2010 January 15
Posted by Dave and Matt

Belated Happy New Year!

Just a brief update on our project. Matt and I have been busy sending off grant proposals for finishing funds. We completed two in last week and will finish another before the end of this week.

We will submit a cut to the Cannes film festival by March 17th. Though not the most documentary friendly festival, having our film screened there would be incredible and give us fantastic international exposure.

In the meantime, we continue to look for financial sources for to fill out our post production budget.

Thank you for all your support and interest and we will update again soon.

David and Matt

2009 December 4
Posted by Dave and Matt

Hello all,

Just wanted to let everyone know that we learned yesterday that our film was not accepted for Sundance 2010.
There were a record 9,800 entries for 200 spots (10 spots in our category) so as you can see the competition was fierce.
We understood the cut we submitted was not the best or as complete as it could be, which is one reason we didn’t publicly discuss our submission much, but we decided to rush in a cut because of the magnitude of the Sundance film festival, it’s documentary friendly atmosphere, and, most importantly, that spending another year before applying would just be too long, especially for all the people who have helped our project so much along the way.
We are still on course for submission to Cannes film festival in May, 2010 as we have stated here before. We are busy now trying to raise funds to be able to make the additions and changes to the film that we think will add so much to the end product. If anyone knows any philanthropic types who have the ability to consider a contribution please send them to us or our credit card donation page.
There is a lot of silver lining in this gray cloud and the day when we can announce where and when you can see our film on a screen is closer than it ever has been before.
Thank you for your interest.
David

2009 October 14
Posted by Dave and Matt

Hello everybody,

The Savoie case continues to draw some long over due attention to the issue. Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey will be coming to Japan this weekend and there is a new CNN video and ABC print piece just out:

http://abcnews.go.com/International/fighting-custody-abducted-children-japan/Story?id=8817579&page=1

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2009/10/13/lah.japan.custody.morrey.lg.cnn?iref=videosearch

Thanks so much for your time and support. We’d like to ask you to think about a donation if you have the means, click under “tags” on the right side of this page. To be blunt, we need your help. And money is the biggest challenge to making a film that will have the most impact. Thank you for your consideration.

There should be a another spike in the news coverage when the next step is taken with Chris Savoie. According to the law, he must be charged or released after a maximum of 23 days in police confinement. By our unofficial count that would make Oct. 20th, 2009 the last possible day the current conditions could extend to though something may happen at anytime.

More soon,

David

david@fromtheshadowsmovie.com

2009 October 1

Hello again. Well for anyone who has been watching CNN or the Today Show recently you can easily see how the issue has become much more widely known with the arrest of Mr. Savoie in Fukuoka, Japan. As with all our cases it is our hope that the issue can be resolved peacefully and satisfactorally to all parties involved, especially the children.

Here is the CNN story:

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2009/09/30/wynter.abductions.doc.cnn?iref=videosearch

Another one is posted at MSNBC. Go to this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33068613#33086474

Then click “American jailed in Japan over custody battle” on the left side and it will come up in the player.

We have a rough cut of the film but have exhausted our resources in getting here. We are still looking for funds to make the final push, finish the film and get it out to the public. We humbly ask those who who have the means and shared interest to consider making a donation. Below is the link to our credit card donation page.

http://www.documentary.org/community/IDA-resources/fiscal_sponsorship_donate?film_id=2977

Thank you so much for your time and interest. We look forward to the day we can announce where and when you can see our film on the big screen. With all the recent attention that shouldn’t be too much further down the road.

Contact us at: david@fromtheshadowsmovie.com

Thank you,

David and Matt

2009 August 3
Posted by Dave and Matt

Hello Everyone,

I’d like to announce that we have completed a rough cut and have started to approach those individuals and organizations that may provide the necessary finishing funds. We are still very much in need of any financial help you can provide. Please visit our “Get Involved” page: http://fromtheshadowsmovie.com/english/contact.html

For those who can consider a contribution of $10,000 or more we can arrange for “sneek peak” viewing of the current rough cut and would be glad to meet in person to explain more about the project. There are still challenges ahead but we keep January 10th, 2010 as our deadline for completion of the final cut.

