Thank you for joining us on this journey to protect the Amazon Rainforest and its invaluable wisdom through the power of art. Whether you attended one of our screenings, events, or discovered us online, your support is deeply appreciated.
CURA follows three Amazonian tribes in their sacred role as forest guardians, weaving traditional healing rituals with mind-altering sensory experiences to reveal humanity’s deep connection to the rainforest.
Part documentary, part art, CURA is designed to move audiences emotionally and inspire a reconnection with nature. Beyond a film—it’s a living campaign designed to galvanize people from awareness to action. Every frame, every dollar spent is an invitation to witness, engage, and make a tangible impact in preserving the Amazon’s wisdom and protecting this precious ecosystem. CURA is an invitation to witness, engage, and take action in this critical cause that affects us all.
Thank you for making a tax deductible donation to support our documentary. Every contribution helps bring this vision to life and amplifies its reach. Below, you’ll find our donation tiers, each offering exclusive rewards as a token of our gratitude.
Reward Tiers
$25 – Receive an advance digital copy of the film.
$50 – Includes the above, plus access to our events and ceremony mailing list.
$100 – Includes the above, plus your name in the film credits.
$250 – Includes the above, plus two tickets to the premiere screening closest to your location.
$500 – Includes the above, plus lunch with a producer in NY, LA, or Bogotá.
Donation Credit Tiers
$1,000 – Includes the above, plus a studio visit during production or lunch with our director.
$2,500 – Includes the above, plus a limited-edition digital still
$5k – Includes the above, plus a limited-edition signed portrait.
$10k – Includes the above, plus a Special Thanks
$25k – Includes the above, plus a “Made Possible With” credit in the end credits.
$50k — Includes the above, plus a “Contributing Producer” credit in the end credits.
$100k+ — Includes the above, plus a “Co-executive Producer” credit in the main titles
Please contact us directly at
cure.movie@gmail.com for an additional EP credit or to become a collector of the film.
The Magician is an 18-23 minute narrative that follows “father of public relations,” Edward Bernays and his wife Doris Fleischman as they navigate an evening with America’s elite, on the third and final night of the stock market crash that marks the beginning of the Great Depression. The Bernays’ odyssey of self-preservation is exacerbated as a mob of protestors take to the streets to revolt in face of the greatest economic downturn in American history. The film is a chamber-piece that takes place entirely within the theater during a 15-minute intermission.
The Magician is the thesis project of Emerson College Visual Media Arts MFA candidate, Juan Gracia. The film is informed by Juan’s background in marketing as well as his interest in the history of propaganda, and conversations he has had with members of the Bernays family. Along with producer Tushar Gidwani, who spent the last few years working all over Asia as a producer for VICE and South China Morning Post, and a crew composed of award-winning filmmakers in their own right, Juan hopes to accurately and artistically present a tumultuous evening in 1929.
The Magician tells a story that, on an emotional level, explores the lengths parents will go to for their children and, in a sociological context, offers a glimpse into the origins of psychological manipulation in advertising and media. Edward Bernays pioneered the use of psychoanalytic techniques in advertising, laying the foundation for today’s consumer culture. Despite this, I see Edward Bernays not as a consciously malicious person, but instead as a Pandora, who, unaware of the consequences, opened a box that would affect generations to come, simply because it would ensure the wellbeing of his family. This story depicts the moment that Bernays became both a father to a daughter and the renowned “father of public relations.”
We are currently partnered with the Strand Theater in Dorchester, one of the oldest theaters in Boston, as the principal filming location for the film. We are very proud not only to be supporting this theater, but also to have the opportunity to capture its beauty in cinematic 4K for a wider audience to appreciate. With their partnership and the support of Emerson College, and Rule Camera, we have managed to reduce the amount necessary to make the project, but we are still looking to raise $15,000.
Production costs that would be facilitated by donations include: Additional location rental, set decoration, props, wardrobe & accessories, makeup, craft services, catering, transportation, hard drives, equipment rental, festival submissions, promotional materials, and post production crew (sound mixer, colorist, DCP creation, etc.).
