Athentikos: Exposing, Inspiring and Connecting through film, sound and imagery. » Film Production

Letting Go

Scott Moore — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:17:48 +0000

Creating art is easy. It is the letting go part that’s difficult …

I don’t necessarily consider myself an insecure person. Normally, I don’t care what people think about me. I’ve never struggled with peer pressure. If I believe I should do something, I do it. That has been the case with ‘Reparando’. Over two and a half years ago, I believed this was something I should do. So, I committed to see this project to completion. It was hard work, like climbing a mountain at times … but all in all, not overwhelming. I just focused on the goal and kept moving forward one step at a time. However, now that I have reached that goal, I find myself feeling strangely defenseless, like I climbed a mountain and now I am standing on top naked for everyone to see. I have been asking myself why, because I thought I was pretty confident.

A couple weeks ago, about 30 minutes after Amelia and I put our sons to bed, Micah came downstairs crying hysterically. We were able to calm him down enough to ask what happened. Evidently, some kids were playing outside his bedroom and he opened the window to say hello. I won’t go into the fact that he should have been sleeping … that is another story. Long story short, these kids said some mean things and hurt Micah’s feelings. Wow … This was a new emotion for Amelia and me. We were both distraught over the whole ordeal. Someone hurt our son and we didn’t like it. We could hardly sleep that night.

I don’t share this story as an attempt to be even more naked on a mountain. I share it because it helps me realize why I feel the way I do about ‘Reparando’. Art is a product, of it’s creator, much like a child is a product of their parent. I can raise Micah with love and support, mold him into a way that I believe is best, but at some point, I will have to let him go into the world. I will have to trust that Micah’s life has a purpose outside of my hands. Some people won’t embrace Micah, or his purpose, but I will still have to let him go. The same holds true for ‘Reparando’. I have thoroughly enjoyed molding ‘Reparando’ into what it is. I’m creative and love to create, but now it is time to let go.

We were accepted into Grand Rapid’s Film Festival right about the time we shipped the final product to replication and I was feeling pretty good about our ‘baby’. But shortly after, I learned that ‘Reparando’ wasn’t accepted into a couple other festivals. I immediately began to feel like that previously mentioned naked mountain climber. I began to question the time and energy I spent producing this project. Suddenly, I was insecure.

I shared my heart with a close friend who reminded why I did what I did … why I spent two and a half years producing this documentary. I didn’t do it to win an award. I didn’t do it to make money for myself. I did it because I had to. I had to respond. I believed it was the right thing to do. Right after our conversation, I received an email notifying our acceptance into the Kansas International FIlm Festival. We’ve entered about 25 film festivals so far and are batting .500 for the 4 who have made decisions. 50/50 … not so bad when I think about it. But I don’t want to think about it too much. That is what made me insecure in the first place.

I know this: We’re sharing a powerful story about Guatemala and it’s people that needs to be heard. Despite my own imperfections, I trust that it has a purpose outside of my hands and that it will connect with those who God intends. I can be secure in that.

And some day … I will watch this work of art with my Guatemalan sons. That is worth more to me than any award I could ever imagine.

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FINISHED … And Just Beginning

Scott Moore — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:33:45 +0000

After 2 1/2 years of production, I had the distinct honor of mailing the DVD master of ‘Reparando’ to the replication facility today. I am excited and nervous – kind of like when I became a father. We have invested thousands of hours into this labor of love, and have enjoyed the first leg of this journey. We continue to walk forward into this new phase and look forward to sharing the documentary story with the public very soon!

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Film Festivals – Round 1

Scott Moore — Thu, 27 May 2010 01:19:13 +0000

We locked the Reparando edit this week. We still have work to complete before we are completely finished, but decided to move forward with Film Festival entries so we could make some of the 2010 season. Film festivals are a great way to present a film to a broad audience, network in the film community, and possibly gain distribution. A few of the festivals are Oscar qualifying … it doesn’t hurt to dream. We are hopeful that Reparando will not only get accepted into festivals, but that it will win a few to gain some exposure for our film and help raise capital for Micro-Finance in Guatemala.

Through an amazing website called withoutabox.com we were able to enter into 17 film festivals scheduled from August 2010 through March 2011 with relative ease. We will notify you as soon as we know if our film is accepted into each festival. We look forward to sharing this amazing story with the public.

The table below details the film festivals we have entered so far and are listed in order of festival dates.

