West Seattle filmmaker close to goal for documentary project

We last mentioned local filmmaker Leah Warshawski‘s Rwanda documentary project last November, when she was a featured artist during the monthly West Seattle Art Walk. (In the photo above, she’s second from left in the center row.) We’ve just learned that her project “Film Festival: Rwanda” has been raising money via Kickstarter, and has 10 days left to reach a goal that’s still a few thousand dollars away. Here’s how the project is explained in a news release:

More than three years in the making, Film Festival: Rwanda follows the efforts of five Rwandan filmmakers to produce their own films and screen them in remote villages for thousands of people, on a 40-foot inflatable screen since electricity is still a scare commodity in many villages.

For many Rwandans, this is the first time they’ve seen a film, let alone one in their local language. It is this determination to display their country’s progress that drew Leah Warshawski, a veteran television and documentary producer, to document the efforts of the young filmmaker.

“Rather than re-examining the past, these young storytellers are using film to project a positive vision of their country’s future,” said Warshawski, executive producer. “Their motivation, energy and creativity inspired us to document their efforts to show the progress their country has made since the end of the atrocities.”

Once the project makes its $29,000 total, they can finish their rough cut, a critical milestone. You can chip in – even $10, we’re told, and you’ll be listed on the credits – by going here. To find out more about the project, you can check out the site for the production company, Inflatable Film.

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