Dreamtown Celebrates the 2018 World Cup and Doc’s Distribution
In celebration of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ and with finals just a few days away, there is no better time to share with our DreamTown community the latest and most exciting news now that we are in our distribution phase.
First, and long overdue, DreamTown will be reaching out individually to our backers who made pledges through Kickstarter. Thanks to your financial backing we are here celebrating the completion and first phase of our film’s distribution, which begins online.
Yes, DreamTown is now ready for rental ($3.99) or purchase ($12.99). Click here to be one of our first online viewers, or to share with your family and friends.
UPCOMING NEWS!!
Dreamtown Screening Saturday
For those in NYC this weekend & looking for a fun event, DreamTown will be screening at the Afro-Latino Liberation Film Festival on Saturday, July 14 at 2:20 p.m @ Abrons Arts Center• 466 Grand Street in Manhattan. Tickets are available for purchase here.
Rewards are being Mailed to our loyal Backers
We are sending rewards to your addresses so please make sure to update us if you have moved either through kickstarter, our newsletter or facebook. We thank you for your continued support and patience with us.
Join Dreamtown’s Outdoor Screening at Queens Museum
Amigos!
We’ve had the pleasure of screening Dreamtown in California, Connecticut, and New York and have garnered awards along the way. Soon we will be screening in Mexico and Kosovo.
For now Dreamtown is back in New York! We will be screening outdoors at the Queens Museum on Thursday, July 20, as part of their Passport Thursdays, featuring a live performance by our favorite band, Chota Madre followed by our film! (perfect combo)
So bring a picnic blanket out to Flushing Meadows Corona Park for an evening in the cool shadow of the majestic Unisphere. We are thrilled to be part of Queens Museum’s programming and would love to see you at this family friendly event! As we’d like to see a good representation of our diverse communities, we kindly ask that you share this event with your community.
UPDATES FROM OUR PLAYER
Anibal Chala, our youngest professional player and main protagonist just became a new dad! Join us in congratulating Anibal and his new family for the greatest blessings life can give us.
The 2014 World Cup is here!
Are you ready for the most exciting month long tournament across the globe??
If you are just as excited as we are, you will want to know when all the matches kick off. Well, there is a way to instantly get the entire World Cup schedule in your Google Calendar.
Check out how and be in the know.
DreamTown Latest News: We are currently still in post-production. However, we have not forgotten the DVD and rewards promised to you, our wonderful supporters! As you may know, making a film is a long process with stages that require a lot of money. Now that we have our rough cut assembled, we are now in the midst of securing funding to complete the film’s sound mix, color correction, graphics, and music score–all the finishing touches that gets a film to completion and ready for TV broadcast!
This July, Betty will be making another trip to Ecuador to secure archival rights from various TV networks and will complete pick up shots needed to finish the film.
We have a new producer onboard! Felami Burgess, an Independent Film Producer, Filmmaker, & writer based in New York City. In addition to being a producing partner for DreamTown, she is currently producing the relationship & self-healing transmedia project, The Let Go, and is co-producing the documentary, TEMPO RUBATO, based on the life of Colombian jazz percussionist, Samuel Torres. Felami is an amazing asset to the team and will be working on Outreach and Distribution strategy for the film, ensuring DreamTown reaches the widest audiences worldwide.
Ecuador’s Valley of Talent Video: The love of futbol is vast and it starts from El Chota. See how two American filmmakers came to love and acquired much respect for this community. So much so, they wanted this region to be part of their discovery in the making of the film about American futbol. Check it OUT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZt_I02fQBs
Join us Cheering On Ecuador:
For those in NY, we want to invite you to join us cheering Ecuador at Legends for the Ecuador vs Honduras game next Friday June 20 at 6pm. Wear your jersey!! We will be!!! Legends is located at 6 west 33rd street, NY 1001. We will be gathering there at 5:30pm.
If you haven’t already, keep up with us on Facebook as we cover Ecuador during this most exciting time! https://www.facebook.com/DreamTownDoc
Let’s Go Ecuador! Vamos Mi Lindo Ecuador!
Dreamtown Team
Dreamtown News | Can’t Hold Me Back on TV!