Festival	Information	Festival Dates	Notify Date
Grand Rapids Film Festival	PO Box 1772 Grand Rapids MI 49501 U S A Phone: 616-451-2700 Fax: 616-301-1500 info@grfilmfestival.com http://www.grfilmfestival.com	08/25/10 – 08/29/10	08/06/10
San Diego Film Festival	10981 San Diego Mission Rd. Suite 112 San Diego CA 92108 U S A Phone: (619) 582-2368 Fax: (619) 286-8324 programming@sdff.org http://www.sdff.org	09/29/10 – 10/03/10	09/01/10
Kansas International Film Festival	c/o Leawood Theatare 3859 W. 95th St Overland Park KS 66206 U S A Phone: 913-642-4404 info@kansasfilm.com http://www.kansasfilm.com	10/01/10 – 10/07/10	08/15/10
Heartland Film Festival	200 South Meridian Street Suite 220 Indianapolis IN 46225 U S A Phone: 317-464-9405 Fax: 317-464-9409 info@heartlandfilmfestival.org http://www.heartlandfilmfestival.org	10/14/10 – 10/23/10	09/04/10
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival	819 Central Avenue Hot Springs National Park AR 71901 U S A Phone: 501-321-4747 Fax: 501-321-0211 hsdfi@hsdfi.org http://www.hsdfi.org	10/15/10 – 10/24/10	09/10/10
Arpa International Film Festival	2919 Maxwell Street Los Angeles CA 90027 U S A Phone: 323-663-1882 Fax: 323-663-1882 arpafilmfestival@gmail.com http://arpafilmfestival.wordpress.com	10/15/10 – 10/17/10	09/01/10
Jacksonville Film Festival	c/o TigerLily Media 2011 Belote Pl Jacksonville FL 32207 U S A Phone: 904-858-9889 Fax: 904-858-9887 info@jacksonvillefilmfestival.com http://filmfestival.jacksonville.com	10/13/10 – 10/17/10	09/13/10
Philadelphia Film Festival	600 Chestnut Street Suite 705 Philadelphia PA 19106 U S A Phone: 215-253-3599 Fax: 215-754-4969 submissions@filmadelphia.org http://www.filmadelphia.org	10/14/10 – 10/24/10	08/20/10
Santa Fe Film Festival	60 W San Francisco Street Suite 307 Santa Fe NM 87504 U S A Phone: 505.988.7414 Fax: 505.988.7648 info@santafefilmfestival.com http://www.santafefilmfestival.com	10/20/10 – 10/24/10	09/30/10
Austin Film Festival	1801 Salina St. Austin TX 78702 U S A Phone: 800-310-3378 Fax: 512-478-6205 programming@austinfilmfestival.com http://www.austinfilmfestival.com	10/21/10 – 10/28/10	09/22/10
Savannah Film Festival	c/o Savannah College of Art and Design PO Box 3146 Savannah GA 31402-3146 U S A Phone: 912-525-5051 Fax: 912-525-5052 filmfest@scad.edu http://filmfest.scad.edu	10/30/10 – 11/06/10	08/31/10
AFI Fest	2021 North Western Avenue Los Angeles CA 90027 U S A Phone: 866 234 3378 Fax: 323 462 4049 programming@afi.com http://www.afi.com/AFIFEST	11/04/10 – 11/11/10	10/08/10
St. Louis International Film Festival	Centene Center for Arts and Education 3547 Olive Street St. Louis MO 63103-1014 U S A Phone: 314-289-4150 Fax: 314-289-4159 mailroom@cinemastlouis.org http://www.cinemastlouis.org	11/11/10 – 11/21/10	09/15/10
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival	131 South Higgins Avenue, Suite 3-6 Missoula MT 59802 U S A Phone: (406) 541-3456 programming@bigskyfilmfest.org http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org	02/11/11 – 02/20/10	01/01/11
Cinequest Film Festival	Attn: Programming PO BOX 720040 San Jose CA 95172-0040 U S A Phone: 408-995-5033 Fax: 408-995-5713 programming@cinequest.org http://www.cinequest.org	02/22/11 – 03/06/11	01/15/11
San Diego Latino Film Festival	c/o Media Arts Center San Diego 921 25th Street San Diego CA 92102 U S A Phone: 619-230-1938 Fax: 619-230-1937 entries@sdlatinofilm.com http://www.sdlatinofilm.com	02/10/11 – 02/20/11	02/15/11
Omaha Film Festival	PO Box 540730 Omaha NE 68154 U S A Phone: 402-415-6272 omahafilmfestival@gmail.com http://www.omahafilmfestival.org	03/03/11 – 03/06/11	01/30/11

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New Promotional Video featuring Joel Van Dyke

Marko — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:06:00 +0000

Joel Van Dyke came to Nashville to host our Vision to Respond event and also took some time to do a promo piece for the film.

