A brother's dying wish. A sister's undying promise.
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“The real miracle is not flying through the air or walking on water, it is to walk upon the Earth at all.”
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Bursting with unquenchable curiosity and a boundless love for life, Daniel Northcott was a one-of-a-kind filmmaker. Barely 20, he set out on a decade-long quest to travel the world, spreading his infectious enthusiasm across four continents and dozens of cultures. Through ruins and cities, war zones and sacred sites, he captured each precious moment on camera with an eye for colorful characters of every age and description.
In April of 2007, Dan’s journey led him to a greater adventure than he had ever imagined. Despite warnings of an ancient curse, he brought home a bone from a sacrificial Mayan burial cave in Yucatán, and just months later he was diagnosed with leukemia – cancer of the bone marrow.
When Daniel learned 8 years into his film project that he had only months to live he began a race to complete his unfinished film. Amazingly, he continued to document every detail of the roller-coaster ride that followed —from the doctor delivering the crushing news to every intense medical procedure, losing his hair, and intimate moments with friends and family.
With over a thousand hours of footage and no energy or time left he made a 40-minute sketch of the film he dreamed to make and left the footage in his will to his sister Erin Northcott. His last wish was to request she oversee the completion of his legacy, his film.
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What is crowdfunding?
To make a full feature film, it costs a lot of money (a modest documentary can reach upwards of 1-2 million dollars). Crowdfunding, like this campaign, allows us to raise small amounts of money from many people like you - to bring Dan's dream to the world.
Every amount helps. No contribution is too small.
This little movie holds massive potential for all of us. Be Brave is a joyful invitation for us to honor the sacredness of life, to reconnect with nature and with each other. It would be a challenge to dream a myth more perfect for this moment on planet Earth, as we stand together at the crossroads and contemplate our options: reunite with nature or be consumed by it.
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Most importantly, Be Brave is about leaping from the ordinary to the extraordinary. It's about allowing the brilliance of your unique human spirit to fully shine without shame. Dan knew he wasn't the only one who could see beyond the illusion of separation. His goal as an artist was to evoke innate memories that allow us, at our own pace and through our own grace, to remember. And, ultimately… to re-member.
“We all have the same dreams, need the same things; we are all more similar than we ever have been different. These wounds are deep, so equally deep must be the acceptance that frees us from this tolerance. I will not tolerate you – I will love you. I will accept you completely, whatever that means.” - Daniel Northcott
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In 2012, through a series of fortuitous events, Dan's sister Erin found herself in connection with Mikki Willis, the founder of Elevate Studios, who has made it his mission to create powerful, uplifting media for the world. Mikki is joined by a powerful team of creative producers, including Ben Phelan & Chris Brickler, and a talented production team including Akira Chan (Bloom), and Ian MacKenzie (Occupy Love).
WORDS FROM THE DIRECTOR, MIKKI WILLIS
"In early 2012, I got a call from musician and filmmaker Chris Brickler. He had stumbled upon some footage that he felt I should see immediately. Chris has never been one to exaggerate, but when he pitched the story to me it sounded too fantastic to be true. He sent me 40 minutes, which I watched with some of my team.
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When it was over, there was 10 minutes of silence. Only a few deep breaths, sniffles and one barely audible "whoa." It wasn't until I felt a cold streak down my cheek that I realized I was crying. "What just happened?" It was hard to understand, let alone explain.
The footage was shot by and featured a young man named Daniel Northcott. Dan was gifted with the ability to perceive realities deeper than what meets the eye. In the words of his own mother, "the kid was a star child."
Director Mikki Willis and Elevate Studios are honored and grateful that Erin and the Northcott family have entrusted them to produce Be Brave.
Production Company: ELEVATE (www.elevate.us)
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Raising the money together with all of you allows us to keep the integrity of Dan's film and message intact. We want Be Brave to be a quality film that appeals to a global audience and gets noticed, hence our ambitious goal fundraising goal.
EXPLORING & EDITING THE FOOTAGE
50% of our goal is based on the 1,000+ hours of film footage Daniel shot on 3 different types of technology over a 10 year period. To do his life's work justice, this footage will need professionals to sort it, edit it, do picture correction, sound enhancement and much more.
A GORGEOUS SOUNDTRACK
We all know music is so important to a visual experience. Daniel had chosen an incredible soundtrack, that we'd like to acquire the rights to, this accounts for 15% of our goal.
ORIGINAL ANIMATION
Dan had planned to weave real life animation of planets, cells and nature to bring his message of interconnectedness to life for his audience, so this also accounts for 15% of our goal.
THE RETURN JOURNEY
To honor Dan's wishes we are returning the bone to the sacrificial burial site, deep in the Mayan Cave it was taken from. As mentioned, and as Dan would have done, we are going to film its return, the filming and editing of this accounts for 10% of our goal.
MARKETING & PROMOTION
The remainder of the budget will go towards a massive and beautiful campaign to get Dan's message out to the world. To do all of this, even the $183,000 is a tight budget, but we are blessed with a dedicated production crew that have their hearts invested in this project and are dedicated to seeing it through even on a tight budget, of course if by some miracle we exceed the goal this would mean an even better film that could reach even further around our world.
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Everyone that donates, big or small, becomes a part of the team attached to this film's message. You can choose to give without a reward, or we have lovingly made T-shirts and leather wrist bands that we know you’ll really like. They are a conversation piece, and you'll get to feel how you actually have to be brave just to wear them … which is a great feeling we’ve all been enjoying.
Other rewards include: a digital download the finished film, original prints of Daniel's artwork, thank you credit in the film, all expenses paid tour back to the Mayan burial cave... and much more! View them all along the right hand side.
Q. CAN I CONTRIBUTE WITHOUT SELECTING A REWARD?
Yes, just click the red button located below the amount we have raised so far that says "Contribute Now" , this will take you to our list of perks, scroll down to the bottom of the list of perks and select "No Perk, just a Contribution" and enter the amount you want. You can also select a perk and then when we email you to fufill the perk selected, you can decline the perk at that time (we promise not to be offended! :)
Q. CAN I GIVE MY CONTRIBUTION REWARDS AS A GIFT?
Yes, when we contact you to fullfill the rewards, just give us the address you want the items shipped to and we will happily do so.
Q. CAN I CONTRIBUTE FROM OUTSIDE THE USA?
Yes! We will send rewards anywhere in the world, Dan had friends in over 40 countries, so we are ready for you,and welcome the world to be a part of this.
If you're having any trouble in the in step 4 of making a contribution, make sure you have selected your country in the drop down section where it says "Select Your Country"
HOW TO SUPPORT US RIGHT NOW:
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