Dear colleagues, friends and family,
I write in celebration of a tremendous opportunity that has come my way. As many of you already know, I have been awarded one of only eight full scholarship places in the American Film Institute’s prestigious and extremely competitive Directing Workshop For Women (DWW) program. The program is dedicated to launching film and television women directors, and selects less than 4% of the applicants each year. This amazing news means that I get to follow in the footsteps of women like Academy Award nominee Lesli Linka Glatter, Randa Haines, Joanne Woodward, and Maya Angelou. In fact, ninety percent of women directors working in the film and television industry today have come through this program.
With the guidance and support of AFI and as part of the DWW, I will be directing a short film called ALASKA in July in Los Angeles. The film is about the beauty of isolated people connecting during a heat wave in Los Angeles. ALASKA will premiere at the famous ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood May 2006. This screening will make the film eligible to be nominated for the Academy Awards!
Now the hard part, especially for me: While AFI has given me an incredible start, $5,000 seed money and the use of state-of-the-art camera equipment and editing facilities for ALASKA, I still needed to raise $22,500 more to make my dream a reality. I had a fundraiser in New York this past April (thank you to all those who attended and contributed!), which raised $4,464 in one night, making my new goal $18,036. I hope you can help me reach this very attainable goal. To make this film, I need the generous support of my community. To ask for help is very difficult for me personally; I’m used to being the one who helps others, not the other way around.
No donation is too small or too big, and all contributors will be thanked with an official tax deduction letter from the AFI, which is a nonprofit organization.
Every little tiny bit counts. $10 will buy one crew member, who is working for free, lunch on one of the five shooting days. $15 will buy breakfast for the entire crew, who are all working for free, on one of the five shooting days. $25 will fill up the tank of one of our production vehicles. $50 will cover one day’s general liability insurance, necessary for a professional level production. $75 will pay for a security guard for one day, to guard our donated equipment. $100 will pay for the filming permit necessary in the city of Los Angeles. $250 will buy the blank tape stock necessary to capture ALASKA’s visuals. $500 will secure a generator for the power necessary to turn on the lighting equipment that has been donated. $1,000 will secure state-of-the-art sound recording equipment.
Your support and contribution is greatly appreciated. Not only are you helping me achieve a long held dream, you are also supporting AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women and the possibility of more women succeeding in a highly competitive field. The LA Times wrote, “The crux of the issue is that women aren’t getting the first shot, the point where the opportunities are given.” This scholarship is my first break as a director. Thank you for helping me take this first shot.
Respectfully,
Annetta Marion
Director of ALASKA, story by Paul Samuel Epstein
HOW TO DONATE:
(1) The best way for me is by check made out to AFI (memo DWW-Annetta Marion-ALASKA) sent to:
AFI
Directing Workshop for Women
Annetta Marion-ALASKA
2021 N. Western Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90027
(2) The second best way for me is by credit card, you can simply email me at Annetta@AnnettaMarion.com:
Your name
Your credit card number
Type of credit card (Mastercard, Visa, American Express, or Discover)
The card expiration date
Billing zip code
The amount you want to donate
(3) Or if its fastest and easiest for you to donate by credit card, securely through PayPal, please surf www.AlaskaTheMovie.com and click on the "A donation to AFI for the film ALASKA" link
To find out more about ALASKA and the amazing team assembled so far, surf the first pass at our website www.AlaskaTheMovie.com.
To reach me by phone:
Office (323) 856-7763
Cell (917) 701-2938
To reach me by fax:
(323) 856-7758
I write in celebration of a tremendous opportunity that has come my way. As many of you already know, I have been awarded one of only eight full scholarship places in the American Film Institute’s prestigious and extremely competitive Directing Workshop For Women (DWW) program. The program is dedicated to launching film and television women directors, and selects less than 4% of the applicants each year. This amazing news means that I get to follow in the footsteps of women like Academy Award nominee Lesli Linka Glatter, Randa Haines, Joanne Woodward, and Maya Angelou. In fact, ninety percent of women directors working in the film and television industry today have come through this program.
With the guidance and support of AFI and as part of the DWW, I will be directing a short film called ALASKA in July in Los Angeles. The film is about the beauty of isolated people connecting during a heat wave in Los Angeles. ALASKA will premiere at the famous ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood May 2006. This screening will make the film eligible to be nominated for the Academy Awards!
Now the hard part, especially for me: While AFI has given me an incredible start, $5,000 seed money and the use of state-of-the-art camera equipment and editing facilities for ALASKA, I still needed to raise $22,500 more to make my dream a reality. I had a fundraiser in New York this past April (thank you to all those who attended and contributed!), which raised $4,464 in one night, making my new goal $18,036. I hope you can help me reach this very attainable goal. To make this film, I need the generous support of my community. To ask for help is very difficult for me personally; I’m used to being the one who helps others, not the other way around.
No donation is too small or too big, and all contributors will be thanked with an official tax deduction letter from the AFI, which is a nonprofit organization.
Every little tiny bit counts. $10 will buy one crew member, who is working for free, lunch on one of the five shooting days. $15 will buy breakfast for the entire crew, who are all working for free, on one of the five shooting days. $25 will fill up the tank of one of our production vehicles. $50 will cover one day’s general liability insurance, necessary for a professional level production. $75 will pay for a security guard for one day, to guard our donated equipment. $100 will pay for the filming permit necessary in the city of Los Angeles. $250 will buy the blank tape stock necessary to capture ALASKA’s visuals. $500 will secure a generator for the power necessary to turn on the lighting equipment that has been donated. $1,000 will secure state-of-the-art sound recording equipment.
Your support and contribution is greatly appreciated. Not only are you helping me achieve a long held dream, you are also supporting AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women and the possibility of more women succeeding in a highly competitive field. The LA Times wrote, “The crux of the issue is that women aren’t getting the first shot, the point where the opportunities are given.” This scholarship is my first break as a director. Thank you for helping me take this first shot.
Respectfully,
Annetta Marion
Director of ALASKA, story by Paul Samuel Epstein
HOW TO DONATE:
(1) The best way for me is by check made out to AFI (memo DWW-Annetta Marion-ALASKA) sent to:
AFI
Directing Workshop for Women
Annetta Marion-ALASKA
2021 N. Western Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90027
(2) The second best way for me is by credit card, you can simply email me at Annetta@AnnettaMarion.com:
Your name
Your credit card number
Type of credit card (Mastercard, Visa, American Express, or Discover)
The card expiration date
Billing zip code
The amount you want to donate
(3) Or if its fastest and easiest for you to donate by credit card, securely through PayPal, please surf www.AlaskaTheMovie.com and click on the "A donation to AFI for the film ALASKA" link
To find out more about ALASKA and the amazing team assembled so far, surf the first pass at our website www.AlaskaTheMovie.com.
To reach me by phone:
Office (323) 856-7763
Cell (917) 701-2938
To reach me by fax:
(323) 856-7758
. How about applying for a Guggenheim? With the AFI award already in place, many grants agencies would probably jump at awarding you something. I see you're in New York, I believe the Jerome Foundation specifically awards to New Yorkers. or the ITVS? Is there a possibility of deferment on pay? Or donation of services?
