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We are (from left), Jade, Chiewy, and Clarissa. And we're Snapback Pictures! That's just a cheeky name that we came up with for ourselves, because the three of us have a penchant to wear caps whenever we're having those bad hair days. ;)
More seriously though, we're a group of Final Year Students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. We're currently working on a very special documentary for our Final Year Project, and we need your help to make that happen!
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In May 2015, boatloads of Rohingya refugees fled from the Rakhine State in Myanmar, where they faced persecution, discrimination, and violence because of their race and religion. Despite investing all their fortunes in the hopes of a better life in other countries, their dreams were not meant to be. Many were turned away at the very shores they hoped to reach, and others were abandoned by their smugglers when their boats ran out of food and water. By the time the boats had drifted near the shores of Aceh, Indonesia, some had died at sea, while the others were left for dead — helpless, starving, and resigned to their fate.
But some lucky refugees were rescued by Acehnese fishermen, who discovered the boats near their shores. Aceh itself is no stranger to difficulty and hardship, having spent the last decade struggling to recover from the devastation of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Yet, the Acehnese have been more than welcoming towards the Rohingya, who have now been provided a place of refuge in Aceh.
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Find out why we have made it our collective mission to ensure that these stories are told in our video below.
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'Peumulia Jamee' means 'honouring your guests' in Acehnese. Our documentary looks at how this age-old saying has become part of the way of life for the Acehnese, and show how they have been honouring their most recent guests — the Rohingya refugees.
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We've come up with a pretty modest budget of SGD 10,200 (USD 7175).
Despite being a nifty three-woman team, the costs of an overseas production do add up. We will be travelling into and throughout the Indonesian province of Aceh from Singapore, where we are based. We hope to produce our documentary with the highest production value possible, so that it does justice to the complex issues of the Rohingya and their relationship with the local Acehnese community. This means expenses for video equipment and post-production as well. Finally, in order to maximise our documentary's reach through marketing, we will be investing in our brand identity.
We will each be forking out quite a sum out of our own pockets, so here's where you can help! Please donate generously to us — no amount is too big or too small, and every dollar counts!
You may find a more detailed budget breakdown in the graphic below.
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The more you give, the more you get! Apart from gaining some good karma by helping us out, we've got some gifts for you, just to say terimah kasih banyak (thank you very much)! ;)
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Our Indiegogo campaign will run from 26th November 2015 to 26th January 2016. During the course of our crowdfunding project, we will be working hard in the field in Aceh, Indonesia, speaking to our characters and sussing out the best bits of their stories to tell you.
We will be back in Singapore by end-January and will begin our post-production process. Our documentary is scheduled to be launched in June 2016.
Stay tuned to our campaign page for updates, and follow us on Instagram and like us on Facebook to get a behind-the-scenes look at our project!
