Crowdfunding for Amitav’s movie

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Imagine your favourite author’s celebrated work is being made into a film and you are in a way helping it go on floor, how does that sound? Well, funding for individuals has been a big trend abroad but filmmakers here too have shown that the Internet has immense potential to generate funds for films, campaigns and

other projects. Onir’s I Am was produced with the help of donations through Facebook and Partho Sengupta’s Arunoday attracted numerous crowdfunders on indiegogo.com.
Amitav Ghosh’s Sahitya Akademi award-winning novel The Shadow Lines will be filmed soon. The filmmakers have already started collecting money through an online fundraiser. They are asking fans of the writer and others to contribute for the project at indiegogo.com and get signed copies of Ghosh’s novels and the film’s DVDs in return.
This innovative method that “relies on the film-viewing ‘commons’” has impressed Ghosh who wrote on his blog, “I am amazed to think of the possibilities this might open up. It could revolutionise filmmaking, setting it free of the studios.”
Author-turned-filmmaker Ahmed Faiyaz is also toying with the idea of raising funds through social media. He says, “Although it is challenging to deal with so many investors from diverse backgrounds, I feel this will be the way forward for filmmakers, musicians and artistes, who may find the purse-strings tight to fund their ventures.”
The biggest advantage of this medium is that you can approach people globally in a matter of few minutes. You can build a rapport with your target base and convincing them won’t be tough.
Sujata Bali, who is involved in various online campaigns says, “Technology has made the reach quicker than one could have ever imagined. It is also the most happening thing right now and it is not just youngsters who are targeted here, people from all age groups love to participate in different activities.”
Twenty-two-year-old Karthik Naralasetty, who started Socialblood.org, a service that connects blood donors and recipients of the same blood type through Facebook, says, “Socialblood is self-sustaining because we have zero cost involved to run the initiative. The platform is based on Facebook framework so it’s easy to scale the project. Currently, we are working on a location-based model so we are looking to raise funds as we have to buy server space to manage the amount of requests.”
Docu-filmmaker Vishesh Verma, who made a few documentary films during his college days with the help of crowdfunding, says, “No longer are people dependent on conventional media. Be it financing movies or seeking support, it is the most ‘now’ way of life.”