Ten Dollars Reward is a narrative film set in the Hudson Valley of 1790, shortly after the American Revolution. It is a time and place of enormous vitality and diversity, yet one in which slavery remains legal in New York State.
Our film’s core characters reflect this vibrant milieu: an escaped, enslaved Black man who fought for the British; an ex-British officer; a Hessian mercenary; a half Mohawk/half English, fifteen-year old boy; and a Dutch patroon with a gambling problem.
A life-and-death chase brings these characters together in a haunted woodland — populated by dangerous, enigmatic characters — and delivers them to a mysterious tavern. There, All Hallow’s Eve festivities are in full swing and involve them in a series of disquieting and eccentric episodes with the denizens of the inn.
What happens next unsettles the characters’ reality and reframes their relationships, ultimately re-directing each onto a new path.
Ten Dollars Reward is a comprehensively researched, high-octane, surreal collision of American dreams and nightmares. The film explores the roots of the American experience — both its history and myth — revealing a post-Colonial era that presents a distant mirror to our country’s current state.
WHY WE’RE RAISING MONEY
Ten Dollars Reward is seeking support to assist with essential development costs: casting, budgeting, legal and accounting expenses.
Having secured the services of casting director Destiny Lilly (The Color Purple, Only Murders in the Building, current president of the CSA) gives us extraordinary access to top talent. We believe this access — coupled with the quality and originality of the script and the dazzling visual portfolio of our director, Edmund Milligan Marcus — will enable us to assemble a first-rate cast that will appeal to audiences and financiers alike.
WHO WE ARE
Edmund Milligan Marcus: Director/Co-Writer/Producer
Lisa Milligan: Producer
Donald Marcus: Co-Writer/Producer
OUR COLLABORATORS
Destiny Lilly: Casting Director
Kelly Ryan: Co-Producer/Sales Agent
Elizabeth Margid: Co-Producer/Creative Consultant
Parker Tolifson: Cinematographer
Erika Hampson: Line Producer
Lena Borovçi: Costume Designer & Design Consultant
Heather Merrill: Archival Producer
John C. Lathrop: Finance Consultant
Cadence Effects: Visual Effects
OUR REPRESENTATION
Edward Klaris & Louise Carron
Klaris Law
161 Water Street
Suite 904
New York, NY 10038
(646) 779-4882
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
DONALD MARCUS
+1 (774)-392-2640,
masgorgone@aol.com
Unraveling centuries of greed and exploitation in America’s meat industry, this modern-day take on Upton Sinclair’s shocking 1906 novel calls into question the profiteering of ecosystems and reveals how indigenous knowledge may hold the key to creating an equitable food system for both people and the planet.
The New Tibet is a Chilean documentary about the movement of the Earth’s energy center from the Himalayas to the Chilean desert.
When reviewing the sacred knowledge of ancient civilizations, we find that, in almost all of them, there is talk of marked periods that divide time into eras of approximately 13,000 thousand years. Each of these eras concludes with the alignment of the equinoxes: which, as we know today, are nothing more than the movements of the axis of our planet.
The beginning of a new era began precisely in 2012, in which it is thought that Kundalini energy, which was previously found in Tibet, has moved from the Himalayas to the Andes Mountains, settling mainly in the Chilean desert.
This is a cultural project, which offers a scientific view based on seismic movements in the Pacific Ring of Fire; but it also presents images and testimonies of communities surrounding the Chilean desert; who recognize that they have experienced a process of energy transformation.
Our project takes a route of the history of Tibet as a spiritual center of humanity and the hypothesis of the displacement of its energy to the Chilean desert.
“The New Tibet” is a documentary that invites us to reflect on our beliefs, the concept we have of spirituality and how it impacts our worldview and consciousness.
The Film
Cotton Fever is a feature-length narrative drama-thriller that follows a mosaic of characters as they struggle with addiction on the streets of Boston during the height of the fentanyl epidemic.
Slated to shoot in September 2024, we are a community-funded project operating on a microbudget. Our team, including many experienced producers and craftspeople, are volunteering their time and resources because we believe in the film creatively and from a social impact perspective. We have been co-signed by the local recovery community, who also believe in the spirit of the film and its power to enact change.
The Filmmaker
Daniel Blake Schwartz is a Boston-based filmmaker whose short films have played festivals in the United States and Europe. His films center around themes of class, social isolation, and addiction, and he has done significant outreach work with organizations like Youth on Fire and Cambridge Addiction Advocacy Group, as well as providing support on the streets of Greater Boston for individuals struggling with addiction and homelessness. Drawing from his own journey through addiction and recovery, Dan has an authentic vision that is based on lived experience.
