A feature documentary about Kansas City, as its people tell us how they got through the pandemic and look back at what they lost.
A feature documentary about Kansas City, as its people tell us how they got through the pandemic and look back at what they lost.
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Story
Mission Statement
"The City of Dried Fountains" is about the hardest parts of saying goodbye and stepping into another phase of life. The last two years have tested Kansas City's ability to hope, and this film examines that by letting its people tell their story.About The Project
"The City Of Dried Fountains" is a love letter and a memoir to Kansas City. Interviews with Kansas Citians tell the story of a growing city up until 2020 until the pandemic hit -- and how their lives changed once the decade did.
At the heart of the story is Nella Lohr, a wife, mother, and grandmother who found a home in Kansas City later in life with her husband Ron. As she tells the story of how they built a life there and how they originally fell in love, she explains how when Ron passed, their new hometown saved her.
An ode to the human condition, "The City of Dried Fountains" looks to capture the essence of love and loss and the communities we rely on to get us through it.
As we've mentioned, we are raising funds for our post production costs. Those costs include a composer and his team, a sound engineer, marketing materials, film festival entry fees, and creating DCPs for those festivals. A DCP or Digital Cinema Package is a formatted harddrive that some festivals require a film to have in order to enter or be shown. The marketing materials will include a graphic designer for the poster and the costs of advertising on social media to create buzz around the film for festivals.
We've already requested quotes from artists we'd like to work with for music and sound and created a comprehensive list for the festival fees, including which ones require DCPs. Our budget is based on that research.
As you know indie movies live and die on the festival circuit. It’s where we stand the best chance of getting picked up by a distributor and receiving feedback or awards that can help us with our next project.
But festival submissions are not cheap. Your contribution will directly help us fund these submissions and will help us not just finish this film, but give it a life beyond just our Vimeo channels.
We have to reach 80% of our goal to obtain the funds, but even with all the above material being said: you still may not be able to help out. But say you love the project, and you still want to spread the word -- is there something you can do? Definitely!
FOLLOW US
Follow our campaign and stay up-to-date on the latest news!
Whether it's through Seed&Spark or our social media, any follow and interactions with our posts greatly help us get closer to our goal.
On top of this, Seed&Spark rewards us for building our audience. So the more followers we get, the more we unlock products, services, and festival fee waivers courtesy of Seed&Spark!
SPREAD THE WORD
The only way we will reach our crowdfunding goal is if we hit 80% of our amount asked, and we reach beyond our networks. Both of these goals can only happen if we spread the word. So please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, however you want! Crowdfunding is all about that first syllable: crowd. We can't do it without you!
Here are some examples of social media posts you can copy and paste to your feeds:
Finally a movie about Kansas City! Help writer/director Blake A. Miller and his team complete their documentary "THE CITY OF DRIED FOUNTAINS" at: https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-city-of-dried-fountains
I just watched the pitch video for "THE CITY OF DRIED FOUNTAINS," and you HAVE to support this KC film! Join them on @seedandspark: https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-city-of-dried-fountains
Incentives
$5
Welcome To The 816
Pledge $5, and we'll give you a shoutout on our social media!
$10
A Thank You Video - For You!
Pledge $10, and producer Kate Napoli and director Blake A. Miller will send you a personalized thank you video!
$25
A Slice of Kansas City!
Contribute $25, and get one of Nella's personal family recipes!
$50
A Night with the Filmmaker
Contribute $50, and you'll get access to a live Premiere and Q+A of the film once it's completed. You'll be able to see the movie before it's released and talk to Blake, Kate and the star of the film -- Blake's grandma, Nella!
$100
See Your Name on Screen!
Ever wanted to see your name in the credits? Here's your chance! Pledge $100, and your name will be included in the "Special Thanks" section of the end credits. You can now tell everyone your name has been in a movie.
$1,000
Right This Way...Producer ;)
"Special Thanks" not quite good enough? No problem. Contribute $1,000, and you'll be credited as an Executive Producer on the project in the end credits. Not only will you be able to say your name was in a movie, you can brag to your family, friends, and even strangers at the bar that you're an Executive Producer.
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$5
Welcome To The 816
Pledge $5, and we'll give you a shoutout on our social media!
$10
A Thank You Video - For You!
Pledge $10, and producer Kate Napoli and director Blake A. Miller will send you a personalized thank you video!
$25
A Slice of Kansas City!
Contribute $25, and get one of Nella's personal family recipes!
$50
A Night with the Filmmaker
Contribute $50, and you'll get access to a live Premiere and Q+A of the film once it's completed. You'll be able to see the movie before it's released and talk to Blake, Kate and the star of the film -- Blake's grandma, Nella!
$100
See Your Name on Screen!
Ever wanted to see your name in the credits? Here's your chance! Pledge $100, and your name will be included in the "Special Thanks" section of the end credits. You can now tell everyone your name has been in a movie.
$1,000
Right This Way...Producer ;)
"Special Thanks" not quite good enough? No problem. Contribute $1,000, and you'll be credited as an Executive Producer on the project in the end credits. Not only will you be able to say your name was in a movie, you can brag to your family, friends, and even strangers at the bar that you're an Executive Producer.
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
Blake is a writer/director who graduated with a B.A. in Cinema from San Francisco State. To date, he's made 20 short films, 100+ corporate videos, collaborated with brands big and small both inside and outside of Kansas City, and placed and won regional film festivals for his work.
Kate is a filmmaker and screenwriter who also graduated with a B.A. in Cinema from San Francisco State. To date, she's produced nine short films, written and consulted on over 50 feature films, and worked on the Emmy Award winning series KQED's Above The Noise.
As much as "The City of Dried Fountains" is built off artistic inclination, it's also a mile marker in the duo's business partnership. From studying films to making student shorts to producing branded content, "The City of Dried Fountains" is the clear next step for starting their production company, Paradiso Pictures.
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