J Rosette's Genre-Busting Asian Social-Issue Horror Flick, FREEDOM DEAL Update 7/29/11

Spring, 1970. President Nixon orders a military incursion into neutral Cambodia to  destroy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong army sanctuaries…unwittingly unleashing a legion of horrifying  disembodied Asian ghosts known as ‘Arbs’. A young Cambodian boy single-handedly rescues downed US soldiers while evading the Arbs and foiling Khmer Rouge guerillas as he journeys to the safety of the provincial capital.

FREEDOM DEAL will be my 3rd feature as writer-director (see my partial filmography and CV here). The script is complete and registered, some locations have been scouted in Cambodia and Thailand, and significant outreach has been undertaken to local and international talent and Ministry officials alike. (Arb illustration courtesy and property of the producers of the Cambodian horror film, Nieng Arb) 

We're now embarking upon a staged strategy to secure funding for second phase of development. This next stage, Phase II of Development, will involve further script revisions for military, local and historical accuracy, preliminary casting and continued outreach to international and local talent in Cambodia, and other essential tasks in order to build a tight and sellable final package that will secure main production financing.

Along these lines: I'm asking for your assistance. Here in SE Asia, our team is somewhat removed from the funding networks of New York, London, Paris, LA, and beyond.

On the other hand, we are privy to some of the greatest untold stories of our time, and some of the most spectacular locations anywhere in the globe. (see a new article discussing the practical and bankable location aspects of producing Freedom Deal in Cambodia, a country where I have lived and worked for more than half a decade while researching this story that must be told) 

Therefore, any of the following would be greatly appreciated and will be duly and appreciably utilized towards our effort:

• Referrals to additional international production partners
• Introductions to additional funding sources
• Virtual/online volunteerism (graphics, design, outreach)
• ...and for those of you who may be able: financial contributions to break the ice on our newly launched Crowdfunding campaign 

A) Crowdfunding on IndieGogo (http://www.indiegogo.com/FREEDOM-DEAL-Development)
B) Tax-Deductible 501 (c) 3 Contributions can be made HERE through the Media Alliance (http://media-alliance.stores.yahoo.net/intomac6hrme.html) 
C) Direct Contributions HERE (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=L9K...)

Our goal is to commence production on or around May 2012, before the rainy season arrives in full, and to complete the picture within 15 months. We hope you can join us in accomplishing this aim!

In the meantime, please take a look at some further information below, transplanted from our crowdfunding page HERE (http://igg.me/p/36256?a=207478&i=shlk)

Thanks for reading, and considering, and being a thoughtful part of this universe...like previous movies, we're putting every shred of heart and soul into making this picture happen.

- SEE MORE DETAILED INFORMATION BELOW -

All the Best,

Jason Rosette, Director
Camerado SE Asia

(Info from our Crowdfunding campaign @ http://igg.me/p/36256?a=207478&i=shlk)

 

Spring, 1970. President Nixon orders a military incursion into neutral Cambodia to  destroy North Vietnamese and Viet Cong army sanctuaries…unwittingly unleashing a legion of horrifying  disembodied Asian ghosts known as ‘Arbs’. A young Cambodian boy single-handedly rescues downed US soldiers while evading the Arbs and foiling Khmer Rouge guerillas as he journeys to the safety of the provincial capital.

SCRIPT COMPLETE WGA # 1467328

GENRE: Drama; War; Social Issue; Thriller; Action; Supernatural/Horror

Made in on location in Cambodia with local talent; from the producers of 'BookWars' ('Terrific' - LA Times), 'Lost in New Mexico' ('Great Road Pic' - Angelika Entertainment), Cambodia's first indie film festival 'CamboFest', Cambodia's first homegrown rockumentary, 'Vuth Learns to Rock', and many more great movies!

'Sounds like a fascinating movie' - Christopher Kopp, Focus Features

=> IMPACT

In 'Freedom Deal', universal themes related to the plight and struggle of conflict zone internally displaced persons and refugees will be powerfully illuminated through the fictional tale of one Cambodian youth's journey to safety through the hell of war.

A meaningful dramatic feature about the militarily and historically important 1970 Cambodian incursion has never been made -

FREEDOM DEAL is an anti-war movie

Few people realize that, during the 1970 Cambodian incursion, no less than six armies were fighting in  (technically) neutral Cambodia: The North Vietnamese regular army, the NLF (including the VietCong), the army of the Cambodian republic under Lon Nol, the Khmer Rouge, the US regular forces and the Army of South Vietnam (ARVN)...and an assortment of other advisors and mercenaries.