“As a former addict, I spent a lot of time hearing stories. Stories of what people did to get money. Stories of people getting clean or relapsing. Stories of people robbing each other. I always loved the poetic ones. They were easy to retell and they spread like wildfire through the community. You would hear about people you knew doing unimaginable things, but at the same time, you understood and empathized because as an addict you had done it all before. All of the stories in the piece are inspired by my own life, details of friends and acquaintances, and interviews that I have conducted over the years.” – Dan Schwartz
Dan’s short proof of concept of the same name played at IFF Boston, Palm Beach International Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival, Edinburg Short Film Festival, and was awarded the Tarkovski Grant.
Cotton Fever Short Proof of Concept on Vimeo
The Community
In almost every American city, there is a place where we attempt to isolate the dispossessed and addicted. In Boston, blocks from luxury towers downtown, is a neighborhood at the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue (often referred to as Mass and Cass, Methadone Mile, and Recovery Road). It’s a tent city and open-air drug market, where many of the city’s homeless and addicted population has been pushed. This area, with its own laws and customs, is the beating heart of the Massachusetts opioid epidemic. From the ecstasy of the high, to the shattering low of withdrawal, or the loss of a friend or loved one to an overdose, there is suffering here, but there is also love and hope. Our film will capture the full breadth and humanity of the community of people living and struggling on Mass and Cass, shining a light on an area of the city that has rarely been explored on screen.
Creative Approach
The film will be shot in a gritty vérité style, using natural light and real Boston locations to bring authenticity to the piece. By blending professional actors with emerging talent, Cotton Fever will immerse viewers in the complex world of its characters, offering a filmic experience that is raw, gripping, and real. The film draws on addiction oriented drama-thrillers like Aronofky’s REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and Schatzberg’s THE PANIC IN THE NEEDLE PARK. It also borrows from the naturalistic, intimate, and humane shooting style of Andrea Arnold’s AMERICAN HONEY, the sensitivity and realism of Ramin Habrani’s CHOP SHOP, and the relentlessly propulsive pace of the Safdie Brothers’ GOOD TIME.
Donation
While we’ve raised a portion of our funding, we are seeking additional support to ensure that we can make the film with the integrity and production value it deserves, and so that the film can reach a wider audience and maximize impact.
Any donation, large or small, would be a significant lift to our production.
A donation from you goes towards: feeding and housing our cast and crew, transportation, editing and post production expenses, production gear, music licensing, and production legal.
In return, should you wish to be credited, we will be offering donors a special thanks credit on screen in the film’s end crawl. All donations are tax deductible.
Thank you for considering donating to our film!
Sincerely,
The Cotton Fever Team
Searching for Padre Martínez is a feature-length documentary that follows the journey of filmmaker Paul Espinosa as he seeks to rediscover the dramatic story of the New Mexican priest, educator and political activist, Antonio José Martínez. Espinosa grew up in New Mexico but never heard anything about Martínez. Like many Latino historical figures, he was erased from the history books. Espinosa first learned about Padre Martínez when he produced a four-hour series for PBS on the 1846 war between Mexico and the United States.
During Martínez’s lifetime, his native New Mexico ceased to belong to Spain, became part of Mexico, and then was conquered by the United States. Espinosa’s ancestors were Martínez’s contemporaries, and like Martínez, they didn’t cross the border, the border crossed them. Despite never leaving home, they had to negotiate dramatic cultural changes after the U.S. conquest.
Once he stumbled across him, Espinosa realized that Martínez’s struggles paralleled many contemporary issues and raised provocative questions. The film’s narrative arc follows Espinosa’s contemporary journey to uncover connections between his ancestors and Padre Martínez, reflecting on Martínez’s leadership in planting the seeds of democracy at a time when everyone was used to living in an autocracy and obeying a monarch.
The story will be told with a variety of elements including: an engaging narrative of Espinosa’s journey through northern New Mexico, impressionistic animation of key historical scenes, informed interviews with articulate scholars, the creative presentation of the words of Martínez and his contemporaries, a wealth of colorful archival images, and attractive scenes of contemporary New Mexican landscapes.
In mid-19 th century Taos, New Mexico, Martínez faced the challenge of bringing different groups together- cultural, ethnic, religious, political – against a backdrop of bloody insurrections. His efforts provide a model of creative leadership for a fragile, emerging democracy. Martínez understood that for a democratic republic to survive and thrive, an educated and involved community is indispensable.
Martínez was a fierce advocate for education, bringing the first printing press to the West where he published books for his co-educational, primary school and created the region’s first newspaper – El Crepúsculo de la Libertad (The Dawning of Liberty). Through publishing books – and not banning them – Martínez was committed to the aspirational ideals of critical thinking, religious tolerance and human rights, all aimed at pursuing a more perfect union in a fledgling democracy.