Thanks so much for stopping by and checking in. Please contact: david@fromtheshadowsmovie.com if you have any questions or comments

David and Matt

2009 July 5
Posted by Dave and Matt
Just a brief update here with regards to schedule. We are marching on and will finish the rough cut by August 1st. From there we must secure financing and once that is in place, complete and submit the film to Cannes Film Festival by January 10th, 2010.

As we are into July now that is only 6 months away. Not much further now. 

Anybody who can contribute is encouraged to go to our “Get Involved” page: 
http://fromtheshadowsmovie.com/english/contact.html
 
For those considering larger contributions ($10,000 or more) we would be glad to arrange a personal meeting and or a “sneek peek” of the rough cut after August 1st.

Please contact me at: david@fromtheshadowsmovie.com

More soon,

David and Matt

2009 June 28
Posted by Dave and Matt
Hi everybody,

Nothing very exciting to report other than the editing process continues as scheduled. Our editor has noted that we have enough strong material that this could actually be made into a series of films. 

I’d also like to stop and say that we have had numerous people help us with transcription and interpretation for next to nothing and it really shows the determination and spirit of those who are putting in their time. We are forever indebted to their efforts and hope to pay them back with a film that reaches far, deep and wide. I’d like to especially thank, Taka, Shu and Vicky for their effort despite their rigorous exam schedule. 

The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and though we still have some challenges ahead with raising necessary funds for the final cut editing, we are very confident, optimistic and look forward to the day we can show everyone why all this hard work was so worthwhile.

More soon,

David and Matt  

2009 May 15
Posted by Dave and Matt
Hello again.

Just a brief update. As of May 1st we started editing the rough cut. So far, so good. Most of our time is spent filling in the holes in our material so our editor has the most complete library to work from.  

We are still looking for funding to make the final period for the 2nd half of this year (once the rough cut is complete). Any consideration or suggestions for that of course are warmly welcome. 

For the most part, we will have our heads down while we push on but we can always be reached at: david@fromtheshadowsmovie.com 

Thanks so much for your interest and support. 

David and Matt

2009 March 12
Posted by Dave and Matt
Hello again everyone,

The promotional short  DVD is ready and we have been sending it out and showing people related to the film. It has been difficult to keep up with demand so please be patient if you are waiting now. 

One of our main goals is to try to fill our $90,000 budget for post production which will begin from August 1st. We understand the economic climate is no where near ideal for contributing to a documentary film right now but as the days and weeks pass more cases happen and the need to address this as soon as possible continues to grow. 

Another goal of ours is to start a relationship with someone or organization who can help realize our goals and help raise awareness. Involving a famous name in our project will give it great lift and help tremendously when we submit our final cut to the film festivals. We will keep approaching our contacts and ask that if anyone else has any ideas that would help us build that bridge we would love to hear them and participate however we see best fit. 

We have tentatively set May 1st as the date to begin the rough cut edit which will be finished by August 1st. Matt and I will be busy preparing the material for our editor and pitching the project while also chasing down releases for copyrighted material.

Thanks for your help, contact us at: david@fromtheshadowsmovie.com and check back in a while for another update. 

For now,

David 

 

2009 February 22
Posted by Dave and Matt
Hello everyone,

We have completed the promotional short video we mentioned last post. It’s a 14 minute cut that plays like the film will for a large section. Please contact me if you are interested to have us send you a copy. Email to: david@fromtheshadowsmovie.com 

We are look forward to hearing your opinion.

We continue to push forward to the to complete the rough cut by August 1st. I have been busy capturing all our material at full resolution while Matt has been focusing on transcription and assisting our editor in Los Angeles.

More soon,

David