Revolution #252, December 11, 2011
BA EVERYWHERE
Succeeding with the goal: $23,000 by December 12 for Occasioned by BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World
For everyone who has dreamed of a different and better world or wondered how art and culture can be part of creating it, this is a film that needs to be seen.
But it won’t be made without your support.
If you want to contribute to changing the culture in our society, to bringing into being a culture that is uplifting instead of degrading, to tapping into people’s highest aspirations in opposition to a me-first ethos, and to opening up mental space to engage and explore ideas of fundamental change... if you like the idea of celebrating revolution and the vision of a new world through art, dance, theater and music and think a wide range of people from different perspectives need to be part of that, then you need to contribute and help raise the funds for this film to be made.
But in order to produce it, and release it, $23,000 is required by December 12. Reaching this goal is essential, and possible.
What is this film going to be about?
Last April, a range of artists, musicians, dancers and actors came together from a diversity of perspectives in a unique cultural event: On the Occasion of the Publication of BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World. BAsics is a book of quotations and short essays from Bob Avakian, the revolutionary leader who has developed a new synthesis of communism. This event brought people together who hadn’t shared a stage before, and a remarkable connection was forged between these artists and the hundreds in the audience that night.
This film will tell the story of what those artists did and why they did it.
What brought together some of the top jazz musicians today, a cutting-edge "tropical punk" singer, a former member of the Black Panther Party, poets with their roots in the '60s and poets who shaped the more recent spoken-word movement? And why was all this occasioned by the release of a book from the leader who has re-envisioned revolution and communism?
Watch the trailer at indiegogo.com/basicsevent to get a taste.
The film will weave together footage from this beautiful event with interviews from artists and other participants, and it will speak powerfully to the question of how art and culture can be part of creating a different and better world. It will speak to why and how all this diversity was brought together around celebrating revolution and envisioning a new world... and how that can be a harbinger for changing things in the culture and society more broadly.
Getting this film made and out into the world will be a significant contribution to the discourse and a source of inspiration to those lifting their heads and asking if there is a different way for people to think, feel and be. After leaving the event, a student described it this way, "It feels like hope. That’s honestly what it feels like..."
Succeeding in our goal
Raising the funds, and getting this film made, will change the foundation from which to go further forward with the whole campaign, BA Everywhere... Imagine the Difference It Could Make! A Mass Campaign to Raise Big Money to Get BA’s Vision and Works Into Every Corner of Society.
It will mean bearing down in the next 10 days and really fighting it through, but not only is this possible, we can get stronger, reach out more broadly and have a big impact in the process.
Raising funds for this project is not only necessary, it is a door through which many people—including people who have never been part of anything like this—can connect with the campaign to project BA’s vision and works into every corner of society from a wide range of perspectives. And the fundraising activities for this film—including house parties and creative outings among other things—will be part of changing the atmosphere in their own right, even as they make possible this film.
All of this is part of a larger ambitious initiative—BA Everywhere... Imagine the Difference. That campaign is aimed at "effecting a radical and fundamental change in the social and political 'atmosphere’ of this whole country by projecting the whole BA vision and framework into all corners of society where it does not yet exist, or is still too little known, and getting all sorts of people to engage and wrestle with it..." ("BA Everywhere... Imagine The Difference It Could Make!" Revolution #249, November 6, 2011)
Again, this will not happen without you! Many thousands of people have to hear about this with hundreds contributing in large and small amounts. Please tell others... invite 10 friends to give and tell them why you gave, comment on the indiegogo page about why you gave, post the link on Facebook, Twitter, on your blog or website, and pick up the phone.
The online place for donating for this film is indiegogo.com/basicsevent. The site shows the status of raising the money needed, and takes donations. Donations are also being gathered from those who wish to drop them off at Revolution Books to be donated online in batches. If you want to donate but aren’t in a position to do so online, contact your local Revolution Books (page 15 of this paper or revcom.us/revbooks). If you have access to the Internet, go there now, watch the trailer for the film, and make a tax-deductible contribution—with some memorable gifts for anyone making a contribution. If you or someone you know of are considering giving $250 or more, please contact basicsevent@yahoo.com immediately, so that we can coordinate that gift with a matching donor plan to build momentum and bring in more donations.
And you’ll find a whole range of creative ideas you can do to raise money for this project. For more organizing tools, including a phone banking script, go to revcom.us/Bafundcampaign.
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Over the next week, literally hundreds of people will be contributing the needed money to produce the film Occasioned by BAsics: A Celebration of Revolution and the Vision of a New World. Send us your ideas and plans for raising money for this important film so that revcom.us can let others know what everyone is doing. Readers of Revolution need to know how this movement is growing and developing—and what difference their contributions are making as a part of BA Everywhere. We don’t need personal details but do want to see, learn from and share what you are doing.
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