Great film, no money

I am Innocent

In december 2008 my filmpartner and I decided to make a film on a Nigerian young man who took on the fate of his village on his shoulders. He left his hometown, his brothers, sisters and ailing father to embark on a journey of which the outcome was uncertain. His goal: money for a pump, drinking water for the people his village. His travel budget: 5 dollars.
This very naieve yet very determined boy learned the ways of the world quickly: he got sick, exploited, incarcerated and abused. After traveling three continents, he found a new home in Holland. Together with a former boxer turned lawyer his luck started to turn and a remarkable story of succes unfolded. The young Nigerian by the name of Innocent boxed his way to money and recognition. But would he remain focussed in his quest for the world boxing title or would the very same fame he pursued all these years be the cause of his downfall?

Such is this story in a nutshell. We talked to many potential partners about this project and the response was unanimously enthusiastic. A public broadcaster wanted to have our film and there would be a considerable amount of money to finish the film. But in the end, they were overruled by a 'netmanager' and we got nothing.
We decided to finish the film ourselves, without an editor. Both of us have kids, need to make money and live in different towns. We cannot afford a day a week to edit together so we will start editing in our own home and send the FCP-project back and forth. It is certainly not my preferred way of working and I'm sure we'll run into all sorts of (technical) problems but for the time being it is the only way to book progress with this film. Unless we can find a partner who wants to buy himself into this film. Lines our open 24/7!


I am Innocent - the trailer from Filmersblog on Vimeo.