Anne Pick, vice president of Real to Reel Productions Inc., a small, independent film company, has seen the decline over the last 20 years. “There’s money in the system, but it’s triggered by broadcasters. And broadcasters are bailing on one-off docs because mainstream television wants light and fluffy entertainment.”

For those of us who like to work on feature projects covering important social issues, this is a serious problem. In conversations with a few producers, my film has been described as “controversial”, “a powder keg” and as a “hot button topic” one producer didn’t want to “touch with a ten foot pole.”  When I pitched “A Past, Denied: The Invisible History of Slavery in Canada” to a Canadian broadcasting company (I’m refraining from naming names), the creative head of their digital channels replied:

I did read your proposal and while  ”A Past, Denied: The Invisible History of Slavery in Canada” sounds very worthwhile, I’m afraid it does not fit into our current programming strategy for XXXXXXXXXXX – too much history I’m afraid.

Really? A discourse on the absence of Canada’s 200+ year history of slavery from history textbooks and classrooms, and how this absence has had a real impact on social issues in our contemporary time period is “too much history”, eh? (If you’ve read this site’s home page—the text for which is taken directly from the proposal document—you may have noticed that the phrase “explores how a false sense of history…impinges on the present” in the opening paragraph.)

So those of us who endeavour to tell stories that those in power are too scared to tell have to resort to alternative means of production, which includes alternative means of financing. It doesn’t mater how (relatively) cheaper technology has become, how democratized the means of production is as a result, or how D.I.Y. you are—making a documentary film is still an expensive process. Getting over this obstacle is where the alternative means of financing comes in to play.

In addition to filmmakers going into debt themselves trying to fund their project with their own bank accounts and credit card(s), crowdfunding is rapidly becoming a method of financing for indy filmmakers. It basically works like this: instead of trying to get large chunks of money from a few corporate/governmental sources, a project raises funds in smaller varying amounts in the form of donations from many private sources… specifically ordinary people who want to lend their support to a project they believe in and want to see get made.

This is where you come in. I have been thus far getting by on my own wallet and the kindness/cooperation of others, but at that rate this movie will likely never see the light of day. In order to complete production it needs an injection of cash in order to finish shooting all the interviews and pay for other archival and artistic additional work that needs to be done. To that end, I am asking you to visit the “A Past, Denied” crowdfunding page at indiegogo.com. Here you can see what various donation levels (as low as $5) and perks/incentives are being offered by me. There is a secure form for processing payments. Indiegogo is a well respected crowdfunding resource and I wouldn’t be using them if I didn’t trust their service.

If you believe in the mission of this film—to speak the truth about Canada’s past as well as its present, to illuminate the roots of racism and privilege in our society—then I ask you to please seriously consider donating to this project. Please help me make 2011 a good year in the fight for truth.

Thank you and Happy New Year.
Mike Barber

(Video: Watch this video on the post page)

I’m going to try to improve the frequency in my postings. However, since I am still settling into my new job and new apartment, it’ll take some time. For now, I’ll be republishing my Race-Talk/Huffington Post articles.

There are so many great causes out there asking you for money, and in this economy it’s even harder to give. Regardless, I am asking those of you who believe in this film and who have the means to make a donation, even if it is a modest one. Everyone who makes a donation will be credited both on this website and in the end credits as supporters of the project (unless you specifically request anonymity… or wish to give in someone else’s name).

Using the button on the right will take you to PayPal’s secure interface to make a donation. Please note: this film is not affiliated with any non-profit organization, therefor donations likely have no tax benefits. Arzher Productions is the name of my production company (thus the arzher.com email address). Please be sure to include your first and last name and your city to be credited on the site and in the film credits!

Thank you again for all your love and support. Sincerely,

Mike Barber
Director, A Past, Denied: The Invisible History of Slavery in Canada

Engineering FAIL

The latest upgrade to the blog’s code is producing some unexpected issues with the layout. You may notice that font sizes are a bit inconsistent, depending on how you resize your browser window. Our crack time of HTML/CSS/PCP experts are on the case and should have the issue resolved soon… or not.

It is still early in the production stage; I have begun shooting but, because the funding for this film is currently limited to my own wallet, it is moving forward at the rate that my financial situation will allow. Needless to say, I hope this situation will change sooner rather than later, but regardless of that I am very optimistic about the project.

Over the next couple of days (or weeks) I will be experimenting with the website. I’m new to using WordPress (or blog web apps in general), so please be patient with any, shall we say, inconsistency in your user experience. I promise to make the ride as painless as I possibly can.