Short Summary:
Hello, I'm Sheri L. Wright, executive producer/director of the documentary, Tracking Fire.
*As so many people do not have a voice, I feel that a responsibility to speak for them, help keep the wave of change moving forward that leads us to a better awareness as equal human beings. The goal of this film is to do just that, as well as to help educate the public about the UpStairs Lounge fire and Pulse nightclub shootings, so that we can erase the fear and hatred by bridging our communities together.
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*With your help, we can make a difference by bringing about a better awareness, not only for the LGBT community, but for everyone's community. Tracking Fire will be used for educational purposes in universities, screenings across the country and entered in major film festivals (Sundance, Tribecca, London, ect.) around the world in order to make the most potent impact on positive social change as possible.
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*We are asking for $7,500 to help us with on-location filming in Orlando. This amount will help to cover travel costs, food/lodging, equipment rental and crew fees. Expenses estimated as follows - Airfare/car fare - $1K. Equipment rental - $2,800. Crew Fees - $900. Food/lodging - $3K.
Our purpose for going to Orlando is to film interviews with people who were directly affected by the Pulse nightclub shootings, including survivors, family and friends.
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*We have created a unique campaign - Buy the Foot! Every dollar amount equals one foot toward Orlando. This way, you can actually see the physical progress. We have also come up with some unique perks, such as film credit, a special page on the Tracking Fire website to acknowledge exceptionally generous donors, donors, YouTube thank you's, red carpet displays for company donors and tons more.
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*If contributions should our goal amount of $7.5k, the remainder will go toward covering the rest of on-location expenses, other post-productions costs, such as editing, licensing fees and entrance fees for film festivals.
*Every day, people in the LGBT community face bigotry - being fired from jobs, evicted from homes, and even death. In the span of forty-three years, between the UpStairs Lounge fire and the Pulse nightclub shootings, so much has changed. Yet, people are still dying. Living in fear. Mourning unimaginable loss. One of the main objectives of this film, is to help show that we are all simply human beings. Equal human beings. We want to show a way to come back from bigotry, the fear and misunderstandings so often behind it.
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*Originally, Tracking Fire was a film about the UpStairs Lounge fire. We were in post-production when Orlando suffered the horrific tragedy of the Pulse nightclub shootings. After several days of watching news feeds and seeing how the entire world had responded, which was the opposite reaction to the fire, I felt I had to revise Tracking Fire so that we could examine the similarities and differences of both tragedies. And just as important, where does the hatred come from, what can we do and show what we, as individuals and communities, are in fact, doing about it.
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*Tracking Fire began pre-production in 2012, has filmed on-location in multiple cities, including New Orleans, Atlanta and Dallas and raised over 20K through various online campaigns and with the support of local businesses, as well as private individuals. This film has come far from a desire to to make a difference, to having filmed numerous interviews with survivors, witnesses, first responders, city officials, friends and family members of those directly affected by tragedy.
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*As with any big project, it takes a lot of people to make it possible. We have met that challenge through the generosity of musicians, authors, production assistants, photographers, caterers and many others offering their services pro bono, or for a reduced fee. People got the word around about Tracking Fire and gave whatever they could. This film is truly a community effort!
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It also takes money to allow a filmmaker to hire a crew, film on-location, edit footage and many other details to complete the work. We have also met those challenges to have finished filming on the UpStairs Lounge fire. For the next phase of this film - filming in Orlando - we ask you to help us meet this new challenge. In addition to this campaign, we will continue to hold other fundraising events, plus submit grant proposals for finishing funds.
*We appreciate everyone's support in any way they are able to contribute. Some other ways you can help, is to share this campaign with your friends on social media, emails and by word of mouth. These things are so important in helping us reach out goal. Businesses can also help by hosting fundraising events, in which we would be available to do a presentation, Q&A and film clips.
And please do use the Indiegogo share tools!