE: the translators, advisers, and those who gave feedback during test screenings lent their time and wonderful brains for the film. 

IT TOOK THIS LONG TO FINISH BECAUSE.....Documentary filmmaking is NOT a quick process, especially since I've been working full time in the TV industry during this process. Just in this last month I was in New York, Los Angeles, and Alaska on TV shows. Over the last few years, I also made the not so minor move from Los Angeles to New York, where the city has welcomed me and the film with open arms. I've also juggled finishing my short documentary, "Runaway Circus", and screened it at festivals, continued filming on my next documentary in Peru, "Solo No Puedo", and started a non-profit with friends called, Yantalo International Volunteer House, to build housing for volunteers in Yantalo, Peru. I can hardly remember a time when I didn't set my alarm early in order to have meetings and work on the film before my "job" and then continue after hours into the night. But all worth it!   

NEXT

• There is paperwork and technical finishing details that I still have to take care of before calling the film finished finished. A Producer's job is never done! 
• The film will be submitted to Film Festivals, deals for distribution will be sought, screenings planned & DVD sales arranged. 
• Updates happen daily on
    FACEBOOK - so like the page to keep updated
    
• DVDs will be available after the Festival rounds are made and distribution deals worked out.  
• More patience.   

THANK YOU

I want to thank you all for your patience and interest in the film over these many years (since filming started winter of 2009). I have been so grateful to the generous donations and support that have kept the film going financially, as well as kept my sanity and motivation afloat. 

I CANNOT WAIT TO SHARE THIS FILM WITH EVERYONE! 

KEEP UPDATED & FOLLOW ON  FACEBOOK. Follow the film on TWITTER. Check out the WEBSITE. Spread the word.  

Chocolate & Cookie Filmmaking Metaphors

(This was originally posted on the blog by filmmakers of World Circus Culture - To the Moon Productions Blog)

These just come to me as I'm working...so thought I'd share.

1.

When I finally get a scene translated that I have tried to edit into the timeline, it's like after looking at a huge delicious box of chocolate and trying to decide which ones to eat first, and then finally getting the little picture map of what is inside each chocolate. You have the answers and then you can really dig in.

2. The whole long process of finishing my documentary is like following cookie crumbs through a dark, bleak, and scary forest. Every now and then I get a big cookie crumb and trudge happily ahead and then it's months till the next crumb and the doubt sets in. Am I on the right path? Is there even another cookie crumb ahead? Will all the crumbs actually even lead to a huge cookie at the end? No turning back now, I know there's no cookie crumbs left where I came from! So, we can just know there will be another crumb to inspire us, or pay us, and lead the way, and also know there will probably be many more dark spells in between, so strap on some comfortable shoes.

ARMED WITH CHOCOLATE (and maybe some ice cream and cookies), I CONTINUE THE EDIT ADVENTURE....THE SLOWEST ADVENTURE I'D EVER AGREE TO.

PRESS RELEASE - IndieGoGo Fundraiser

By David Shade

Angela Snow, filmmaker and producer, turns to alternative funding sources for her latest feature length film, World Circus Culture, a documentary portrait series about the circus. With just a few weeks to fund, the process is testing both the online fundraising model and the filmmaker's nerves.

New York, NY (WEB) February 1, 2012 -- Independent filmmaker Angela Snow is turning to the Internet to raise funds for her latest feature film project, World Circus Project, a documentary portrait series about competitive circus. With funding as the first major obstacle to getting any film off the ground, current economic conditions don't make the job any easier. Filmmakers have to become more innovative in their fundraising tactics, and the independent filmmaking community has embraced sites like Indiegogo.com.

Indiegogo.com is a major player in the emerging crowd sourcing market. Founded in 2008, the site helps small projects to raise funds through its marketing service as well as social media. In line with Indiegogo.com guidelines, artists have a set number of days to raise all the funds. Snow’s film has an 30-day fundraising window, from start to finish. Snow has allotted this amount of time to raise the $12,000 she needs to complete her film.

