UPDATE (1/17/15): For those of you who just stumbled upon this awesome project after the campaign deadline and who still want to contribute, we'll be accepting donations on a rolling basis through our PayPal donation page. GO BEARS!!!
The Cal at Sundance web series profiles and celebrates UC Berkeley alumni and affiliate filmmakers showcasing their work at the Sundance Film Festival. We aim to strengthen the Cal creative community and overarching UC Berkeley network as a whole.
Despite limited resources, UC Berkeley alumni and affiliate filmmakers have been achieving success at the highest level - being accepted into the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. It's time these creative Cal Bears get the recognition they deserve and an artistic platform to share their unique global perspective with the Cal community.
Cal At Sundance: 2015
Every win is a great win because it's something you earned. That's what UC Berkeley teaches us. We're always striving to better the world we live in. This year, we want to go bigger and better and celebrate this go-getter attitude and provide you, our viewers, higher quality content that resonates with the UC Berkeley creative community.
The Impact
The benefits of supporting this web series go far beyond any material perk we can give. You will be part of a global movement towards building and strengthening the UC Berkeley creative community. Here are our main goals:
MENTORSHIP & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: This year, we've brought on board some talented and passionate Cal student team members in addition to young Cal alumni. This experience will give team members unparalleled, hands-on production, research, marketing, and networking experience at the Sundance Film Festival - experience that wouldn't otherwise be possible.
INCREASED AWARENESS: By continuing and building our platform for UC Berkeley artists and filmmakers, we acknowledge their great work and give them more opportunities to share their content and connect with the UC Berkeley community.
BUILDING COMMUNITY: We will support the thriving UC Berkeley creative community by bringing together students, alumni, faculty, and people all over the world.
Cal At Sundance: 2014
Last year, we interviewed and showcased of 9 of these Cal alumni and affiliate filmmakers:
Alumni
Barbara Boyle ’57 BA: Executive Producer, Free Fail Film Bottle Rocket
Sam Green ’93 MJ: Director, New Frontier Film, The Measure of All Things
Idil Ibrahim ’02 BA: Actress/Producer, U.S. Dramatic, Film Fishing Without Nets; Producer, Am I Going Too Fast?
Dominic Laperriere ’03 BA: Editor, U.S. Dramatic Film, Fishing Without Nets
Ann Le ’00 BA: Producer, U.S. Dramatic Film, Dear White People
Jesse Moss ’93 MJ: Director, U.S. Documentary Film, The Overnighters
Megan Mylan ’98 MJ: Director, Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge Winner, After My Garden Grows
Geoffrey Quan ’03 BA: Line Producer, NEXT Film, Obvious Child
Jason Spingarn-Koff ’01 MJ: Executive Producer, Short Film Allergy to Originality and Notes on Blindness
Dana Stevens ’01 MA: Juror, U.S. Dramatic Film, SFF Juror
George Takei: Main Character, To Be Takei
Jill Tarter ’76 BA: PhD Juror, Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize Jury (Science in Film)
Affiliates
Jean-Philippe Boucicaut, Lecturer: Editor, U.S. Documentary Film, Cesar’s Last Fast
Bonnie Cohen, Lecturer: Catapult, E Team, and The Overnighters
Stanley Nelson, Lecturer: Director, Documentary World Premiere Film, Freedom Summer
What We Need & What You Get
The web series will feature a combination of one-on-one and red carpet interviews with host Melanie, exclusive Sundance panels and Q&As, and behind-the-scenes footage from the team’s experiences at Sundance.
In order for this web series to give you high quality content and to reach out to as many people as possible, we need to raise at least $10,000 to cover the costs of production and promotion. We can create an amazing web series with great content, but unless we get people to see it, it won't help serve the Cal community.
Your contribution to this campaign will pay for:
- Camera, lighting, and audio equipment
- Sundance travel and lodging for team members
- Advertising & PR
- Post-production editing software
- Small stipends for production team + more
The more we raise, the more we can promote this web series and ultimately connect with and strengthen the UC Berkeley creative community.
Our Story
In 2003, UC Berkeley alumni Duc Bieu Pham and Jigar Mehta started attending the Sundance Film Festival and continually discovered Cal Bear artists and filmmakers selected to show their works at Sundance. They envisioned bringing these artists and filmmakers together and increasing awareness about their achievements to the greater Cal community.
In 2012, with the Cal at Sundance celebration and Facebook group, the Cal at Sundance community was born. Duc and Jigar organized the 1st Annual Cal at Sundance event in Park City, Utah.
In 2013, Melanie wanted to learn more about the independent film festival world and to connect with Cal alumni in entertainment. She started interviewing Cal Sundance filmmakers such as Theater Professor Philip Kan Gotanda and Tiffany Shlain creating the web series "Cal at Sundance: 2013". Duc and Jigar organized the 2nd Annual Cal at Sundance event in Park City, Utah.
In 2014, Melanie envisioned attending the Sundance Film Festival and producing the web series on-location in Park City, Utah. With the support of the Cal Alumni Association, Cal alumni-owned businesses, and Cal supporters, Melanie realized this vision at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival this past January and interviewed amazing Cal filmmakers including Academy Award winners and finalists. The Cal Alumni Association organized the 3rd Annual Cal at Sundance event in Park City, Utah.
Risks & Challenges
Our main focus is to create high quality content and timely video releases. We need amazing camera, lighting, and audio equipment in addition to providing the post-production team the tools necessary to edit and publish videos. We plan to face these challenges by allocating a sizable portion of our production budget to top notch camera equipment and by creating consistent upload schedules that allow our viewers to get the most up-to-date content possible. If we don't meet our fundraising goal, we risk lower quality content and fewer opportunities for current Cal students and young alumni who want to serve this community.
Other Ways You Can Help
- Spread the word and share our Indiegogo campaign with fellow Cal alumni and supporters!
- Follow us on social media! Twitter (@CalAtSundance), Instagram (@ItsCalAtSundance), and Facebook.
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel!
- If you worked on a film that was accepted into the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, congratulations! We'd love to recognize you in our web series. Email us at CalAtSundance2015@gmail.com.
- We can still use a great deal of help from experts in the fields of graphic/web design, marketing, and editing. To lend your unique skills to this web series, please let us know how you'd like to help by emailing us at CalAtSundance2015@gmail.com.
- Gifts in kind are also welcome. To view our wish list, feel free to contact us at CalAtSundance2015@gmail.com.