Though much debate has gone on about the actual position of Cambodia during the US-VN conflict, one thing is not debatable: the impact of the neighboring Vietnam war on Cambodia was absolutely devastating and led to the eventual supremacy in Cambodia of the destructive and history-changing Khmer Rouge regime through the destabilization of the country.

Rather than undertake a straight historical documentary about this pivotal time, we've chosen to dramatize and humanize the story by presenting 'Freedom Deal' from the perspective of the Cambodian people, specifically, from the POV of a Cambodian youth named Samnang ('Lucky') who journeys from the conflict area to the hopeful safety of his Uncle in the nearby provincial capital. Our development surveys so far (June 2011) have confirmed that potential viewers are interested in seeing this story told from the Cambodian youth's perspective.

Like 'Blood Diamond' and 'Hurt Locker', the actual wartime conflict in 'FREEDOM DEAL' remains in the background, secondary to the human story which forms the armature of the movie.

A supernatural element, conveyed through the introduction of the striking and horrifying ghostly 'Arbs' of Cambodia (ghosts not known generally to Western viewers, but fascinating to them according to our initial surveys) will be handled in a compelling yet culturally adroit way.

FREEDOM DEAL writer-director Jason Rosette, a US national who lived full time in Cambodia between 2005 and 2010, and who still spends part of the year there as a media producer, filmmaker and consultant, emphasizes the importance of telling the story with a local perspective in mind:

"Our goal has always been to tell this story as much as possible from the Cambodian perspective. My own input would be informed from living, working, teaching and researching in Cambodia fulltime for more than half a decade under very challenging conditions, and by collaborating as much as possible with key Cambodian talent and colleagues who I have known for years. As with another of our efforts, the CamboFest, Cambodia Film Festival, we will aim to train and involve local Cambodians as much as possible into the production process."

=> OUR CURRENT FUNDING NEEDS

Our funding efforts for 'Freedom Deal' are not limited to IndieGogo, but also include the following:

1) Ongoing 501 (c) 3 tax deductible contributions via our fiscal sponsor, Media Alliance of Oakland California

2) Direct ongoing contributions through our separate secure contribution gateway

3) Revenue from sales and rentals of Camerado's previous features, 'BookWars' and 'Lost in New Mexico' (*note that both titles are also being made available as rewards for contributions on the highest levels here: those contributors will receive all rights, copyrights, materials, negatives, etc. for these 2 features)

4) Where necessary funding has come directly from the pocket of the writer-director as the result of various gigs, consultations and production & screenwriting jobs

We are currently targeting $5700 through the Indiegogo platform (half of the total 'Phase II of Development' of Freedom Deal costs) which will pave the way to a more fully financed package with financing, talent, and production partners involved. With this being said: nothing is certain in the current independent film financing environment, and so we will absolutely utilize any funds raised beyond this milestone and apply it towards production with maximum available transparency (which is there are perks for contributions larger than $5700 here...)

=> The Paypal option, implemented through the IndieGogo platform,  is preferable for us because it  enables the use of funds almost instantly; of course, anything is appreciated and will be put to effective and efficient use.Where your contribution to Phase II of Development will go:

(FOR TRANSPARENCY => Request a basic .xls topsheet of cost estimates for Phase II of the Development of Freedom Deal HERE)

(And, as any funding remains...)

=> JOIN THE MISSION

Although funding is our primary need at this stage of development, if you can't add numbers to our funding pool for whatever reason, your interest and participation is still useful and appreciated; here are ways you can help:

* Share links to our IndieGogo appeal on social media sites, blogs, homepages, tweets, blasts, and elsewhere.

* Request to join the team here on IndieGogo: depending on our needs, we'll utilize every shred of capability you can offer (design, outreach, PR, etc) to keep this component of our effort running smoothly and expanding.

* Tell your Uncle or Aunt who works at Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, Sony Pix, etc, about this 'kick ass movie they're making in Cambodia' (*and send them the link to our project, of course) ...at times, it's challenging for us to liaise with the industry centers due to our geographical location, but we can send a treatment or other materials upon request.

* Keep your eyes and ears (ears?) peeled for any funding or grant opportunities that may apply to a participatory social issue dramatic feature effort like ours - then email us with a heads up.

* Join the Camerado Cloud: even if you're located a long way from SE Asia, you can still help us out by being a Virtual Volunteer and assist us with research, outreach, publicity, awareness, and more.  Check out our info on Volunteer Match or email  us with inquiries.

* Email Us to discuss other arrangements such as: pro-bono and deferred crew and other services...etc.

<= SHAREABLE WIDGET