When asked about why Indiegogo.com was appealing, Snow noted, "it’s a great community builder and helps me spread the word and update people easily. Having personally invested heavily in this project, it gives others the ability to help. The site is invaluable to my project. "

Snow’s film, World Wide Circus, examines circus culture worldwide and focuses on the annual Monte Carlo International Circus Festival. In addition to covering the history of the circus, including well known circuses like Ringling Bros., Cirque du Soleil, and The Big Apple Circus, Snow followed five individual performers around Europe to understand what different lives these performers live and how their passions affect their journeys in this world. A feature-length documentary, World Wide Circus uses stylized interview portraits of performers to tell a universal story about life's most important lessons. Thematically organized around life lessons that reflect a wide range of human emotion and experience, the film seeks to reveal a larger more complex portrait of our shared humanity.

Over 200 hours of footage has already been captured and now Snow is looking to raise funds to continue the editing work of Emmy Award and Academy Award winning editor, Emma Morris. The $12,000 that Snow hopes to raise from this campaign should see the process through the final edit. If the film is successfully funded, Snow expects to deliver the final cut before the end of the year. To learn more about the film, readers can visit the project's pitch page here:

http://www.indiegogo.com/World-Circus-Culture-Documentary

About Angela Snow: NYC based Angela Snow directed her first short films while a student at Columbia college in Chicago. Snow
 has worked on numerous projects as well freelancing on various commercial and reality television productions, including an intimate internship with documentary master Ken Burns. Her productions have won prizes in festivals in Los Angeles, St Louis, and Humboldt Park.

E-Newsletter - Update 8 - Editing

WORLD CIRCUS CULTURE THE MOVIE

http://worldcircusculturemovie.com/ (FILM'S PAGE)

THE HOME STRETCH!

The end is in sight! Editing has begun and it feels great.

Check out the big updates below...and see the next steps, as there are always next steps!

Become a FAN of the film on FACEBOOK. Follow the film on TWITTER. Check out the new WEBSITE. Spread the word.

30 days to raise $12,000 - VISIT World Circus Culture on Indiegogo (see the new video!)

NEWS!

Editor hired & editing has STARTED: I've always said I wanted to "do this film right" and that meant hiring a talented editor - so I did.

• Emma Morris has won an Emmy for editing. Her work has also won an Academy Award and been an Official Selection at Sundance winning the audience award and the Filmmakers Trophy.
• She has spent a month editing and funds are in place for 2 months of editing, thanks to recent donations.

Filming is DONE after 3 final interviews:

• July 13^th in New York City- Paul Binder, Founder of the Big Apple Circus.
• September 19^th in Peru - in a village in the jungle of Peru, we filmed a small Circus and its owner.
• December 12^th in Tampa, Florida- Kenneth Feld & Family, owner of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Screening in Monte Carlo:

• A 10min clip of the film screened Friday, 1/20 during the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo, thanks to the World Circus Federation.

Finalist in $5,000 pitch:

• October 29th - The film was 1 of 5 finalist at the Paley Center for Media Documentary Pitch Workshop. I pitched in front of 5 judges & 200 people in an attempt to win $5,000, sponsored by the Documentary Channel. http://www.paleycenter.org/paleydocfest2011-documentary-pitch-workshop-2/

HELP!

30 days to raise $12,000

http://www.indiegogo.com/World-Circus-Culture-Documentary

(see the new video!)

In order to keep editing and work with the award winning editor, to make this an award winning film....we need more money! So I've started an Indiegogo campaign where I have 30 days to raise $12,000. I am reaching out to the circus community that has began following this film as well as to other networks.

A lot of you have been following updates on this film from the beginning and have supported it along the way, and I thank you so much. I ask you now to help spread the word, you never know who will be interested in supporting the film, I've had many surprises in the past with donations that proves just this!

In this day and age, filmmaking has become even more of a collaborative effort....which just means you get to be a part of making a film!

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

http://worldcircusculturemovie.com/

Who & Where - 2 months of filming

Thought I would share a list of all the locations we visited and interviews we conducted while filming. Impossible to get everything, but we certainly did our best in two months!

