Thanksgiving Appeal

November 7, 2008

Dear x 50/250

All of us at Interlock Media would like to take this opportunity to wish you a good Thanksgiving as this watershed year draws to a close. We would also like you to earnestly consider making at least a modest contribution.

You may donate online at interlockmedia.com/donate.php or send your check to 215 First Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02142. We are a 501 (c)(3) non-profit/ ID # 04-3196-958. All contributions are gratefully received, promptly acknowledged, and deductible. (GuideStar.org)

Ten thousand necessary dollars is the hard number we need to raise by December 31st. Personal economic uncertainty is crippling each of us. It's a rotten time to ask.

So what gives us the moxie to ask for your support when even soup kitchens are struggling?

First, the global fiscal meltdown is a sputtering neon sign that reads "forward to a green economy." As an environmental film company, we have been exposing narcissistic and wrong headed global development for 25 years. 2008 has seen us further sharpen our mission in step with the severity of the crisis, launching new initiatives in green job creation.

In rural Massachusetts (orange-innovation.org) we led the conversion of a 150,000 sq ft building into a hub for social services, artisans, and green businesses. As a result, our host, the town of Orange, received a prestigious Sustainable Design Assessment grant from the American Institute of Architects.

Providing alternatives to violence for inner city youth, Interlock co-founded a program called Dive Kulture, the first of its kind. Our participants were dive certified and placed in marine education jobs.

Secondly, Interlock remains on the front line of media work and training in support of international conservation. One story we told this year tracked the life of Brazil's youngest Indian chief -- a man who must pay his bodyguards weekly. If he doesn't, given death threats against him, he may not live to lead his Xukuru people, currently ten thousand strong. Sugar cane ethanol producers and resort-builders could eliminate their highland oasis. Their lands serve as part of a buffer zone that offers some protection to the Amazon.

On behalf of Cultural Survival Inc., we expect to be soon assisting in the training of over 100 indigenous community based radio station managers in techniques to produce conservation focused dramas. Together we hope to be part of an effort to increase their audience from 1 to 12 million listeners.

Thirdly, global climate change promises fewer resources, more displacement, and more war. We explore the impact of war in our short, The Children of Sderot. It's clear that some therapeutic methods are generally more effective than others in shoring up resiliency and recovery among children stuck in zones of conflict.

We helped craft a proposal for an associate which resulted in improved mental health-care services to unaccompanied immigrant children living in shelters. A treatment has also been completed on inclusionary models in Special Education.


Fourth on our list of tangibles, we are close to completion of one of our major works -- Faith in the Big House, shot in an 18,000 acre Louisiana prison farm. At the start of 2008, one in a hundred Americans were behind bars. Evidently, jail house steel has become the new cure all. Through unprecedented access to a prison mission and interviews with the likes of Chuck Colson, born-again Watergate conspirator, we investigate efforts to reduce the rate of return to prison. Both faith-based organizations and secular groups claim superiority in this effort.

Fifth, now that we have proven ourselves capable of electing a black President, it is an opportune moment for Interlock to release its film on the roots of the global conservation movement. Set in Africa and Southeast Asia, The Extraordinary Passage of the Great White Hunter exposes the xenophobic paranoia that characterized the American perspective after the First World War. Through its narrative, one can begin to understand why the United States is doomed to be a pariah state when it comes to the likes of global warming having refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and sidelining attempts at environmental reform.

The sixth and last reason that we are emboldened to ask for your help is because we are artists and journalists. We in turn train emerging artists and journalists to use music, humor and images to advocate for human rights and the green economy. The broadcast arts can be powerful tools in regenerating social and even economic structures.

Please remember that if it truly proves impossible to donate money this year there are plenty of other ways to support us. Consider volunteering time on a project. You could also provide leads for goods or services for our upcoming auction. Or you might know someone who can. Your generosity has consistently helped make the difference for us -- and this year, most of all, it can help us do our part to solidify the irrefutable green economy.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Schwartz
Director
Interlock Media

Jester

Jester, an Interlock co-production, is nearing completion. The film promotes state support for the arts and the value of edgy avant garde street performances that both delight and challenge the audiences. By following Hudert, as he tours the United Kingdom as a professional renaissance juggler and jester, and documenting his triumph as the first American to win the International Jester Award at Muncaster Castle, the film embraces the role of European street threatre in British society and challenges the prevailing perceptions in the United States that classify it as mere entertainment.

