The Power of One (Completion)
WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO REACHING OUR OPTIMAL BUDGET WHICH WILL HELP US NOT TO CUT OUR FILM SHORT IN ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT AND NUMBER OF SHOOTING DAYS, AND YOU CAN HELP US ACHIEVE THIS MISSION!
LET'S TURN THE POWER OF ONE INTO THE POWER OF MANY!
Logline
Naturalist Alex Valdez and a team of young documentary filmmakers will take us on an adventure to discover an unknown ecological sanctuary deep in the Colombian wilderness, where an anonymous conservationist named Jorge is restoring an ecosystem from a deforested piece of land and creating a home for a variety of endangered animals. Through this impactful story we seek to help Jorge complete the restoration of Jaibazul and inspire a whole generation to turn their power of one into the power of many.
This film/series is the first step in our mission to to build a network for independent conservationists around the globe to access funding and ecological experts to restore our world’s ecosystems.
Why this Film?
There are less than 6,000 cotton-top tamarin monkeys roaming the wild and a large amount of them live in Jaibazul. Jorge has had to maintain his identity and location hidden from the public to protect Jaibazul from poachers and total extinction. We want to educate viewers on the urgency and action that is needed to save our planet.
Our Impact Campaign
Alongside Jorge, we have developed a budgeted impact campaign with a timeline for him to expand the restoration of Jaibazul and build an international research center for various studies. We are also connecting him with NGOs and experts to guide him on how to properly restore this dry forest. Through our non-profit, The Little Hummingbird Institute, we plan on funding Jorge’s project and partnering with other independent conservationists around the globe to help them restore our world’s ecosystems.
Funding
To fund our documentary film, which we will be shooting in late November of 2023, we have raised $43k with the help of 160 supporters and we need to raise an additional $12k to fund the principal photography budget of $55k.
We are currently applying for to grants but we also believe we can reach these goals through this second crowdfunding campaign, as our previous efforts have opened our eyes to how many people are willing to join a cause that involves our planet, its fragile species, and the effort of a person who is willing to sacrifice everything to save it.
This budget will allow us to work with a professional crew, including a professional wildlife photographer, and high-quality cinema equipment with which we will capture the beauty of Jaibazul and its animals, as well as cover all the travel, transportation and supplies necessary for our trip to the sanctuary. We will also be able to reach the necessary production quality to be accepted into festivals, as well as to potentially be scaled into a series.
About Jorge, Our Protagonist
Starting with a large deforested piece of land he inherited, Jorge is restoring an entire ecosystem and is saving Colombia’s critically endangered cotton-top tamarin monkey. Jorge keeps his real name and face anonymous so no one will poach the new homes he continues to create for multiple endangered species of flora and fauna. Jorge has to date planted 10,000 trees despite adversities, such as harsh weather and organized crime.
Our Director
Alex Valdez is an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker from Los Angeles. He has translated his love of nature to raising awareness by creating academic publications and starting an organization to connect ecological conservationists with funding and researchers, named The Little Hummingbird Institute. As a proud Mexican American, he has a cultural and linguistic connection to Latin America. Alex is the only person that Jorge trusts to make this film/series, and with his sensible passion for ecology, Alex could very well become the first Latino naturalist TV personality and educator in the vein of Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin.
The Journey to Jaibazul
To get to the remote area which Jorge has named Jaibazul, one must fly into Medellín, Colombia, get on a second flight to Monteria, then travel by car for several hours to a remote town called Necoclí. From Necoclí it is another 35 kilometers through dense jungle, and across mudslides and rivers. During the rainy season the road to Jaibazul is unpassable, which is why late November is the only time window to film.
Risks of the Project
We will need to be extremely careful in not giving out the exact location of the sanctuary or revealing Jorge’s identity. If word would get out of the location of Jaibazul, poachers would seek to steal the endangered monkeys that now inhabit this area. We plan on mitigating this risk by never revealing the exact location of Jaibazul, and not showing Jorge’s face during interviews or b-roll.
Thank you!
We cannot wait to embark on this adventure with you and this documentary is only the beginning of a movement in which we all can partake in shining a light on all the people in the world taking ecological and humanitarian initiatives to change it for the better.
Alex Valdez is an anthropologist and documentary filmmaker from Los Angeles, California. Being raised in proximity to the industry, film has always been a large part of his life. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, he has translated his love of nature to dedicating the last two years to raising awareness, creating academic publications, and pursuing a documentary related to the Jaibazul sanctuary. Alex is also working on his Ph.D. in primatology. As a proud Mexican American, he has not only a linguistic, but a cultural connection to Latin America, leading him to visit and initially scout out the Colombian nature reserve on nothing more than an email conversation with its host and founder, Jorge.
Pablo De la Fuente is a producer and filmmaker from Mexico City based in Los Angeles, California. After being raised in Mexico, his love for filmmaking led him to study in Chicago, IL, to later move to LA to work as an Associate Producer in various projects, from the hit series The Garcias to the critically acclaimed HA Festival. Due to a fascination with impactful storytelling and humanitarian causes, Pablo has found great synchronicity with Alex’s mission to tell the story of Jaibazul, in which they both see a great potential of inspiring a whole generation across the globe.