On behalf of Juan, his crew and his cast, we appreciate your help in bringing this project to life. We are grateful for any support you are able to give, and would not be able to create this work without the aid of our community and supporters.
A girl with dissociative identity disorder, triggered by the incessant voices of her talking chicken handbag, embarks on a disturbing obsession with her favorite country singer.
How can Israelis and Palestinians commit to peace amidst so much tragedy? If humanity doesn’t unite, what will? Creating a Better Peace will show how partnering on interconnected challenges and shared goals can create a culture of equality, prosperity and the conditions for peace. Creating a Better Peace looks at successful models of Israeli-Palestinian, cross border alliances bringing economic investment and social progress to a divided land. As they work to overcome the tensions and obstacles of October 7th, Creating a Better Peace asks how can the shared goals and objectives of Palestinians and Israelis be re-aligned? Can neighbors rebuild trust and work together? We’ll be following the different paths to peace through the people working for peaceful solutions that are making a real difference.
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
Peace News Network is dedicated to highlighting stories of peacebuilders from around the world. Our stories focus on the people working to build peace from the bottom-up, and those working to find solutions that bring people together. We have produced hundreds of stories and videos from conflict zones since 2015, and will continue to provide a platform for global solutions-focused peace journalism.
A fleet of boats, three dozen formerly incarcerated individuals, a handful of mentors – and three days of whitewater rapids. AMERICAN RIVER is a documentary film about what happens when, after years behind bars, you get the chance to do something unexpected, wild and free.
This documentary short focuses on three people who have served long prison sentences and now find themselves way outside the confines of bars and barbed wire, navigating the Middle Fork of the American River. Some participants have been home 2 years, some 2 days. They are all members of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) where diverse reentry programs include an annual weekend rafting trip. Many participants have never stepped foot in the wilderness when they opt in to three days of rapids. By throwing them far outside their comfort zones, the trip provides an exhilarating moment of freedom in nature that challenges participants in all ways while cultivating confidence, inspiring a new sense of what is possible, and potentially changing the course of a life.
Former cellmates who haven’t seen each other in 20 years reconnect around the campfire. A young person whose record has been expunged meets a criminal justice advocate who lobbied to make it happen. Everyone is navigating the overwhelming challenges of returning home. Laced with the inherent tension and conflict of complicated pasts, the film documents the apprehension, fear, adrenaline, camaraderie, adventure, joy, and impact of this unique experience.
Almost half of all Americans will have a family member incarcerated at some point in their lives, with communities of color impacted disproportionately. Nearly 2 million people are behind bars at any given moment in the United States and when those sentences are completed and time is served, these individuals are released with little more than the clothes they entered in. Without crucial skills and resources to establish themselves, the cycle of recidivism continues. By engaging audiences in emotional stories of real people, American River opens the door for discussion about the American justice system and sparks engagement through empathy over politics.
“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
Summary
The Emmy Award winning Noube Productions documentary will examine the high school education
system in the inner cities. This documentary will interview students, teachers, parents and administrators , challenge the inequities in our local education system, expose the perspectives of those affected, and highlight possible solutions. The 60-minute feature film will be organized into four sections: Current State of Education, Race and Identity, Family Engagement, and Successful Teaching Pedagogy. The goal is to find solutions to help inner city students reach their fullest potential and prepare students for success in their lives beyond school. We will focus on high school students in hopes to increase their investment and sense of urgency regarding their education. This film will strive to provide unbiased perspective, reflection and action steps on how to model and sustain best practices for students to achieve success.
Public Benefit
Gateway communities like Brockton, Lynn, New Bedford, Lawrence, and Lowell have historically been
underserved and underfunded which has disproportionately impacted inner city students. This
documentary will highlight the need for options and opportunities, and offer solutions and strategies for
success. Specifically, this documentary will address the impact of:
• Career & Technical Education
• School Choice
• Representative & well trained professional staff
• Family Engagement
• Laws & Policies affecting student success
The film will be used as professional development for staff and administrators on ways they could improve and better serve their respective communities given the different models that will be showcased. It will be shown to school boards and local officials to develop policies and laws that will increase funds and therefore opportunities for students and staff. Additionally, as a licensed certified vocational TV production teacher, Noube Productions is committed to hire former students as staff to continue their development and learning about the process of creating a documentary.