Martínez’s life raises intriguing questions. How did he plant the seeds of democracy in the remote American Southwest when autocrats and monarchs claimed absolute power? How did an activist priest like Martínez navigate turbulent times and strike a balance between religion and politics – a busy and volatile intersection that fuels vigorous public debate today? Why did his farsighted ideas about representative democracy, faith and liberal education disappear from the official story?
Today, some believe we might be in the last days of democracy, as we witness vicious assaults on our democratic institutions, amid heightened partisanship and increasing political violence. It’s a timely moment to revisit the troubling times of the 19 th century when democracy was first emerging in the Southwest. The story of Padre Martinez provides a surprising view of the birth of our democracy from the site of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.
Award-winning filmmaker and New Mexico native son, Paul Espinosa , will produce and direct Searching for Padre Martínez. For over 40 years, he has produced, directed, and written numerous PBS films, winning eight Emmys and Best of Festival awards around the world. Paul’s films capture the transformative energy of the men and women of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Paul holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University and a B.A. from Brown University. He is Professor Emeritus in the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University.
BY ALL YOUR MEMORIES, an abolitionist collage feature film, explores (1) histories of Irish and Palestinian solidarity, (2) the politics of early Irish immigrants in America regarding the abolition of slavery, and (3) the assassination of Robert Kennedy and subsequent incarceration of Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan. Using collage filmmaking strategies, oscillating between super 8mm film, found footage, and handcrafted experimental animation, Kelly Gallagher asks her audience to engage with competing historical narratives. As an anti-capitalist and prison abolitionist who grew up in an Irish-American Catholic household, stories of Irish resistance have always surrounded Gallagher. When she recently learned about RFK’s assassination and Sirhan’s conviction, she was motivated to examine the historical relationship between Palestine and Ireland and the complexities of their legacies of solidarity. Gallagher’s film asks: what can transnational solidarity look like? How did so many Irish forget their leftist, anti-colonial radical roots and politics as soon as they came over to America? Why is Sirhan still imprisoned? What could the abolition of prisons make space for in a new world? And finally what can we learn today from the powerful renewed international organizing for a free Palestine?
Fighting against scientific indifference, legislative gridlock, and the human cost of profit-driven markets, ten courageous individuals who struggle daily with rare diseases that have no known cure take action—harnessing the power of community, transcending adversity, and forging a new path forward for themselves and millions of others. “Rare” is a timely documentary that urgently addresses the overlooked issue of rare diseases. In today’s fast-paced world, where medical advancements are rapid, the film highlights the growing number of individuals affected by these conditions. By showcasing their challenges and resilience, the documentary underscores the need to prioritize treatments and cures, especially as profit-driven markets often overshadow human well-being. Against the backdrop of evolving healthcare systems, “Rare” sparks a conversation about equitable access to care and the ethical implications of neglecting these conditions.
The unbelievable story of Hillel Kook (also known by his underground name Peter Bergson) is known to few today. While many streets are adorned with the names of minor Zionist wheelers and dealers, Kook has not even merited an alley. But without this tenacious and creative man – the Forrest Gump of the period before Israel was established – the Israeli state may not have even existed.
Hillel Kook (1915-2001), the nephew of Rabbi Kook, was one of the first and youngest commanders in the Irgun underground movement. In 1940, Jabotinsky summoned him to the United States to serve as his personal secretary, and upon Jabotinsky’s death, Kook remotely oversaw Begin’s appointment as commander of the Irgun.
When news of the Holocaust began to reach America, Kook decided to do whatever he could to stop it – even at the price of conflict with the Jews of the United States and the leaders of the Yishuv in Israel. Along with a handful of partners collectively known as “The Bergson Group”, he founded a series of organizations, raised massive awareness in the press, using giant news advertisements to harass President Roosevelt, recruited lawmakers and celebrities, produced the play “We Shall not Die” (starring Marlon Brando!) and organized the Rabbis’ March to the Capitol in Washington.
The Jewish leadership was envious and entreated the FBI to “take care” of Kook. But ultimately Kook’s group of zealots with strange accents achieved impressive results. Roosevelt was forced to declare the establishment of the “War Refugee Board”. Some historians claim the Bergson group was responsible for rescuing 200,000 Jews. Kook is commemorated at Holocaust museums in the United States, but his struggle is absent from “Yad
Vashem”.
After the war, Kook resumed fighting for his country. In an audacious move, the Bergson Group purchased the Persian Embassy building in Washington, hoisted a blue-and-white flag, and declared it to be the Hebrew embassy. This embassy sent letters all over the world, for example, to the Arab League, claiming that the country in formation would be a Jewish-Arab partnership.
