It's been awhile, but we are excited to announce that we are back together in New Orleans and production of the feature-length America Recycled film has officially begun!
We have just released a trailer with lots of new footage alongside our fundraising campaign. Thank you for supporting us over the last two years as we've tried to share this dream. We remain committed to keeping America Recycled an independent project, and thanks to so much grassroots support, we're well on our way to releasing this film.
We are using United States Artists as our fundraising platform. They use a similar model to Kickstarter, but it's a non-profit organization dedicated to the arts, so all donations are tax-deductible. They also do an amazing job supporting artists working in all disciplines, finding creative partnerships and funding practices for projects that might not otherwise come to fruition.
For example, America Recycled has received the USA Creative Vision Award! They selected us out of all artists who launched a fundraiser in January across all disciplines, and are contributing a $5,000 match fund. This means that every single donation is matched 100%, cutting down what we need to raise by almost half. It also means that donors get an award for double what they give.
Asking for money is not our favorite part of this work-we'd rather just be telling stories. But this is a necessary part of the process at this point, and we need all the help we can get. There are plenty of ways to help out here, even if you aren't able to donate anything yourself. You can spread the word about the film and the campaign within your community. You can write about it around your social networking sites and make posts on relevant websites and blogs. You can email us about hosting a screening of our short films to raise some money or organize your own event locally to bring attention to the project. Even small emails and facebook/blog comments help out.
This project has moved way beyond the point where it's just about the bicycle trip of two brothers. This story is about all of us who want to experiment with different ways of living in this country and believe in the power of community in making these dreams a reality. We still have a long way to go, but we can do it together. If you believe in this project, think about how you can help. And spread the word!
- The Hussin Brothers (Noah and Tim)