Joel lives in Guatemala City with his wife Marilyn and two children, Joeito and Sofia. After 16 years as a pastor in North Philadelphia, he currently serves in Central America as the Director of the “Estrategia de Transformacion” (Strategy of Transformation) which is a grassroots training initiative with a mission “to equip the church in Latin America to reach high-risk youth and their families in hard places.”

Joel has been a key member of the Athentikos team as one of primary contacts in Guatemala and has been a vocal advocate for the project. Special thanks to him and his family for dedicating time and effort in the vision for the film.

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Newsletter: Year End Update December 2009

Marko — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:40:07 +0000

2009 Tax- Deductible Donations

We know that many people desire to make donations towards the end of the year. Would you consider giving to Athentikos? All donations are tax-deductible.

Update on the Film Project

“We are currently focused on editing the documentary. Like any project, we’ve hit a few obstacles. The sheer amount of footage to comb through is a hurdle in itself, especially when this is not our “day-job.” We are a small team doing the work of a large production crew. There are times when it all seems impossible, like this will never be finished. But, I rewind and watch the stories again… and I am reminded why we work late into the night. I am reminded why we want to share these stories with others. People like Shorty and Tita remind us who God is. Their stories are not merely inspirational, but transformational as well. God is transforming us through this, drawing us closer to Him.” – Scott Moore

Joel Van Dkye of Estrategia de Transformacion was in town during November. He joined us for our last promotional event, Vision To Respond at Rocket Town. We also hosted several meetings with him, which included a Mission Trip Roundtable Discussion and other logistics meetings.

We have had several promotional opportunities this fall to get the word out about our project. Scott Moore and Amy Stroup were on the Brian Mason Show. Amy Stroup was on Better Nashville.

In addition to editing, we are currently working on details for the Mission Liaison and Business Plans. These plans will be completed in January so that we can start recruiting leaders for 2010-2011 mission teams; and continue to raise funds through local businesses. We will be hosting a team leader informational meeting in January for those interested in possibility leading a mission team. (More information will follow.)

Thank you for your commitment, investment and interest in this project. Your support and prayers are much appreciated. If you would like to volunteer your time towards this project, we have several needs. Contact us at info@athentikos.com if you are interested in learning more:

Volunteer Needs

Are you one of those people who have a passion for working for non-profits, seeing a task from start to finish, coming up with new ideas to complete a project, not getting paid…. then we want you!!!! Seriously, we are looking for some people to join our team in the following areas. We can’t promise you riches, but we can promise you’ll enjoy working with great people who all have a passionate vision for serving! Here’s what we need:

Funding Coordinator
Grant Writer
Copy Writer (for newsletters, website, etc)

If you fit the bill, please, email, call, open a window and shout it out (if you live in Spring Hill, TN, we may actually hear you!) that you’d like to team up with us! Thanks!

View the latest trailer:

Athentikos: Guatemala Trailer 3 from Athentikos on Vimeo.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

We are still in need of financial support to complete our mission. You can partner with us by providing a tax-deductable donation online through paypal:

http://athentikos.com/support.php

Or you can write a check out to Hupomeno (our 501c3 Partner) and send it to:

Athentikos
p.o. box 1957
Spring Hill, TN 37174-1957

SPREAD THE WORD

Please help us by telling your family and friends about what we are doing. If you have a blog or a website, you can add an Athentikos banner with the following code:

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Vision To Inspire Event Promo

Marko — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:52:55 +0000

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iPhone Users… this one is for you!

Marko — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:04:59 +0000

For you iPhone users, here’s a chance to have a preview video on your device if you subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes. If you don’t yet, go to your iTunes store, click on Podcasts and just search for “Athentikos”. Once we come up in the search results, click on the Athentikos name and find the “subscribe” button. BAM! You’re in!

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Athenti-Kast: Episode VI

Marko — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:37:11 +0000

In this last episode from Guatemala, Scott, Bengy and Cesar wrap up filming at Casa Barnabe and head home to Nashville.

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Athenti-Kast: Episode V

Marko — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:00:14 +0000

This episode shows J. Mac and Bobby leaving Guatemala to come back to the States while Bengy, Cesar and Scott have a day off in Antigua before going back to Guatemala City to wrap up filming at Casa Barnabe.

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Athenti-Kast: Episode IV

Marko — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:26:56 +0000

This episode shows the crew visiting Ciudad Vieja as they capture the story of the Ortiz family and the Kyros School. They hit up a local bakery where Estuardo works and go back to his home to capture scenery and interviews. The team also grabs some scenery of both Vieja and Antigua with the Agua volcano in the background before returning back to Antigua for the day.

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