“Welcome to Unity”

Have you ever had a moment when you heard a story so unbelievable you had to know more? On September 25, 2009 I was driving to work when a story came on NPR about a football team in Unity, OR. Note – I had never been a fan of football – until this moment. The team was made up of two American kids and seven exchange students. I wanted to know the rest of the story. Without thinking of the repercussions I called the school in Unity to ask if I could speak with the students regarding a potential film about their story.

I was granted permission to travel to Burnt River High School and a week later I was off to rural Oregon with my friend Anu, the cinematographer and field producer on the film, for what we envisioned to be a week long shoot to make a ten minute film. When we arrived it was clear that the story was far deeper than a short but Anu and I couldn’t afford to quit our teaching jobs to invest an entire year into the filming. That’s when things got creative…

via “Welcome to Unity” Booster Club Canceled by Autonomous Genie — Kickstarter.