LITMIR.BIZ

       FOREWORD

      One of the most important ideas in Morrie Warshawski’s Shaking the Money Tree is that there is no one way to finance a film; every filmmaker has to go to far and unfamiliar lengths to fund a movie. I learned this the hard way. My first film, Harlan County USA, was a special but difficult one to make. We followed a coal miners union in the midst of a bitter labor strike. These men and women were fighting for very basic rights, and they were putting their lives on the line to secure the compensation, benefits, and protection they deserved.

      Whenever I had a break in filming, I was running back to New York City to raise money for the movie. Independent filmmaking wasn’t yet as developed as it has become. More importantly, there wasn’t a book like Morrie’s to guide you along in the process. I was at a loss for what to do. I knew there were grants available for filmmakers like me, but I didn’t know how to approach them. I finally decided that the only way to ever know what these organizations were looking for was to ask. And so I called those foundations and just asked them questions, talked with them, tried to understand what they looked for in an application. I would consider our discussions and apply until the grants started coming through. It took a long time and was very frustrating. It was a hard but valuable lesson to go through this desperate limbo period. I realized that you have to be bold and creative when looking for funds, and I’m glad I finally learned it when I did.

      The very lessons I had to learn on Harlan County USA are discussed brilliantly in Shaking the Money Tree’s 170 pages, and I wish it had been there for me when I was making my first film. Morrie’s illuminating insights into dealing with foundations balance the ambition necessary to dreaming up your film with the practicality required to connect with and impress foundation judges with your vision. He goes on to explore the details of how to focus your goals for your film and how to target the right foundations to get your movie made and seen. Shaking the Money Tree is full of lists of organizations you can make contact with, samples of applications that were approved for funding, and priceless testimony from filmmakers who have been successful in raising money for themselves. There’s no question that this will be helpful for anyone who reads it. This 3rd Edition is a great resource for exploiting some new technological avenues for funding your film. Morrie details how the Internet can not only be a resource for finding information about foundations, but can also serve as a tool for soliciting funds and as an the avenue through which to show your film.

      Shaking the Money Tree is a special book that I think filmmakers of all levels can benefit from. It’s thoroughly researched and lucidly written, emphasizing that with focus, perseverance, and resourcefulness, you can bring to fruition the stories you are trying to tell. Clearly, this is a slow and difficult economic time, and these lulls always fall hardest on the independents, but the basic tenets of Shaking the Money Tree ring true for all times - you have to be imaginative, you have to be patient, and you have to try everything in order to get your film made. This is the tradition of independent cinema and will continue to be here for as long as there are independent artists at work.

      Reading this book will remind independents that with vision and commitment to making a film, it can be done. Morrie has worked for decades as a consultant and facilitator — he understands the tremendous emotional investment that filmmakers put into their films. His book is evidence of the tremendous care, attention, and wisdom Morrie poured into his book. As a filmmaker, you can trust that Morrie has your best interests at heart. And I greatly appreciate his efforts in putting together this invaluable book for the generations of filmmakers to come.

      Barbara Kopple, two-time Academy Award–

       winning director and producer (Harlan County USA, American Dream)

      But when I said that nothing had been done I erred in one important matter. We had definitely committed ourselves and were halfway out of our ruts. We had put down our passage money — booked a sailing to bombay. This

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