Digital Distribution -- Summary of ITVS Digital Survey Report 2008:

Although nearly all independent film and video producers acknowledge the importance of the internet as a tool for outreach, marketing and networking, most are not keeping up with the latest trends in digital distribution. To many producers, broadcasting their programming on television remains their preferred outlet of distribution, followed by DVD and educational sales. A paltry twenty percent of those surveyed are making money through the online distribution of their content and additionally only report profits in the mid four figures or less. The remaining eighty percent report that they are reluctant to give up their digital distribution rights for two reasons, a perceived lack of opportunity or the belief that better terms will emerge for them in the future.

Regardless of the uncertainty in the marketplace, producers expressed optimism about the prospects of future media. There is the pervasive belief that new and developing technologies in digital distribution and production will encourage the creation of new independent media at least over the next five years. On the production side, more than half are now shooting in high definition video yet only a minority believes that it is helping their position in terms of television work. Although producers recognize the importance of developing multiple versions of their work for diverse outlets many still hail television broadcasts as an exceptionally important factor in achieving success in distribution. Digital piracy did not register as a concern of note.

Branding was of particular importance to the overwhelming majority of producers. More specifically, they wanted a strong independent brand and a high profile online indie portal for their work. Seventy-five percent also cited the importance of public television for the success of independent content. However, many producers felt that they were in need of additional training in order to take advantage of digital technologies and distribution mediums. One of the most common reasons cited for a lack of entry into online distribution was a lack of technical know-how regarding formatting, encoding, content versions, subtitles and tagging. Ultimately what many desire are increased partnerships and and assistance in order to better take advantage of non-traditional business models and distribution schemes.

Read the whole article here.

Online Auction on C-Market

Beginning on December 1st, Interlock Media will be auctioning off a variety of unique items to raise money for our organization. So far, our catalog includes luxurious lodging packages in Cancun and Ecuador, and select pieces of lace linens handmade by indigenous Xukuru artisans in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. But we need more, and we are asking for your help.

The funds we raise through this auction will allow Interlock to continue tackling the most critical and taboo issues without censorship. We are a lean organization and your support enables us to address issues of environmental justice and conservation, human rights around the globe and community development in our own region. By contributing you are also helping to train the next generation of progressive media makers. Sadly, the issues Interlock tackles are a matter of life and death.

We need your help.

* Donate an item... Your participation is an invaluable part of our fund raising efforts. By donating an item or service, you'll be helping to make our auction a success, and you'll receive a mention on our site that can link back to your own web page.

* Refer a friend... Spread the word. The more items we offer the more successful our fundraiser will be.

Thank you in advance for your donations and your participation.

Views on Donor Patterns in Economic Recession:

Although it is always a priority for Interlock to keep abreast of trends in donor patterns, with the current economic crisis it becomes absolutely crucial. Furthermore, from our research we've determined that there doesn’t seem to be much consensus on the issue, so I have provided (mostly from the Chronicle of Philanthropy) a few contrasting views below:

I. Donation rates will be affected in current crisis

Patrick Rooney, the director of the Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University has stated that historical rates of donation have decreased only marginally in years of recession and that on average, giving declines only one percent. However, he then proceeded to iterate his uncertainty and unwillingness to apply this statistic to the current crisis.

II. Potential donors will be more cautious

Potential donors will be more cautious when it comes time to give to additional organizations as their personal portfolios decrease in value. In addition, philanthropy is very seasonal and donations generally peak during the holiday season. Foundations as well often prioritize their budgets based on outdated stock value projections and the immediate impact that a financial crisis will have on their funding capabilities is difficult to determine immediately.

III. Optimistic approach to economic crisis

The most optimistic prediction of the crisis comes from John. J. Havens, a researcher at Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy who posits that income levels are the true determinate of donation rates. Havens believes that the current crisis resembles the economic problems at the end of the 20th century in which net income decreased during the years 1999 to 2002 at a rate of 20%, while household donations did not start decreasing until 2000, and in the end, only decreased by 10%. His ultimate prediction was that the current drop in donations would be quick and superficial as long as net income did not decrease rapidly as a result of the crisis.

IV. Donations are affected by willingness to give more than they are by tax code

However, it is important to understand the view offered by Laura Hansen Dean, the Executive Director of gift planning at the University of Texas at Austin, who states that rather than taxes, the major factor in determining the future of charitable donations is the general state of concern that most citizens feel over the current state of the economy. "Ultimately people have to be comfortable with getting rid of their assets, and we are hearing from people that they are just not comfortable with the economy the way it is now."

Turned Out Sales

One of our feature films, Turned Out: Sexual Assault Behind Bars, had an excellent month of sales this November, selling 500 copies thus far.