(in no particular order)

Monte Carlo
• The Circus Festival
England
• We filmed in London at Circus Space, the only Circus University in England.
• Martin Lacey Jr. is originally from there
Holland
• Filmed at Circus Ahoy with Roland & Petra Duss
Italy
• Filmed at the Italian Historical Circus Documentation Center
• Interviewed Antonio Giarola, head of the Documentation Center
• Interviewed Francesco Mocellin - President of Circus Friends Association (Club Amici del Circo) & member of Commission at Ministry of Culture for Circuses
• Filmed at Circus Academy in Verona, Italy (a circus school for circus family kids) & Interviewed Mr. Andrea Togni, Director.
France
• Interviewed Valeri Fratellini (daughter of the famous female clown Annie Fratellini)
• Filmed at the famous L'Académie Fratellini
• Filmed at Cirque Phenix show in Paris
• Interviewed Pascal Jacob, artistic director of Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain & Cirque Phenix
• We can obtain footage of acts at the Festival Mondial
• Filmed at Cirque D'Hiver in Paris - filmed a show and the beautiful building
• Interviewed Francesco Bouglione (owner of Cirque D'Hiver)
Germany
• Martin Lacey Jr. adopted home - Gold Clown winner & with Circus Krone
• Filmed & Interviewed performers at the Krystall Palast Variety Theater Show in Leipzig.
• Filmed Rob at Roncalli Circus - Essen
• Film Troupe Yakubov at Circus Probst - Gelsenkirchen
• Filmed Martin Lacey Jr. at Stuttgart Winter Circus – Stuttgart
Canada
• Filmed Cirque du Soleil Troupe rehearsal
• Filmed TOTEM Cirque du Soleil show
• Interviewed Carmen Ruest, Director of Creation at Cirque du Soleil
United States (filming soon)
• Interview Kenneth Feld – Ringling Brothers Circus owner
• Interview Paul Binder – Big Apple Circus founder
• Interview Circus Historian

a blog per requests! - CLOWNS & HORSES

I asked what people would like to hear about more on the blog and I got "Clowns" and "Horses" as answers, so here is a blog on stories about both from our Europe circus filming adventures.

The main clown of our filming, of course, was Rob Torres, who competed in Monte Carlo, and next year will be with the Big Apple Circus. We met Rob in Essen at the Roncalli dinner theater, where he always called it a successful night when he could cause someone to run to the bathroom as they tried not to pee their pants.
When we asked Rob to define his clown character he responded, "Define the character?…. The character is humanity."
We spent a day in Germany with Rob and followed him as he met up with old friends he knew from performing in Canada. The two friends worked in a workshop space (an old barn on a farm) on a new act. The day was full of non-stop gags full of puns and jokes.... laying eggs, fart machines, fake dog poop...basically, lesson learned, clowns are clowns outside the ring as well.

Another clown we interviewed was Caroline Simonds, aka Dr. Girafe. I wanted to interview her because it's a different side of clowning and interaction with the "general world". She basically started Clown Care in hospitals in France after working with the Big Apple Clown Care unit in New York. She is now the Artistic Director of Le Rire Médecin centered in Paris, France. But before all this, she fought the idea of becoming a clown, she wanted to be "serious", but for some reason it just kept coming back.
A quote from an article on Caroline:
"The clown for me is my medium. It is a ‘Here and now’ state of being - it is not a ‘yesterday or tomorrow’ one. I will never give up the clowning. It is my true form of expression, my art.”


THE HORSE PART!
In Monte Carlo, we tried to interview as many performers as possible. We were fascinated by the story of the horse act from Kyrgystan -Eshimbekov Troupe, who ended up winning a Silver Clown. Pulling Abdynaly, one of the leaders, aside for a moment we heard of the troupe's years and years of dreams to come compete in Monte Carlo. Abdynaly spent most of the festival limping around on a hurt foot, and had also suffered a major shoulder injury during one of the rehearsals. He said a shot from the hospital would keep him in the ring during performances and after hours a bottle of vodka. We had not seen their act yet, as we were always back stage, but one day near the end of our time in Monaco, we had a chance to sit in the audience and our jaws dropped during their act. With high speed galloping horses performers were dragged behind, flipped on and off, crawled under the bellies, and pyramids were created on the horses. Abdynaly was the bottom man on a tower of people jumping on and off galloping horses as they raced around the ring. We had never imagined his shoulder would have to take so much pounding in a horse act and were awed by the appearance of perfect health after what we had seen backstage. After each show we watched the horses and riders cool off, both human and animal's sides heaving to catch their breath and sweat dripping.