Hello Dream Team:
As we begin settling into cooler breezes, we embrace this transition time with much excitement and fresh energy!! Thanks to each of you, Dreamtown is moving on to the next phase of production–editing! We finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Updates below — but first, important news about our current film:
“CAN’T HOLD ME BACK” ON TV THIS WEEKEND
Can’t Hold Me Back, our award-winning short doc (15 min) story about a Detroit teenager’s quest to be the first in his family to graduate high school, returns to television this Sunday night (Sept. 29) on VME, PBS’s Spanish language sister station!
Broadcasts in most cities will begin around 10:30pm, following Great Performances. Go here for the channel and time in your area.
Can’t Hold Me Back was commissioned as part of PBS’s Latino Graduates. For more info about the film and additional broadcasts, follow us on Facebook!
DREAMTOWN’S NEW EDITOR
We are excited to introduce Julian Pozzi, our new editor!Julian brings a mix of passion for the game and industry experience. He is originally from Argentina and grew up playing soccer. For him, Dreamtown is a “love” project and “takes him back to his roots. ”
Julian received an MFA from Columbia in dramatic writing, worked for HBO for a documentary show called “John from Cincinnati”, and was a segment producer (editing and writing) at LATV for two shows “American Latino” and “Latin Nation.”
Bienvenido a nuestro equipo Julian!!
We are excited to be working with him and can’t wait to share the process with each of you!!
STORY UPDATE
I recently got back from Ecuador and was able to touch base with our characters.
Ulises is embracing a new opportunity to serve the region he represents through his new position as an assemblyman. Anibal finished playing his 9th professional game! He is exerting all the qualities of a humble soccer star in the making and we are so proud of him. Carlos has found work in construction and is now able to provide stability for his family.
It was great seeing them and catching up with their continued progress.
REWARD FULFILLMENT
We haven’t forgotten about your rewards and thank you for your patience. In the coming weeks you will be receiving a survey through kickstarter asking for information needed to process your reward. 
We are starting the production of most of the rewards offered to our backers, such as t-shirts, CD’s, slideshows and art work. If you ordered a DVD, digital download or ticket, we expect to deliver that early next year (our goal for final edit) to old and new backers.
We are forever grateful to be sharing this journey with you and because of you! Thank you for all your help!
Warm Regards,
Betty Bastidas
GOLAZOOOOO!! goal is reached with only 4 hours remaining!!!
A resounding GRACIAS/THANK YOU to the 221 backers and the 3000+ people sharing our campaign. TOGETHER this campaign raised a total of $35,085… and still counting… toward our real-life, underdog story!! What a rollercoaster ride but well worth the hard work!
The producers are so proud and honored to confirm that the voices of Anibal, Ulises and Carlos will be touching a multitude of audiences, all thanks to each of you! At times the protagonists, and even our backers, have questioned whether this film would actually reach completion, and we are so pleased to reaffirm everyone’s faith with the reality that this film will premiere just in time for the World Cup 2014—thanks to our collective effort. We can’t wait to invite you to our premiere!
Now that we have the funds to make it happen, we will finish this film in the fall with editing, and continue to focus on building our partnerships with Remezcla, community engagement and educational curriculum while we apply to film festivals. We can’t wait to fulfill our rewards promised to many of you that have been waiting for your Dreamtown DVD!!
Thanks again for helping us to make this film a reality. I know this film will make a difference in the world by amplifying the voice of the underdogs who are reaching for their dreams and a better tomorrow and by giving Choteño soccer players their due recognition as the leaders and cultural ambassadors they are for Ecuador.
Thanks to all of you who made this will be possible.
Betty, Giovanna, Jorge
A HUGE THANK YOU TO THOSE THAT MADE THIS POSSIBLE: Remezcla, Chota Madre, Bombazo Dance Company,United Latino Professionals, Soccer Senseis, Upper90, Consulado Ecuatoriano de NY, Lucero de America, Elaine Del Valle, Sara Pavon, Robert Samaniego, Juan Pablo Mejia, Scott Seltzer, Paul Herrera, Andrew Herrera, Ruben Samaniego, Ram Parekh, and our fabulous and dedicated Dream Team, which include Giovanna Aguilar, Jorge Torres, Estefania Szprengiel, Ashley Calle, Diana Araujo, Ati Egas, Flavia Cornejo, Jose Yanez, Byron Delgado, Gabriel Roldos, Dwane Maxwell, Jose Luis Caicedo, Patricia Rodriguez for all their tremendous hard work throughout our campaign!