Track Record of Success
In 2009, Noube Productions was founded. Since its inception, Noube Productions has produced 6 consecutive award winning films, two regional Emmy Nominations and 1 regional Emmy Award for Best documentary. Previous documentaries have covered social issues such as, fatherhood, drug addiction, gun control, inner city sports, policing and immigration. Each topic providing an unbiased perspective challenging each viewer to think outside of their own views. We screen the documentaries with interactive panel discussions at cinemas, high schools, colleges, conferences engaging students and adults guiding them on appropriate action steps.
Viewer Quotes
Sharon Wolder
“I Am You is one of the most powerful thought provoking documentaries I’ve seen.Everyone should have this learning experience. It challenges your thinking, allows the viewer to grapple with the complexities of immigration in America – the pain, loss, determination, hope… Incredible, timeless and so much more. Thank you Noube, Will and all who bravely told their stories and shared points of view. This work is unforgettable!”
Dr Susan Szachowicz
“AWESOME, AMAZING, POWERFUL- Noube you will move people with this. This is the conversation the country should have rather than screaming at each other. THANK YOU for doing this – you did give a voice to the voiceless. And your voice educates others. And thank you for sharing this night – I was honored to be there”
Laura Marcelle Luna
“ Protect, Serve and Care was so much more than an indictment, it was an invitation. An invitation to talk about how minority communities are impacted by their relationships with law enforcement, to grieve by proxy and remember those who have died. To hear how other factors in our Black and Latino communities further perpetuate violence and poverty. This was moving in all the right places, thought provoking”
Christina Bermingham
“My students loved the film. We met again yesterday and it was the most engaged I’ve seen students when discussing the complex issues around race and policing”
A journey into the life and subversive art of anti-war activist Tom Lewis, Draft Cards are for Burning: The Subversive Art of Tom Lewis brings the viewer a harrowing exposé of the relentless struggle to change Americans’ hearts and minds towards a just and peaceful society.
***
Draft Cards are for Burning is an upcoming documentary that chronicles the life of internationally known artist and peace activist Tom Lewis. Using exclusive interviews with those who knew him, as well as newly restored historic archival footage, we hope to paint a picture of a greatly under-appreciated figure of history. From his childhood spent nomadically traveling across the east coast, to his career as an lL0artist later in life, the film manages to capture each chapter of his monumental story in impeccable detail due to the willingness of his friends and family to give their voices to the project through extensive interviews, creating a well rounded exploration of the life of this historic figure.
Structurally, the film weaves together an in-depth look at Lewis’s painstaking artistic process with a deeply intimate portrait of the artist, revealing a life of tragedy and triumph. The impending premature passing of the film’s protagonist remains an underlying theme throughout the documentary and drives the trajectory of the narrative, as we follow Lewis on a journey to create extraordinary social change that shadows the themes of his 9.9art through highly visible and complicated acts of political protest. Shooting in a partial cinema vérité style, we provide a fascinating window into Lewis’s process and the intensity of his character, capturing the difficulties that come with his departure from canvas to real world actions that are as much a piece of art as they are an act of political protest. Throughout the laborious years-long trial to create this film, archival footage capturing the artist himself is used in conjunction with professionally shot supplementary interviews conveying the labor intensive creative process that went into both his art work and his life in general.
Simultaneously, insights from other artists and activists who knew him manage to explore his inspirations, his process and his inner challenges, juxtaposed with intimate conversations from not only his critics and collaborators but his friends and loved ones. All of this lyrically woven together with mesmerizing visuals from his huge body of work, creating a spectacular and wildly detailed film that manages to be as much a work of art as some of the famed pieces created by Lewis himself which are depicted in the film. Musical compositions by renowned and award winning composers Roger and Ellen Bruno poignantly punctuate the journey by allowing the viewers to experience Lewis’s life firsthand rather than simply learn about it as other more traditionally made documentaries would attempt.
