Toofan Mail On WishBerry

 Hey Everyone, 

Do check out this project I backed on Wishberry. 

About the project

Note - This campaign follows the All or Nothing policy. You will receive your funds back if the campaign doesn't meet its target amount.

 

Toofaan Mail

“A Queen? No way! really?”

No gun, no get away, and she almost got what she wanted.

“Where would I live if not in a palace?” she asked.

 

This was a heist like no other. It was 1974, a woman landed at the New Delhi Railway station in 1974 and she claimed she was the Queen of Awadh and asked to meet Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Her claims in a cloud of suspense and her head held high, she was the living answer to the question, “How do you become a Queen?”

This film is an almost-heist based on believe-it-or-not true events from the 1970s at the New Delhi Railway Station with Nawabs from Awadh, reporters from BBC, the station master, a rickshaw puller, and a queen.

About me - Akriti Singh

 

I play the penniless queen in the film, have written the screenplay, directed the film, edited it and produced it. It was so much work, so much fun and the realization of a cherished dream.

 

I come from a small town. My happiest memories are sitting in a cinema hall, staring widely-eyed at the big screen. I still feel the same rush in my heart each time the lights dim in the theatre and a film is about to begin. Films helped me cope with the humdrum small-town life and gave me hope and a sense of adventure, ambition.

 

But just having a dream is not enough, you must work hard towards it. Over the last few years, I have acted in several films and TV Series - most recently in Breathe 2 with Abhishek Bacchan, also Kaamyaab (on Netflix these days), Photograph with Ritesh Batra (who made Lunchbox), Broken But Beautiful with Balaji, Mere Apne with Vinod Khanna and Smriti Irani, as well as Mrs. & Mr. Sharma Allahabadwale, Grihadah and several others.

 

I have also written, produced, directed and performed 14 plays in the last 3 years, which have opened at some of the most prestigious venues in the nation - Prithvi Theatre, NCPA, India Habitat Centre etc. and have garnered great acclaim.

 

I have even directed a music video for Rabbi Shergill (Bulla ki Jaana fame) and made over 10 short films!

 

My passion for cinema drove me to learn acting, screenplay writing, direction, editing and I've given it all my heart. This film brings the best of my skills and a brilliant team to tell a bewitching tale based on true events.  This is my first film and I plan to make at least a 100 films in my life.

 

What inspired me to make this film?

 

It was a fascinating real life incident that sparked the idea of this tale. As I wove  fiction around the fact, the film became a very fresh take on the heist plot. When something this much fun comes around, you can't help but give it your all to bring it to life.

 

Art Direction for the Period of 1970-80s

 

The film shows the period of 1970-80s and it was important for us to get the location and props of the film period-right. 

 

1. The New Delhi Railway Station

 

After extensive search we found a railway station in Farrukhabad (Uttar Pradesh) that could look like the New Delhi Railway Station from 1974. 

 

 

2. Artifacts & Costumes

 

With authentic Nawabi artifacts borrowed from the modern day heirs of Nawabs from in and around Lucknow, the costumes, props, even camera angles and lenses are all period accurate. To shoot this way with no money not only took a lot of ingeniousness and imagination, it took a lot of hard work.

 

 

 

What is unique about this film?

 

Many things are unique about the film and stand out.

 

1. A fresh take on the heist drama

 

2. The incredible real world events that the film’s fiction uses as a starting point.

 

3. The innovative "auteur" approach to storytelling, focussing on the fast pace, drama and plot.

 

Work in progress

 

The film’s edit is locked. We are already in the process of dubbing the film. Foley, color-correction needs to be done and we have to make the music of the film. Once the funds are in place the film will be completed in the next 45-50 days.

 

Release plan of the film

 

We are planning to send it to Sundance, Cannes, Berlin film festival etc. All the prestigious festivals. Looking at the current scenario, we will try to release the film on an OTT platform.

 

Why should people contribute to this film?

 

 

There was a scene in the film with an entire passenger train. A working train, hundreds of people, several takes, no way was it going to be possible to shoot, everyone had lost all hope. Then on the fourth day, a passenger train was routed to the small goods-train only station where we were shooting. It was unbelievable! Everyone came out to help us make the film that day. Workers laying new rail tracks came, the folks running the train came, the passengers came, even people from the nearby village, someone even got jalebis for the crew! Everyone came and helped us shoot till the scenes were done. When the crowds dispersed, the air was glowing with thousands of smiles, the distant sounds of a train chugging away into the scenery. We didn't know those thousands of souls, they just came out in full force to make art. It was a revolution. 

 

This film needs you to be there too, on that station, with those thousands of smiles, in that revolution. 

 

This film is our attempt to return to the classical form of cinema - where you forget that you are watching a film and immerse into the fascinating world of the story. The art is far bigger than any artist. We cannot do this alone and need all the help, from all of you. We'll all have this film to remind us that so many came together for a revolution of art, of love.