In October of 1947, despite Begin’s lack of enthusiasm, the group filed a memo with the UN towards a unilateral declaration of a government in exile. Ben Gurion did not want to be preempted by the Irgun. Contrary to his close advisors’ advice, he declared the establishment of Israel only one month later, on November 29th.
Upon declaration of the new state, Kook hurried to Israel and “the Bergson Group” initiated and funded the Altalena. Kook was not pleased with Begin’s activity, but was incarcerated by the IDF at a secret facility for four months.
Kook liked to say, “I’m the most leftist right-winger and the most rightist left-winger.” Although he was a member of the first Knesset on behalf of the Herut party, he coined the term “post-Zionism” in a 1947 article. He believed that after the establishment of the State, Zionism could be disposed of. He founded the first civil rights organization in Israel and was one of the pioneers of the battle to separate religion from state. His greatest battle, which he fought until the end of his life, was for a constitution. When the founding committee decided not to draft a constitution, Kook declared it a “putsch”. When Begin found the constitution to be less important, Kook tried to take over the Herut party, and when he failed to do so, he left it. Had he succeeded, there would not have been a judicial reform, and October 7th would probably not have happened.
Kook was pushed out of the country for which he had battled. In 1951, beaten and oppressed, he returned to the United States and became a businessman. In the 1960’s he returned to Israel, and from his home in Kefar Shmaryahu, tried to rekindle the flame. He organized meetings and attempted to publish a newspaper. But the public was uninterested in the man and his obsession with a constitution – except a few young men such as Doron Rosenblum, Yossef Aggasi and Yoram Kaniuk.
Kook should have been remembered as one of the most influential persons in the establishment of Israel, in the spirit of David Ben Gurion and Menachem Begin, but was equally forgotten by left and right. He was called “The Father of the Hebrew Nation” by the academic Moshe Brandt. In his eulogy for Kook, Yoram Kaniuk called him “one of the most overlooked people in our generation”.
The investigative work of researcher Renen Yarezki has yielded historic treasures. An attempt to amend the historic injustice and an effort to outline “the road not taken”, “Hillel Kook was Right” is a proposal for a different present and future for Israel – which is especially relevant today.
Journey of a Thousand Miles tells the story of a notorious and violent gang leader who was convicted of shooting two police officers. He was released in late 2020, after serving 17 years of a 30-year sentence.
This movie asks questions many of us ask of ourselves:
Is redemption possible?
Can a person really change?
Rather than providing easy answers, we want to make a documentary that embraces nuances and complexity, steering clear of black-and-white thinking and engaging our viewers in the gray.
We are more interested in exploring the complexities of human nature than the intricacies of our criminal justice system, though that topic is part and parcel to this story. By keeping the film personal, multi- dimensional, and free from political agenda or self-righteous rhetoric, we believe we will succeed in fostering a broad dialogue across the political spectrum.
“I’m afraid I am an incorrigible life-lover & life-wonderer & adventurer.” – Edith Wharton
EDITH WHARTON (w.t.) takes a journey into the world of a literary genius and prolific cosmopolitan writer. Venturing beyond traditional, limited and mostly black-and-white portraits of the Gilded Age novelist, this feature-length documentary will explore the writer’s complexity as an astute critic, adventurous spirit, and trailblazer in literature and life.
In a life that spanned a transformative period in American history, Edith Wharton (1862-1937) penned over 40 books over four decades, leaving an indelible mark. Today she is best known for classics like The House of Mirth (1905) and The Age of Innocence (1920), which depict the circumscribed Gilded Age New York society she knew so well. But in other works and her own life, she defied convention, becoming one of her era’s most celebrated writers, and extending her legacy far beyond these portrayals.
Using the writer’s own words — in a voice that is engaging, relatable and wry — this documentary will reveal these different Whartons. Not merely a chronicler of a bygone era, a complex figure emerges in diverse fictions, influential writings on architecture and design, World War I dispatches, and intimate autobiographical accounts and letters. From her early days as a curious child to her bold travels, Wharton develops into a dynamic, independent, and contradictory woman.
The documentary traces Wharton’s history through her travels from turn-of-the-century New York and the rugged landscapes of New England to the gardens of Italy, wartime Paris, and even the deserts of Morocco. Filming in original locations and using historical materials (some colorized) as well as creative animation of archival imagery will bring Wharton’s world to life.
Period artworks, illustrations and styles will highlight the radical changes in society and representations of women from the late nineteenth century to the start of World War II while also emphasizing the subjective nature of Wharton’s experiences. Insights from contemporary novelists, scholars, and journalists will also tie the past to the present, showing how Wharton’s narratives resonate with the complexities of our current moment.
Research support for this project provided by
