idocs...create the change

Here is a blog from a friend of mine. Ajay Rai. Check out his website if you are interested in making films that can effect social change, or if you just want to think about change...

CRUDE
The new documentary from director Franny Armstrong (McLibel) and Oscar-winning producer John Battsek (One Day In September)

A couple of months back I attended a “work-in-progress” screening of “Crude” at the Sheffield Documentary Festival . Franny was looking to get feedback and I duly added my 2 cents worth. The film is ostensibly about the imminent dangers of climate change, however, I felt that the message of the film is the need for humans to make major changes of their own… It is coming up for release in february 2008.

For those of you who don’t know “McLibel” (1997, 52 mins) is the inside story of the postman and the gardener who took on McDonald’s in England’s longest ever court trial.

An interesting aspect of Crude is that it is a crowd-funded film. £50K was raised selling “shares” in Dec ‘04, then another £200K in Feb 06. Now they’re after the final £200K to finish the film. You can either make a straightforward donation or invest and receive a percentage of profits. I think this is a great model for the future of documentary film making and wish the film every success. http://www.crudemovie.net