From our fly-on-the-wall perspective, we watch Lewis struggle during this highly charged process of creation. Trading his artist’s studio for a prison cell, conquering a massive judicial battle against him and still managing to stay true to his values while keeping an unbroken artistic spirit that makes his process a work of art itself.
Our Team
Executive Producer Paul Edward Gingras has been an avid photographer his entire life. Growing up in one of the post industrial communities that dot central Massachusetts allowed him to capture images and experiences that are traditionally missed in the field of photography by a professional culture that tends to undervalue the lived experiences of people who occupy a world opposite to the savage and unforgiving world of ordinary life, working class life. His hobby of photography led to him eventually meet the artist Tom Lewis in 2006, at the time Tom Lewis was an esteemed legend of the arts community whose reputation in the field of sketching and printmaking was only rivaled by his reputation as a champion for social justice dating back over 50 years. After striking up a friendship with Tom, Paul was given the opportunity to take his photography to a professional level by photographing and documenting Tom’s art and activism. By the time of Tom’s death in 2008, Paul had amassed a large collection of over a thousand photographs showcasing every aspect of Tom’s life. Working tirelessly as the executive producer on this film, Paul is spending his time making sure that this documentary comes to fruition and is made into the best film it can be, using a variety of creative and sometimes unorthodox filmmaking techniques.
Director Steve Marx was an honors student and a varsity athlete at Harvard, where he also ran two student film series. He began work in Community Television at Urban Planning Aid in Boston, and then in a succession of cable television studios, culminating as the Regional Director of Original Programming for Comcast in New England. Most recently, he has been Producer of ‘Around Town,’ a TV magazine series in Boston which has been awarded best Community Television Program in the US in at least one category for each of the past six years.
Draft Producer Michael Singh grew up in Punjab and the Himalaya mountains. He studied Indian history at The University of Chicago and filmmaking at USC’s film school in Los Angeles. As an actor on stage, he played Mr. Patel in the hit production of Trevor Griffith’s “Comedians” at the Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Chicago. His first Hollywood job was writing billboard copy for 20th Century Fox’s big-budget movies. He is now a Princeton, MA-based documentary filmmaker. Michael’s latest film, the award-winning documentary “Valentino’s Ghost: Why We Hate Arabs and Muslims,” has played in over 100 countries. It made its world premiere at La Biennale, (The Venice Film Festival), where it received a standing ovation. It is designated a New York Times CRITICS’ PICK and was called “the decade’s most important film” by The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs (Mar/Apr 2016). He has written, produced and directed several award-winning Sikh-centric documentary shorts: “Prisoner’s Song,” “Rebel Queen,” “The Visionary,” and “Uncommon Ground.” Michael was Senior Producer/Writer for Discovery’s Health channel’s reality TV series “Chicago’s Lifeline,” where his episodes won two national (network competition) media awards for Best Science Series. Michael is co-writer of a romantic comedy feature film, “Good Sharma,” starring Joan Allen and Billy Connolly. He is currently completing “Riding the Tiger,” his personal eye-witness account of one of the massacres of Sikhs in 1984, which he audio-recorded.
How you can help
The film is almost completely shot other than a few key interviews that require our team to travel for them, and any additional footage that we may need once the rough cut is assembled. We have certain parts of the film edited for showcasing purposes and plan to move forward, using any funds you can provide to finish all shooting and get the film to a rough cut stage with the intention of using grant money and further donations to provide the film a high quality finish after test screenings and final cut.
So far our team has for the most part been tirelessly working for free on the project for over three years. We need your help to compensate them for their painstaking work and to have enough funding to complete the film through donations at any amount you can afford. Every dollar donated goes directly to the project and earns you a spot on the film’s credits once we’ve completed it. We greatly appreciate any amount of funding that the public can provide and thank you for your support from the bottom of our hearts.
(For other ways to donate click here.)
For more information, please visit www.tomlewisartistactivist.org/
or for questions, please email us at: tomlewisdocumentary@gmail.com
Check out the Draft Cards for Burning Facebook page!