You guys really inspire us!! We couldn’t have done it without your efforts in spreading the word & your contributions! A big shout out of love and gratitude goes to my family that stuck through all the sacrifices to make this campaign a success– my husband Martin Brecht, my mom Cecilia Flores, my son Santiago Bastidas-Brecht, and our big supporter Elaine Del Valle–without your support DreamTown would not be possible.
Dreamtown Fiesta featuring Chota Madre and Bombazo Dance Company and Film Preview
The public is invited to a film screening and music party on Thursday, July 18 in the Lower East Side, Manhattan benefiting Dreamtown, the first film of its kind telling the story of Ecuador’s Afro-community that has been transformed by its famous world cup soccer players, who are helping to rebuild their hometown and inspiring a new generation of players to reach for their soccer dream. The event will raise post-production funds to complete the film in time for the 2014 World Cup, and celebrate the rich culture of the African-Diaspora.
The event will feature music by acclaimed Bomba group Chota Madre, and a performance by Milteri Tucker from Bombazo Dance Company.
Betty Bastidas and the producing team will be present to meet guests and talk about DreamTown, which she began in 2007. Today, they are in the midst of a fundraising push to finish.
Dreamtown has been made possible through the support of individual donors and self-financing.
Thursday July 18, 2013 @ 8pm $10
@ The Clemente Soto Cultural Center
Abrazos Gallery
(Clemente Soto Cultural Center) 107 Suffolk St NYC
Featuring Music by Chota Madre
Dances from Milter Tucker, Bombazo Dance Company
Dreamtown Releases New Trailer on Kickstarter
Dear family, friends & colleagues,
Here we are two years after our first highly successful Kickstarter campaign that allowed us to continue on our journey to capture defining moments for our documentary Dreamtown. We are eternally grateful to all of our previous backers. Because of all of your financial support, we are now ready for one last push to the finish line—to bring Dreamtown to an international audience, just in time for 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Once again I ask for your help in bringing our film to completion through our new fundraising effort, Dreamtown Final Cut. I thank you in advance for your help!
Catch our new trailer release for our Kickstarter campaign here:
http://tinyurl.com/dreamtownfinalcut
As many of you may know, I have been working on Dreamtown for nearly 6 years, an HBO-NALIP grant-awarded documentary that has been very close to my heart—a tribute to my homeland—Ecuador.
Dreamtown follows three devoted players—Carlos Maldonado, a protégé; Anibal Chala, an amateur; and Ulises de la Cruz—as they overcome extraordinary challenges on their path to the soccer dream. These players have made great sacrifices to save their families from poverty, uplift their community and give pride to their country!
EVERY DOLLAR COUNTS for OUR GOAL:
$35K in 36 days
We have a long road ahead of us but with the strength of the community behind us, we are determined to finish. For those of you unfamiliar with Kickstarter, you can view our project video and can select a different contribution level based on what you can give. It’s VERY easy – the link will guide you to pay through your Amazon.com account and you will only be charged once we reach our goal of $35,000.
Funding Supports
While principal photography has been finished, we need funds to complete the following post-production line items:
Hiring an editor
Completing a musical score
Hiring a colorist and an animator
Paying for archival footage fees
Developing curriculum and publicity materials.
PLEASE SHARE OUR STORY WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS…
PLEDGE FIRST WEEK TO GET US ON KICKSTARTER’S MAIN PAGE
This model works best when we are able to reach beyond our immediate network so please please take the time to share this with friends and family who you think may be interested in supporting the project.
It’s Our Time
It is an exciting time for DreamTown now! We, the producers are excited to announce we are on our final phase of a six year journey to complete the documentary many of you have made possible. The producers and our editing team are hard at work–putting together a new trailer as well as recording testimonials from our greatest fans out there. If you are one of them, and you want to be included, don’t hesitate to give us a shout!
You are once again invited to join us on our last fundraiser, slated to launch on Kickstarter on June 17. If you have recently connected with our story, we invite you as well to join the dream! Together we can make possible having a final cut of our feature film ready by Fall 2013.
As many of you may remember, two years ago we successfully raised funds through our previous Kickstarter campaign, which allowed us to return to Ecuador three times.This was a significant achievement that helped capture defining moments of our story. Similarly, funds raised on our upcoming campaign will be invested wisely, and will be applied to the film’s editing, and to the production of educational tools upon its completion.
