The Power of Crowdfunding: You can Learn From Russians!
Recently, we witnessed an exceptional case in the Russian Internet space. A small but professional TV production studio, Speaking and Showing, claimed to be working on the first Russian documentary film about digital currencies. The studio posted a call for help on bitnovosti.com, aRussian-language news magazine. On October 11, 2015, a mysterious well-wisher sent 27 BTC to the film’s official crowdfunding address. Thus, Speaking and Showing’s crowdfunding goal of 30 BTC has been reached.
Also read: Bitcoin.com Wiki: Earn Money by Educating the Masses
Speaking and Showing has created an absolutely unique and educative piece, titled “Cryptocurrencies. The Gold of the Cyberage.” But, while working with Russian federal channels, the studio faced some serious troubles, leading it to ask the community for help.
Who is the Mysterious Supporter?
A mysterious supporter from Russian Bitcoin community made a donation of 27 BTC to the film’s official Bitcoin address. He also left a comment under the last article on a site which inspired him to make a donation. The generous donor, with the nickname “1111112222” said,
just sent the missing 27 bitcoins
He also wrote:
“I hope this will help the development and adoption of Bitcoin. From one side, it is a pity, and from another – I thinked, who else if not me?) It is necessary to help somehow, especially while having an opportunity to do so”
In a recent article, Bitnovosti.com spoke to Alexander Bezzubtsev, chief producer of Speaking and Showing, to find out more details about the film. He gave a brilliant interview, explaining that it’s not so simple to work as an independent video crew in the modern Russian TV space. Bezzubtsev also shared some exclusive information about video producing. Looks like the angle of an article convinced someone dramatically to finish the crowdfunding campaign with one shot before its release. Let us remind that this documentary will be the first film in Bitcoin history that is fully produced and released only for bitcoins. At the moment of 27 bitcoins transaction is made, address contained at about 3.4 bitcoins — all of them donations from the community.
A Call for Help is Heard
We asked Alexander about his thoughts of the recently transaction and charitable person behind it. The producer says proudly,
“Yes! And they sent SMS about money transferring. They still dont answer my question about who must be named in credits…This is so unexpected, Im worrying. We will start doing the translation and preparing the film for its Internet release. I think, the release will happen in about a week”
So, the Russian-speaking Internet and TV audience is about to receive a present it wont forget — ever. An educative film, made by professionals, for a wide audience — what could be more of a potential adoption boom? Let’s hope this film will continue its road to the festivals and international premiers. Remember everyone, in Bitcoin community, someone will always help you.
Speaking and Showing proved that in the Bitcoin community, someone will always help you. The studio contacted several people from Bitcoin community for help, and got it in the form of donations and the efforts of many community members. Producers wish to thank:
- Roger Ver, for his wise advice and valuable help in obtaining all rights for the film.
- Mysterious well-wisher, who gave his 27 bitcoins to support documentaries and cryptocurrencies and earned a heavy portion of total respect from the Russian-speaking community.
- The Bitnovosti crew and all the people who helped in the film’s preparation
VGTRK Refuse to Air the Film
When the film was almost done, the VGTRK channel said that the documentary would not be aired.
“In April, 2015, VGTRK said they refuse to air the film because it is not actual anymore… Agree with me, this is so funny! – says Bezzubtsev”
This kind of authoritative prevention of spreading new and valuable material to ordinary citizens is actually common to Russia, but filmmakers were disappointed and shocked to receive this news.
“Unfortunately, in a field of documentary movies in Russia main criteria for filmmaker to be picked by TV company is not novelty or quality of video content, but loyalty to channel politics”
More about Speaking and Showing
Speaking and Showing has worked on professional documentaries since 2009. The studio has over 300 works in their portfolio. Here’s an example of such a movie called “Following the steps of Ivan Susanin” (2013).
Storyline
Bezzubtsev says,
“the scenario shows all the opinions and versions about Bitcoin. I concider this is a good point of view. If you dont give a viewer reason to think about the topic, he can suspect you in fraud”
In general, the film explains in simple language the current state of digital currencies and Bitcoin around the world and in Russia. It educates viewers about the nature of money, and shows them differences between Bitcoin payments and ordinary payments. The film designed to be a perfect presentation of a new financial tool to a wide circle of post-USSR viewers. Also, some exclusive material is expected, such as an interview with Roger Ver, filmed in Moscow.
The documentary’s storyline, among other secrets, contains a real story of a Russian enthusiast. He discovered Bitcoin a long time ago and grew from a curious user to a professional miner. Filmmakers tried to show not only a generalized character of Russian bitcoin miner, but also a concrete case of a tech savvy, young, local guy who constructed his own mining farm. This farm is actually showed in the film; it’s real, it’s working, and it’s not just a plastic model created by studio staff.
Would you be interested in watching this documentary? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: bitnovosti.com
Screenshots from: Alexander Bezzubtsev
Art poster from: depthsofsun.com
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