"American Bear", "And Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers trust", "fear", "final reflection", "kindness from strangers"
Sarah
Sarah Reflects on the Weeks of Filming American ...
Sarah Reflects on the Weeks of Filming American Bear
"American Bear", "And Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers trust", "Bear Documentary", "Greg Grano", "Sarah Sellman", "fear", "hospitality"
Greg
Greg looks back on the 48 days of American Bear
Greg looks back on the 48 days of American Bear
"American Bear", "And Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers trust", "Atlanta", "Georgia", "Greg Grano", "Sarah Sellman", "an Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers", "fear", "hospitality"
American Bear
American Bear Visits Atlanta!
American Bear Visits Atlanta!
"Alyssa", "Amber", "American Bear", "Greg Grano", "Laney", "Oklahoma", "Sarah Sellman", "an Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers", "fear", "hospitality", "trust"
Sarah
American Bear in Oklahoma
American Bear in Oklahoma
"American Bear", "Americans", "Greg Grano", "Las Vegas", "Sarah Sellman", "an Adventure in the Kindness of Strangers", "fear", "hotels", "kindness of strangers", "lights", "the strip", "trust"
Greg
American Bear, Day 28: Las Vegas, NV
American Bear, Day 28: Las Vegas, NV

Part 3 of the conversation series is up! Get to know Sarah and Greg and why we're so excited to make this film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGauNA5b0oA

In other news, we hit the road this Tuesday for a four-day test shoot. We're heading from New Jersey towards Maine and back and essentially making the project for four days, learning about the logistics, working the equipment, and figuring out how to make this film be the best it can be. And we're sure it will be pretty darn good.

“Adventure is a path. Real adventure - self-determined, self-motivated, often risky - forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world. The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it. Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness. In this way you will be compelled to grapple with the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind - and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both. This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white.” - Mark Jenkins

Today we hit the streets of New York to shoot our promo video. We interviewed many people about kindness from strangers and their thoughts on our project -- I don't want to give much away because soon enough you'll be able to see the edited video yourself! But it definitely got all three of us very energized and optimistic about our summer.

Writing grants, kickstarting corporate sponsorship appeals, contacting scholars, authors, and professionals -- all in a day's work. But I'm pretty sure none of us have been more excited than we are right now. Actually speaking with strangers and being on camera today was such a thrill, and this summer will be the most fascinating of our lives.

Also... Nate promised to post something beautiful to read. So keep your fingers crossed that our mysterious cinematographer makes an appearance here soon.

A quote from a man we would love to interview for our film:

“When you’re traveling, you are what you are, right there and then. People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.”
–William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways (1982)

His writing is amazing!

Americans are very friendly and very suspicious, that is what Americans are and that is what always upsets the foreigner, who deals with them, they are so friendly how can they be so suspicious they are so suspicious how can they be so friendly but they just are.
Gertrude Stein

Our application for a Major Grant from the Maryland Humanities Council is officially submitted! After weeks of working on it and securing two scholars and a hospitality professional in Maryland for planned interviews, it is all done.

This is a huge step in getting our long list of State Humanities Council applications on their way. We've got fifteen to call tomorrow and if the phone calls are encouraging, we've got fifteen applications to do ASAP.

Looking at the calendar, we realized we're only nine weeks away from hitting the road! We've sent our prospectus out to family and friends, planned a fundraising party in Colorado, and we've got an e-mail campaign about to hit cyberspace that emphasizes the kindness of strangers -- as in, if 100 strangers each donate 100 dollars, we've raised $10,000 which is about half of our budget.

Thanks for reading, and spread the word! This blog will be especially vital this summer while we're on the road, when we'll be posting almost every day and uploading weekly videos of our progress -- the more followers we have now, the better!




Here's our rough route, starting in New York then heading west to the Bears in Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Arkansas, and Delaware! We're still working out our professional interviews along the way, which will expand our route in a few other directions. You may have to click the map to bring up the full picture!

We have some scholars who have officially signed onto the film!
Pre interviews scheduled for May.

Today we submitted the Chicken and Egg application and we are on our way to finalizing our Maryland Grant.

So much is going on!

Today I called the nine state humanities councils along our northern route. Got very positive vibes from Iowa and South Dakota, but grants are so darn hard. I'm not really complaining -- it's pretty thrilling to think someone might give us money -- but there's so much going on, writing grants doesn't sound like the most fun thing to do. We've got the full Maryland Humanities Council grant to apply for too!

The prospectus is one page away from being finished. It now features beautiful pictures in the background of most pages, plus a page with our route and a map.

After spending several days in Colorado with Sarah, I'm feeling more excited than ever about the landscape of America. There is so much diversity in the land, and combined with the infinite intrigue of the people, our summer should be pretty fascinating. And yet, I've already made plans for the sequel, "Canadian Bear."

Welcome to Nate!

American Bear has finally found it's Director of Photography; Welcome to Nate Hurtsellers!  We are super excited, he will hopefully soon be posting on the blog as well.

Yay!

This week we are in Colorado for Spring Break but we've been working hard on the film. We have put together a new list of grant opportunities and been talking with Sarah's Mom about fundraising strategies. Today we shot a short film to advocate for our project. It will be edited and uploaded soon! We have revised our prospectus (Greg did it and it looks beautiful!); We are trying to come up with a new subtitle that feels more adventurous and exciting! Because that's what this film is going to be... ideas welcome.

Speaking of ideas --> If you have any ideas, comments, or questions that you don't feel like posting on the blog, please email us at beardocumentary@gmail.com. You could also just write us a letter; we like those.

As you have been reading about our film, if you are interested in donating - please click the link to the left - it goes directly to our page at Fractured Atlas - all donations are tax deductible.

Happy Spring!
Sarah and Greg