As I mentioned in my About Me page, I will be making a documentary next year about people who have crossed America by foot, whether walking, hiking or running. I will be the glue that holds the doc together, as I will be documenting my own walk across America.
I think this documentary will be a fascinating exploration of what makes adventurous people tick, what our collective experiences have been and how crossing the continent changed us. Along the way I imagine I will discover a thing or two about America and myself.
Impossible Feets is a name that I’m kicking around for the doc. I love puns and I thought playing off feats would be fun, since crossing America by foot is a serious feat! But, I’m open to other titles. I’ve thought of 3000 Miles in Their Shoes, Blisters, and lots of others. Any favorites? Suggestions?
But to make something this big happen, it requires funding. I am currently fundraising and seeking sponsors for equipment and in-kind donations.
If I break the documentary into two parts, those would be pre-production and production as one part and post production as the second part. I already have most of my food and lodging expenses covered for the first part, which is good.
But I figure I’ll need about $15,000-20,000 for the rest of the pre-production and production. This includes but is not limited to: camping equipment, cart, cold-weather gear, health/accident insurance while I’m on the road (essential if I get hit by a car!), website improvements, camera equipment, shoes (figure I’ll wear through five or six pairs), transportation off-route to interviewees, crew and equipment for interviews, postage, forms, legal advice and myriad other little things.
This is what I’m fundraising for right now. After I get back and I segue into the post-production segment, I’ll be fundraising again for finishing funds. Editing, color correction, sound, effects, titles, music, and all that jazz. That doesn’t come cheap! I imagine that may run me just as much, if not more, than the first half of my efforts. Whew!
But, in the meantime, you can use the Paypal Donate! button to donate, if you would like to help me make my documentary dream a reality. Every dollar helps.
If you would prefer to donate items/goods or be a sponsor, by all means email me at holly.bernabe@yahoo.com.
UPDATE: While I still wish to interview others who have done this great journey and create a documentary about that, I have discovered a new goal–and that is educating about kidney disease and kidney donation. I’m not sure how that will effect my ultimate goals–if I end up making two separate documentaries or if the one will overshadow the other. I think it will most likely be the former. On one of the crowdfunding platforms a while back, I saw a guy fundraising to complete not just one, but THREE documentary films he was working on. All were in the same area, but covered different subjects, and he figured since he was going to be there anyway, he may as well save some money, shoot for all three in one trip and not try to do the logistics of three separate occasions. He figured he would do it all at once and be done with it. I thought that was pretty smart, but also very ambitious. I only hope I can do as well as he has.
Ending the Bleak Streak 