With the Brazil 2014 World Cup upon us next year, it couldn’t be timelier to launch the story of three soccer players reaching for their dreams in professional soccer. The world must experience their stories!
As we propel forward, we count on your invaluable support to us help us spread the word and reach our fundraising goals on Kickstarter, launching mid June 2013. The final cut you will help us make will be submitted to acclaimed festivals around the world, helping us secure distribution and broadcast.
You are part of the team that is bringing this documentary to its finish line. We invite you to be part of our success story. We promise it will be a fun and transformative journey!
Betty & the Dreamteam
Festive Holidays for All!
THE ENDING WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR.
We hope that you, like us, had a productive 2012. This month we are preparing for our last production trip to Ecuador, set to happen this coming month upon sudden turn of events: Anibal, our youngest player, is making Ecuador’s National Team! This is BIG as he is one of the best players in the country—only 18 are selected. We have been following updates from his coach, his mom, and just learned of the news. So as you can imagine, lots to plan for.
FULL OF GRATITUDE!
We have lots to be thankful for this year on our steadfast progress made with the support of an awesome team and organizations that believe in our story that will inspire every person to keep striving for their dreams no matter what the odds or the obstacles! Have a look:
- We had an in-depth story consultation, made possible by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Our consultation with re-known “Story Doctor,” Fernanda Rossi has brought clarity and solutions to our story preparing us to seize our upcoming shoot.
- We have continued to expand our team of players taking this documentary to the finish line:
- Giovana Aguilar joined the producing team. She has been constant in her progress since she joined our team, making a trip to Ecuador to capture key story beats and progress from our players.
- Sebastian Hoskins, our awesome lawyer, and most recent addition to our team, is on-board representing the best interests of DreamTown and keeping us in “legal” line.
- Jorge Torres, our production associate and outreach coordinator, is in Ecuador right now, planting the seeds for a powerful community engagement plan with FundeCruz, Ulises De La Cruz Foundation, working on community projects to re-build El Chota.
- Through out the year, we’ve worked with a local production company in Ecuador, Terra Vision, to capture key story beats essential to the continuity of our story.
We are staying steadfast in our race to the finish line and have big goals to accomplish in 2013. We count on your support to continue key funding and outreach for DreamTown.
CHEERS TO A WONDERFUL 2013 FILLED WITH ABUNDANCE, JOY, AND LAUGHTER!!
Welcome Julia Lull to our DreamTown Team
DreamTown is happy to announce that we have a new outreach and communications intern for the summer.
Julia Lull is a junior at Villanova University majoring in Communications and Spanish with a minor in Peace and Justice Education. She is the General Manager of Villanova Television and a Future Broadcast Pioneer of Philadelphia Scholar.
This young woman is a powerhouse! In addition to Julia’s experience in communications, she also has film production skills. In fact, her first documentary “Beyond These Walls” premiered in Philadelphia in March! She is fluent in Spanish and coaches youth soccer back home in Rochester, NY!
The more interns the merrier…and the faster we can reach the finish line and share this film with the WORLD! Please share our call for outreach and communications interns with your networks. Here are 3 ways you can support DreamTown today:
- Become a fan of DreamTown on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and share our film trailer with your network.
- Tell us about organizations and associations to which you belong that would be interested in the DreamTown story. Contact Lauren Townsend at lauren@voicesofdreamtown.com with your ideas and connections!
- Make a personal contribution to help us get a start on this next round of fundraising. You can make a tax-deductible contribution to DreamTown through Women Make Movies (see below).
DreamTown has partnered with Women Make Movies (WMM), a non-profit media arts organization that facilitates the production, promotion, distribution and exhibition of independent films by and about women. WMM is DreamTown’s fiscal sponsor and acts as a non-profit tax-exempt umbrella organization for the project. One of the major hurdles for any film and video project is fundraising. The fiscal sponsorship program enables public and private institutions, and individual donors to make tax-deductible donations.
To give a tax-deductable donation:
1) Go to Women Make Movies
2) Find the DREAMTOWN TAB and put in the amount of your donation.
OR, you can mail a check to:
Woman Make Movies
462 Broadway, Suite 500WS
New York, NY 10013
*** Be sure to write “DreamTown” on the memo line and make it payable to Woman Make Movies.
Thanks for your support!