 

Why crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding will give us the freedom to make our film without any interference. The producers' and financiers' loyalty is with their money and most of the time, a film is secondary to them. Any innovation in storytelling and the film is compromised in the service of money. Crowdfunding gives us the freedom to keep film honest above everything else.

How will the money be used

7,00,000
target

Follow the project on

How has the project been funded so far?

So far the individuals in the film have used their own money and resources to fund the film. More than the money - people have made the film with their talents. The director is also the editor of the film. Actors have doubled up as production designers and assistant directors.

What are the risks and challenges in the film? What happens if you don't raise enough funds?

We want a certain kind of music that is the soul of this film. If we don’t raise enough funds, we might have to compromise on the quality of music and we won’t be able to present the best film that we want to. The audience will miss a film that they should get. But we will continue to make the film one way or the other.

Fabulous Families - Love Beyond Gender and Color

Fabulous Families - A Book

Story

[🇮🇹 traduzione italiana in fondo alla pagina. Per i sottotitoli al video, avviare il video, cliccare sul fumetto in basso a destra, e selezionare "italiano"]

“Fabulous families” is an illustrated book for children ages 4 to 6 that speaks of love through the unexpected adventures of 7 unconventional animal families.

All of our 7 stories are inspired by facts that really took place somewhere in the world. We just collected them, added a little sugar and a touch of color!

 MEET SOME OF OUR FABULOUS CHARACTERS 

OUR INSPIRATION

We are Guido and Francesco, and we live in Milan, Italy. We have a dream: to become parents one day together. That is how the idea of “Fabulous Families” came about.

We asked ourselves: how will we explain to our baby from a young age that our family is different from most, yet equally wonderful? We suddenly realized that many parents are in this same position, because today families come in many shapes, sizes and colors.

We thought an illustrated book could help us explain that, but we struggled to find one that portrayed the spectrum of diverse families we had in mind without being too didactic. We wanted our kid to grow up with stories as beautiful and romantic as the fairytale books we grew up with.

And so we decided to write them ourselves!

In a world where anything different from “normal” is still seen as suspicious, we want to provide future generations with a different narrative, one that is about growing up together, without discriminating or leaving anybody behind. We want to show our young readers that every family is a family, regardless of the number of parents, race or gender. If you believe that love is the only thing that a family needs to be called such, this book is for you!

 HERE'S ONE OF OUR STORIES  (PLAY - 7 minutes)

HOW WE WORK

We believe that being fabulous is natural, that's why our stories are inspired by true facts and real events that took place in the animal world. Once we find a story, Francesco writes the text, together with a unique piano soundtrack that goes with it!

In the meantime, Guido works with an illustrator and with our fantastic graphic designer Federico to make each story come to life! Each story is illustrated by a different artist: just like our characters, they come from all over the world, and possess a unique style and personality. And an extraordinary color palette!

But we also want our stories to be relevant, and not just pretty. That is why we work with a team of children experts to make sure the messages are clear and easy to understand by all children in pre-school. We have been lucky enough to find in our own enlarged family the support of a primary school teacher, a children psychologist and four very smart young moms that helped us craft each word and each scene. That is besides the love of many who have inspired us without even knowing it, of course.

MEET SOME OF OUR AMAZING ILLUSTRATORS

NOW HELP FABULOUS FAMILIES COME TRUE!

Now we need your help to make “Fabulous families” come true: we are raising funds to print this book. You might be interested in a different book for your children or you might simply want to contribute to building new family narratives. Whatever your motivation, we hope you can consider supporting this kickstarter campaign and make “Fabulous families” come to life!

STRETCH GOALS

Risks and challenges

This is our first Kickstarter, but we have been preparing this for a long time and we cannot wait to get this book out and into your hands! The biggest risk we could face would be a delay in the shipment of books to you due to our printing capabilities. We are, however, confident that our printer will meet the challenge and we have built in some extra time to ensure meeting our goals. The artwork and writing of the book have been completed, and the music is well underway. We plan to communicate every step of the way on the status of this project and to be fully transparent regarding any delays or issues and how we are addressing them, should they arise. As the campaign ends and we begin printing, we will provide you with an updated timeline.

REWARDS

Please note that "Fabulous Families" is written in English, but its Italian version "Famiglie Favolose" will be available to fulfill all orders from Italy. We hope to be able to provide more translations in the future! For more details on each reward please see the relative box on the right!

Darkness Undone

Link - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/elayna/darkness-undone?ref=thanks-copy

BACKED THIS POETRY BOOK PROJECT!!!  

Story

 In 2018, I set out to do something I had never done before—self-publish a poetry collection. I came to Kickstarter, hoping that perhaps this crowdfunding platform that had made so many other creator's dreams come true could help make it happen for me. To say that campaign was successful was an understatement. It reached it's goal in about 72 hours, and led to me being able to put my first book baby out into the world—UNRAVELING LIGHT.

