Indiegogo is committed to accessibility. If you have difficulty using our site, please contact support@indiegogo.com for assistance or view our accessibility notice by clicking here

This campaign is closed

TURNED TOWARDS THE SUN

Finishing funds needed for a documentary about British Commando, poet, adventurer Michael Burn M.C.

You may also be interested in

Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

TURNED TOWARDS THE SUN

TURNED TOWARDS THE SUN

TURNED TOWARDS THE SUN

TURNED TOWARDS THE SUN

TURNED TOWARDS THE SUN

Finishing funds needed for a documentary about British Commando, poet, adventurer Michael Burn M.C.

Finishing funds needed for a documentary about British Commando, poet, adventurer Michael Burn M.C.

Finishing funds needed for a documentary about British Commando, poet, adventurer Michael Burn M.C.

Finishing funds needed for a documentary about British Commando, poet, adventurer Michael Burn M.C.

Greg Olliver
Greg Olliver
Greg Olliver
Greg Olliver
1 Campaign |
New York, United States
$17,102 USD 724 backers
85% of $20,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

OUR PROJECT:

Turned Towards the Sun is a feature length documentary about British WWII hero Michael “Micky” Burn M.C. directed and produced by filmmaker Greg Olliver. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2348930

TRAILER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAZk5GoW33A

WHAT WE NEED:

$20k+ for finishing funds.

WHY WE NEED IT:

The film is done, edited, and already available in the UK as of May 8 via Matchbox Films, but we still have a large chunk of archival video licensing fees, music clearance fees and legal costs to cover that will likely never be covered by income from our UK sales.  We need to cover those costs ASAP, and before we can release the film in North America and elsewhere.  Anything we raise beyond our goal goes towards reimbursing friends and family who helped finance the film up to this point, and towards getting the film out to additional territories beyond the UK and North America.

WHY YOU SHOULD HELP:

This film needs to get out there because of Micky Burn’s story.  It's as simple as that.  He was a WWII hero who lived an incredible, complicated and inspiring life, and now we’re trying to bring his story to you... but just need a little help getting it out there.

PERKS:

We have a few different perks for contributors like DVD copies and signed posters, but every single contributor, even if you give $1, will get the exclusive podcast with Brian Quinn and director Greg Olliver discussing the making of this film - as described in our video above. 

ABOUT THE FILM

If the astonishing true-life story of British writer and poet Micky Burn MC had been written as a novel, readers would readily accept it as invented. Born in Mayfair in 1912, his father worked for the Royal family. He became the lover of the communist spy Guy Burgess, and would initially be taken in by Nazism, expressing an admiration for Hitler. In 1942, he took part in a daring commando assault on the fortified French port of St Nazaire, where he was captured, and he ended the war a POW in Colditz. He would latterly become a committed Marxist and be credited with saving the life of Audrey Hepburn. American director Greg Olliver, who has previously documented the life of rock star Lemmy, started making this film in 2008, revisiting significant events and places in Burn s life. Burn is presented here as a candid and witty raconteur, with a sharp mind and vivid recollections. He died in 2010, which leaves Turned Towards the Sun as a fitting eulogy to a remarkable figure.

Turned Towards the Sun was shot between 2008 and 2011 in the UK, Wales, France and Germany and first premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2012 where it was nominated for the Grierson Award/ Best Documentary.  It was produced independently through Greg Olliver’s production company Secret Weapon Films with financing from friends and family only.  It sat quietly on a shelf for a couple years, as many documentaries do, and finally had an offer for distribution in the UK via Matchbox Films – just in time for the 70th Anniversary of VE Day.  If you live in the UK you can find it on Amazon or iTunes UK. 

Micky Burn with director Greg Olliver while shooting in Colditz Castle, Germany.
Photo by Scott Van Osdol

DIRECTOR GREG OLLIVER'S STATEMENT

This film is about having one last chance to look back on a long, fulfilling life.

Michael “Micky” Burn, MC has a story like no other. I met Micky through a chance encounter and was soon taken by the charm, intelligence and humor vividly on display in his storytelling and the resilience and compassion of his spirit evident in his tales.  He was an old man living life quietly on the coast of Wales, but one with a personal history that wove and wound itself around the defining moments of the Twentieth century.  With surprising candor and zeal, he opened himself to the camera and its imagined audience; allowing us, now, a glimpse of his life remembered from what would become its twilight. 

Turned Towards the Sun is a portrait of an extraordinary man who lived through extraordinary times.  In his story, we see our history and ourselves.

Shooting in St. Nazaire, France.  Photo by Scott Van Osdol

WHY ARE WE ASKING YOU FOR MONEY?

