frequently asked questions
A word from the filmmaker
When you support this film, you’re taking a stand for independent film-as-art - and enabling us to continue to tell stories that matter.
Even though so many of us recognize the value of telling engaging stories from around the world to accelerate social and environmental progress, it’s difficult to survive as a documentary filmmaker. In the new world of content distribution, it’s not enough to make a great film - you also need to find a way to distribute your film in a manner that will enable you to keep telling impactful stories, year after year.
As a filmmaker you’re often told by a distributor “don’t expect to see any return on your investment”. This is often after you have invested years of blood sweat and tears - and maybe your entire savings - in order to bring the passion project to life.
Our distribution of Crossing Bhutan represents an experiment in grassroots film distribution, powered by a community of 900+ supports on Kickstarter and Vimeo’s On-Demand service, which takes the smallest portion of the revenue of any other platform. Our hope is that, if our distribution campaign is successful, we can prove & open-source a model for distribution that makes documentary storytelling sustainable & generative for independent filmmakers.
When you support this film, you’re taking a stand for independent film-as-art - and enabling us to continue to tell stories that matter.
What inspired you to make this film?
I believe deeply that, in order to confront some of the most pressing challenges of our time, be it climate change or depression, we need to change the rules of the game and redefine "success" and "progress". Bhutan's philosophy of Gross National Happiness was a response to this impulse; a recognition that at the end of the day, what matters most is the well-being of our communities and environment. What would a system look like that was designed to promote more vibrant culture? Or a more connected community? It's a very provocative and timely inquiry.
Why is it important that independent filmmaker’s distribute directly to audiences like you’ve done?
Even though so many of us recognize the value of telling engaging stories from around the world to accelerate social and environmental progress, it’s difficult to survive as a documentary filmmaker. The older models of distribution have been designed to benefit the middlemen who hold access to key distribution channels - like broadcasters or online delivery networks - and who, in turn, end up taking a significant portion of the revenue the film makes. As a filmmaker you’re often told by a distributor “don’t expect to see any return on your investment”. This is often after you have invested years of blood sweat and tears - and maybe your entire savings - in order to bring the passion project to life.appiness was a response to this impulse; a recognition that at the end of the day, what matters most is the well-being of our communities and environment. What would a system look like that was designed to promote more vibrant culture? Or a more connected community? It's a very provocative and timely inquiry.
How were you lucky enough to get tapped to document this journey?
This was an incredibly challenging film to shoot. We had stretches of 10 days at 15,000-plus feet without access to power, so we strapped solar panels on our support donkeys to keep our gear charged. After a 12-hour day on the trail, we’d have to start offloading and media managing all of our footage. It was craziness. A bridge outing meant we had to take more challenging route through the first part of the journey, which made for a lot of wear and tear on our bodies and equipment. But it never got the point of being scared for my well-being.
Did you essentially complete the journey yourself?
Every mile the expedition team trekked, we had to trek as well. And because we had to get in position to grab shots, it meant constantly leapfrogging the team, getting in position, waiting for them to pass, then catching up again. To be frank, I’m not sure how we managed it. For the biking portions the film team jumped in a support vehicle, which also allowed us to track with their biking.ational Happiness was a response to this impulse; a recognition that at the end of the day, what matters most is the well-being of our communities and environment. What would a system look like that was designed to promote more vibrant culture? Or a more connected community? It's a very provocative and timely inquiry.