That very summer, as I was working through finalizing that first book (and being inspired by the Summer of Poetry that Kickstarter ran that year, where I even got to speak at an event!) I knew that UNRAVELING LIGHT was only going to be a beginning. I hoped that one day I could publish its twin, a book that would serve as the answer to the first book's call. And after two years, I'm finally back. Finally here, ready to make it happen. Enter DARKNESS UNDONE.

Also split into five sections (this time titled: OTHERS, DEATH, HEARTBREAK, DESTROY, and REMAIN) DARKNESS UNDONE digs even deeper into my life, by tackling things like losing my grandmother, too many unrequited loves to count, and how I rose above the a life's worth of depression & anxiety to become who I am today. It is a call to arms in these trying times, here to remind you that no matter how bleak the world may seem, there is still hope to be found in the dark. There can still be love even in the face of so much loss.

Below you'll learn more about the budget, timeline, and awesome rewards you can claim, but if you've come this far into reading, let me just take a moment to thank you. By supporting art and poetry during this global pandemic, you're reminding me why there is still so much left on this scary planet to be hopeful for. Thank you for helping me on the next leg of my journey as an author, and I hope you enjoy these new poems!

As you can see, there's a number of awesome rewards that backers can claim when contributing to the project! On a budget? A small donation of $5 gets you a PDF eBook of DARKNESS UNDONE upon release! Want to dig a little deeper into my published (and never before seen!) works? Then the $10 digital bundle might be for you.

Then of course there's the really exciting stuff, like a first edition copy of the book, which will feature original artwork by yours truly! And to make things even more exciting, at the $50 Umbra reward level, I'll even do a tarot reading for you & write you an original poem of guidance based on the reading! 

And at the highest donation level, you can even inspire a poem in the book yourself! Suggest a topic and I'll pen an entirely new poem to be included in the book, with an extra special thank you to you in the acknowledgements section for your support.

Publishing a new collection is a complex process, but I've put together this easy to read budget by splitting things into four categories. Here's how that $1700 initial goal breaks down...

Editorial Services — $500

This includes hiring a professional editor, designing the interior, and readying the files to be printed so that the final project is a beautifully crafted book.

Production Costs — $510

This includes registering the book through Ingram Spark, the company who will print the books and make them available to retailers around the world, including Barnes & Noble or the shelves of your local booksellers. This will also include an initial 150 book print run of first editions, which will be available as perks during the campaign, and available for purchase on my website after its conclusion.

Rewards Fees & Marketing — $500

This part breaks down into the cost it will take for supplies to craft the handmade & photo printed perks, shipping fees for the signed copies of the book to backers, as well as the fees for me to upgrade my professional website so that folks can purchase my books directly through that platform. A small portion of this will also go towards marketing fees to promote the book around the time of its release.

Kickstarter Fees — $190

In order to remain a fully functioning platform for creators, Kickstarter requires a 5% fee for all successful campaigns, as well as an additional processing fee for payments. This amount will cover those fees without taking away from the funds needed to actually bring the project to fruition.

Putting together a book takes time, but thankfully much of the work has already been done before this campaign even launched! The poems to be featured in the book are ones I have written and curated into a collection over the last two years, so now all that will be needed is for the book to fund, for final edits to be made, and it to be printed and shipped out into the world. But how long does that take, you ask?

Campaign Duration — Spring 2020 (May & June)

Finalizing Editorial & Post-Production — Summer 2020 (July & August)

Publication & Shipping of Perks — Fall 2020 (September & October)

My favorite part of crowdfunding has always been engaging with backers, so I'm excited to share that during the campaign, there will be several online events where we'll get to do just that! This section will be updated as the campaign goes on, so be sure to check back for when the next one will be happening! You can also watch past events you might have missed at the links below!

Kickstarter Launch Event — Wednesday May 20th @ 7pm on YouTube LIVE

Kickstarter Campaign Wrap Party — Saturday June 20th @ 7pm on YouTube LIVE (link coming soon)

Risks and challenges

As we've definitely seen in 2020, the world can be extremely unpredictable. It is one of the many reasons I decided to launch this campaign. This pandemic has reminded me how not one day is promised. That being said, there are always potential risks of needing to adjust the timeline, and potential for delays, especially when it comes to shipping. I experienced some of this with my last campaign, so I definitely feel more equipped with that element of the campaign this time around. I learned so much from my last campaign, and those lessons on managing deadlines and meeting expectations helped me grow both as a creator and beyond. I'm so honored that anyone would take their hard earned dollars to help me bring my creative visions to life. It is because of that incredible kindness you've shown me that I can't wait for the rewards of this campaign to be in your hands in the coming months. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to send me a message here on Kickstarter, and I'm happy to chat with you! Thank you so much for sharing your love with this campaign. Be well!