The process of filmmaking, and especially the process of making documentaries, can be an extremely rewarding, exciting and fulfilling art form, but the business of filmmaking can absolutely suck.  As a director you wait and wait and wait till that needle-in-a-haystack of a subject comes along that is worth making a film about.  You then literally spend years working on that film - traveling, shooting, editing, raising money, traveling some more, editing some more, waiting months to raise more money but when you can't find it you beg your family to help so you can then travel and shoot some more and then finish editing and then beg a sound mixer to work for cheap and a colorist to work for cheap and then finally you have a finished product ready to for the world to see.  The film is literally sitting there on your desk on a DVD but you can't show it to the world until you find yet another chunk of money to pay for even more bills to license archival film clips, archival photos, music and legal costs.   If you're not making a film about an already famous person, chances are pretty good that you'll never get a dollar back of what you put into the film, so the last thing you want to do is beg your friends and family to go deeper into that financial abyss with you.  Labors of love can be blinding.  When you're making a passion project its easy to care only about the subject and telling your story, and easy to forget that the reality is very few people get rich off documentaries, but instead lose money on them.  Even though we finally found a distribution company in the UK to put out this film, we are still continuing to spend money on it, and will likely never see enough of a return to even finish paying our bills.  Small films like this sell hundreds of copies, not hundreds of thousands like Hollywood films do.  Thankfully crowdfunding is here to help fill that gap and help get projects like this over the final hurdle and into the hands of film lovers like you.  Every dollar of your support will be greatly appreciated by all of those involved in this film. Anything we raise beyond our goal and beyond our immediate bills will go towards reimbursing friends and family who helped finance the film up to this point. 

HOW BRIAN QUINN GOT INVOLVED:

Filmmaker Greg Olliver recently directed a TruTV documentary on the Impractical Jokers and had the absolute pleasure of being confined to a bus for sixteen days with the Jokers as they crossed the country on their “Tenderloins” comedy tour.  Brian and Greg naturally became best buddies and when Greg showed Brian a copy of Turned Towards the Sun and mentioned he needed help getting it finished and out to the public – Brian immediately wanted to help and is now a producer on the film.

MORE ABOUT THE FILMMAKER 

Filmmaker Greg Olliver is best known for co-directing, producing, shooting and editing the 2010 documentary “LEMMY” – about Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead.  Greg recently directed a documentary on Blues legend Johnny Winter, an award-winning psychological thriller titled DEVOURED, multiple TV, music, promo and commercial projects.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1261206

www.secretweaponfilms.com

Micky in St. Nazaire, France. Photo by Greg Olliver

MORE ABOUT MICHAEL BURN M.C.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micky_Burn

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/15/world/europe/15burn.html

FILM CREDITS:

TURNED TOWARDS THE SUN
Directed by Greg Olliver
Produced by James Dorrian, Nick Golding, Laura Morris, Greg Olliver, Brian Quinn
Associate Producers: Jeremy Mack & Scott Van Osdol
Original Music: J. Ralph
Cinematography & Editing by Greg Olliver
A Secret Weapon Films Production
In Association with Aplethora Productions

UK Residents can buy the film now via Matchbox Films http://www.matchboxfilms.co.uk/

Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.

Choose your Perk

EXCLUSIVE PODCAST!!

$1 USD
Every $1 helps us get to our goal - and gets you the EXCLUSIVE PODCAST WITH BRIAN QUINN AND FILMMAKER GREG OLLIVER discussing the making of this film.
58 claimed

PODCAST AND NAME IN CREDITS

$5 USD
$5 gets your name listed in the SPECIAL THANKS section of the credits in our North American version of the DVD, and gets you the EXCLUSIVE PODCAST WITH BRIAN QUINN AND FILMMAKER GREG OLLIVER discussing the making of this film.
126 claimed

DVD - NORTH AMERICA + PODCAST

$20 USD
You get a copy of the US/North American "Turned Towards the Sun" DVD. Region 1 NTSC, get your name in the credits of the US/ North American Version, and get the EXCLUSIVE PODCAST WITH BRIAN QUINN AND FILMMAKER GREG OLLIVER discussing the making of this film.
Estimated Shipping
September 2015
331 claimed

DVD - UK RESIDENTS + PODCAST

$25 USD
You get a copy of the UK DVD "Turned Towards the Sun" DVD. Region 2 PAL, and also get your name in the credits of the US/ North American Version. (Sorry the UK version has already been pressed - so we can't change the credits) You also get the EXCLUSIVE PODCAST WITH BRIAN QUINN AND FILMMAKER GREG OLLIVER discussing the making of this film.
Estimated Shipping
June 2015
61 claimed

Autographed Poster, DVD

$100 USD
$100 is a tremendous amount of support. For that you'll get a glossy poster of the film autographed (if you want) by the filmmaker, along with your choice of North American or UK version of the DVD, your name in the credits of the North American version of the film (sorry the UK version has already been pressed) and exclusive podcast with Brian Quinn and filmmaker Greg Olliver discussing the making of this film.
Estimated Shipping
July 2015
21 claimed
Tags for this project

You may also be interested in

Up Caret