Hello!
Right now feels like a good time to get this message out to the people I love, admire and appreciate. As someone who genuinely has expressed interest in my work as an independent filmmaker I’m sharing how things are shaping up around my current film project, HORSE DIAMONDS.
But first, a little back story – we just got back from Hungary, a little more than a week ago. Alyja & Kamara came with me to visit their great-grandmother in Vienna, which was as joyful (and tearful) as you can imagine. But since our return, “real life” sort of keeps getting in the way. The reality is that since I was on a hiatus the past three months working on Horse Diamonds, my other real job as media producer for One Common Unity now takes front and center. Not terrible, as I still love the work I do for OCU because our youth still need lots of support. But time I spend working on other projects, slows down my passion-project momentum for sure. Which means, I’m not able to share as many stories as quickly as I’d like because I’m putting my media-making talents into other important work. The life of an independent producer!
As a working-mom (yes, I’m still home-schooling the 9yo and the 12yo), taking on an additional project and wearing the producer, director, AND editor “hat” is more than I can do by myself or want to for that matter. And even though it’s exciting to make a full-length documentary film again, it’s also very daunting. The essence of all this is that I’m crowdfunding so I can put the much-needed time into production/post production, AND hopefully hire a fantastic editor to make this film shine! But let me tell you, good story editors are not cheap. Hence, the Seed&Spark fundraiser!
PLUS, there are all the “little things” that help to give an independent film life. First, it’s all the time it takes to research, understand the subject, and then travel to capture it on film. I've personally traveled to and filmed in Virginia (x3), Maryland (x3), Hungary (x2), Austria, Nebraska, Montana, and Washington State (x4) in order to capture this story and all of it was funded from my own pocket.
THEN, once you’ve filmed (which I am STILL), it’s pulling out the best shots, transcribing the hours of interviews, and writing the script based on what’s on tape. Once you have the best bits identified, then the story gets sewn together, and that can take weeks if not months. (Depending on how good your editor is!) And THEN, once it’s ready, the other details need attention, like good graphics, original music, image licensing, color correction, sound sweetening, and marketing. Then, you prepare for showing it. Lordy, it all adds up! But I’m making this film because I believe in this story. I know you will too. So here I am, doing the thing I like the least, asking for support.
However, the reality behind this Seed&Spark campaign is that I have to raise at 2/3rds of the total amount in order for me to receive ANY of the funds. So, I need to make a little more than $8000 before the campaign ends Nov.23rd or I won’t have what I need to make this film fly. And will most likely have to put in on the back burner until I am able to come back to it.
Relax, I’m not asking you for $8000+ (unless you wanna…) HOWEVER, if you are willing to pledge anywhere between $25 - $100 (or more if you are able) that would REALLY help me achieve my goal so I can get this film to the finish line!
You can pledge any amount here:
And here are some perks that will come with your tiered donation:
· $25 – I will love you forever and ever amen (I already do) and give you the highest praise possible on social media (so others see how awesome you are too)!
· $100 – You get a copy of the (yet to be designed) HORSE DIAMONDS movie poster. No worries, it will be gorgeous!
· $200 – Receive the HORSE DIAMONDS original soundtrack, with songs written and performed by me!
· $500 – Choose one of my original images (you’ll get a selection to choose from) to be mounted on a modern metal frame.
I know times are difficult right now and many don’t have extra funds, so if donating $ to the campaign isn’t possible, sharing the HORSE DIAMONDS film project with your friends and family or ANYONE that you think would love to know about this story, is also a HUGE help! Here are some simple options that would do wonders:
· Forward this to anyone you know that might enjoy coming along for the ride!
· Share the following on your social media:
Help support #HorseDiamondsFilm and independent filmmaker, Kimberley Williams’s awesome project here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/horse-diamonds#story
· "Follow" the campaign on Seed&Spark! Once it hits 250 "followers," regardless of how many people pledge, creator discounts for this project start to unlock. (Full funding doesn't happen until the campaign hits at least $12,000)
· Visit the HorseDiamondsFilm.com website, sign up for the mailing list! I will be posting more updates to the site soon on the “Musings” blog.
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OK! Above are all kinds of ways to help me make HORSE DIAMONDS the best film it can be! I've been working on this project since the fall of 2019, and no matter how long it will take me, I will get it done. I'm most excited to share it with everyone that is interested, especially those who will help support an independent filmmaker such as myself.
I thank you for your time, and I thank you for your support AND
I hope you'll join me for the ride!
Sincerely,
Kimberley Rose Williams
PS – if you’d like to know more about my work as an independent filmmaker, I was recently recognized as Washington DC’s filmmaker of the month and some of my previous work can be found here: https://entertainment.dc.gov/release/fotm-FEBRUARY-2022