Andrew James is one of the co-directors of Cleanflix (review), an interesting exploration of copyright issues in the context of Mormon culture. I had the good fortune of meeting Andrew and co-director Josh Ligairi at TIFF last year and conducted what I think was a pretty good interview.
Since then, I’ve kept track of their separate projects, and was excited to learn that not only was Andrew working on a new film, but that he was using Kickstarter to help fund it. The brainchild of internet brainiac Andy Baio, Kickstarter is an amazing way for creative professionals to raise funds for their projects by reaching out to their audiences before or during the production process, rather than figuring out a way to reach them afterward. And you’re not donating; rather, you’re pre-buying something, whether it’s just a thank-you note or a DVD of the finished film. It’s beautiful in its simplicity and it’s a joy for me to browse the site regularly, looking for interesting projects to support. Andrew’s is definitely worthy.
Street Fighting Man is a documentary premise that sounds like fiction. In the economically-ravaged landscape of Detroit, a retired cop feels the need to take the law into his own hands after local police abandon his community. Even in the research phase, I think you’ll agree that Andrew has captured some great footage and found a really interesting subject. Check out the teaser trailer and then click on the nifty widget to lend your support.
