Well, my dears...I didn't die. In fact, I've just been in New York City making movies. And I have to say, it has been the hardest two years of my life. By a LONG shot.
The good news is, with the end of course work, I have to produce a bunch of films in order to graduate. Which mean I don't have to go to class. The bad news is that i need to find job fast!
Been working on a bunch of little films. Just recut an experimental music film. Check it out here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=N3jqbFPab9E
I am also starting to write grants for two different films I am producing. One is shooting in a month! Eeeek! If you're ever in the mood to donate to up and coming directors and film projects (and you want a tax write off) let me know. Seriously. We have fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas. This means you donate money to the organization, then they cut us a check, and provide you with a tax write off. Yes, the non-profit world likes to call it fiscal sponsorship. My friend Catherine, who is my sometimes producing partner, likes to call it legal money laundering. Regardless, in an imperfect world, it gets the work done.
I just got an educational loan increase to go to Israel for the summer to make a short documentary about Darfur refugees in Tel Aviv. It will be my non-thesis film. I am interested in displacement, and I have a few connections there (not to mention my best friend Karin), so my costs should stay fairly low. Plus, I am already so incredibly far beyond what I can ever make up in debt, that $5,000 more doesn't seem like a lot. It is sometimes hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that I'll be close to $200,000 in debt when this is all said and done.
I worked five jobs this spring. I am seriously a masochist. Thankfully, most of them were freelance...and all but two of them are over! But having enough money to be able to pay rent is great! And if I hadn't worked so hard I never would've have been able to afford Israel.
Life is good. I promise to try and keep in better touch.
Seriously.
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2 comments:
Yay! You're not dead! This cheers me immensely.
I realize you're making a joke when you describe fiscal sponsorship as "legal money laundering" but it's actually a very serious issue. If the transaction were actually the simple pass through that you describe here it would in fact be wildly ILLEGAL money laundering.
The most critical legal aspect of fiscal sponsorship is that the charity must provide meaningful oversight over the use of funds. As your fiscal sponsor, it's our job to ensure that any money we release to you gets spent in a manner that is consistent with our IRS-approved charitable purposes.
There are bad fiscal sponsors out there who work on the "pass through" model, but Fractured Atlas is not one of them. In fact, we're currently working on a national advocacy effort to educate institutional funders and policy makers about the legitimate uses of fiscal sponsorship. Part of that effort involves establishing and promoting best practices for the field, especially those relating to oversight.
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