Short Summary
Kaizo is a short documentary that reveals how a niche video-gaming community single handedly raises millions of dollars for charities each year. The story is told from the perspective of David Hunt (aka GrandPOObear), a professional gamer and world record holding speedrunner, and Andrew MacCalla the Director of Direct Relief’s emergency response team, a worldwide humanitarian aid organization whose mission is to improve the health and lives of people affected by natural disasters. We hope that by showcasing the surprising connection between Mario and philanthropy we will be reminded of a greater truth: that no matter what we do, we can do it in a way that makes the world a better place.
What We Need & What You Get
This fall we were able to finish filming everything we need to complete the film. Over the course of a year and a half, we filmed at GrandPOOBear’s house in Portland, OR, Mario Masters Colosseum near San Jose, CA, Direct Relief Headquarters in Santa Barbara, CA and several islands of the Bahamas affected by Hurricane Dorian. When we first started making this film we had no idea it would take us across the country and abroad. It has been a privilege to be a part of this film, especially as the story has grown so much, but it has also been much more expensive than we initially thought. Now we need help for us to finish the film and get it submitted to film festivals.
- To add some polish we have been working with a VFX company to enhance the opening of the film. We thought it would be cool to see the inside of an old CRT TV, follow a ray of light that reveals a game being played on screen and then pull out from inside the TV to introduce GrandPOOBear. We know it sounds confusing, but you’ll get to see it as soon as the campaign ends if you give at least $10. This is another example of an idea that started off small and then grew to be better and more expensive than we initially planned.
- We will spend weeks editing everything together, coloring footage, adding in sound design and music, doing test screenings and revisions before we can get to the final cut of the film.
- Finally once we wrap up we will be submitting to film festivals across the world. We’ve got a lengthy list as we want to get this film in as many festivals as we can. Some festivals on the list include the Portland Film Festival, Santa Barbara Film Festival, SXSW, Sundance, and our hometown festival Indie Grits. There will be costs associated with each submission as well as travel expenses if we get accepted and asked to present the film in person.
Our goal is to raise $10,000 to finish making this movie. As a thank you to everyone who gives at least $10, we will add your name in the credits of the film as an indie go go backer and we will send you a private link to watch it once we have finished up.
As an immediate thank you, once the campaign wraps up we will send everyone who gives at least $10 a private link to the first three minutes of the film.
More About the Film
Video game speedrunners have raised millions of dollars over the last decade for philanthropic organizations like Doctors Without Borders, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Speedrunners gather multiple times a year for marathon events to showcase their skills and knowledge of games and in return ask viewers to donate to charity. Since 2010 charity event organization GamesDoneQuick (GDQ) alone has raised over $22 Million for various charities. We were blown away when we discovered this generous community and immediately knew we had to make a film about it. We decided to tell this story from the two perspectives of a video game speedrunner named GrandPOOBear and an emergency relief worker named Andrew MacCalla.
GrandPOOBear is a full time streamer on Twitch and holds multiple world records in kaizo style Super Mario World games. We saw a few of his live runs during marathon events and were drawn to his charisma, obscure video game knowledge, and immense generosity. He has developed a partnership with charity organization Direct Relief who provides medical aid to those in need across the world. GrandPOOBear gives a portion of his revenue to Direct Relief and is one of the main organizers of Mario Master's Colosseum, an annual speedrunning event revolving around games in the Super Mario Bros. Franchise that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Direct Relief over the past few years.
Direct Relief is a humanitarian aid organization, active in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, with a mission to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty or emergencies – without regard to politics, religion, or ability to pay. In 2018 they gave out over $1Bn in medical aid across the world, and are giving it out all for free. Andrew MacCalla has been a part of Direct Relief since 2004, and now oversees their worldwide emergency response efforts. He and his team are constantly monitoring emergencies worldwide to determine how they can best help make sure people in need receive medicines and medical attention. Andrew invited us to be a part of a post Hurricane Dorian trip to the Bahamas in November where he and a team of doctors evaluated the damage done to determine how to best allocate resources to rebuild, staff, and supply clinics and hospitals throughout the islands.
Our filmmaking team is known as dustoftheground and we are passionate about true stories, beautifully told. We first started working on Kaizo in October of 2017 and are now excited to be entering the final stretch.
Other Ways You Can Help
Don’t have money but still want to help? Feel free to share this campaign on your social media channels and help us get the word out.
