DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS FOLLOW COLLEGE CYCLIST-ACTIVISTS ACROSS COUNTRY FOR CO-OPERATIVE AWARENESS
To the Moon is a documentary in production about a youth-led, bike-powered movement to build momentum for American co-operatives
May 14th, 2012 - New York, NY
The United Nations declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives-- an initiative to jumpstart the promotion of cooperatives as an alternative business model and mode of living in response to a world of growing economic instability. A team of college students from the American Northeast have decided to seize this chance to make a difference their own way.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"459","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"480","style":"width: 284px; height: 319px; margin: 4px; float: left;","width":"427"}}]]Twelve college students from the Amherst, Massachusetts area are combining their passions for cooperatives and long distance cycling to honor the initiative. Operating under the name Co-Cycle, the group is leading a three month cross country cycling tour, starting on June 1st in San Francisco then across the northern United States to conclude in Amherst by Labor Day Weekend. At major cities along their route, they are collaborating with local co-ops to stage community events and workshops, with the collective goal of researching and showcasing sustainable business practices.
Co-Cycle's journey will be closely documented by a small crew of filmmakers from New York University. The film, entitled To the Moon, is projected at 90 minutes and will seek to tell the story of youth-powered activism through the eclectic bunch of self-starting, dream-big cyclers. The director-producer team, Emma Thatcher from California and Anita Gou from Taiwan, saw the journey as a timely opportunity to highlight the power of their generation in bringing about positive, proactive change, in light of the widespread discourse surrounding youth-driven movements like the Arab Spring and the Occupy protests. "It will be a film that reaffirms the voice of this country's youth as a beacon for change, " says Miss Thatcher, on the vision for To the Moon. "Instead of voices onscreen presenting a problem, these voices will present a solution."
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"460","attributes":{"alt":"","class":"media-image","height":"320","style":"width: 320px; height: 213px; margin: 4px; float: right;","width":"480"}}]]In the spirit of student-led co-operativism, the film crew is setting out to produce a maximal documentary with a minimal budget. Through crowd-sourcing, the production is actively enlisting the support of the larger co-op community. Incorporating a wide range of mediums, the film will have a refreshing and exciting aesthetic that is unique to the new media generation. The filmmakers aim to compete in domestic and international film festivals, with distribution as the ultimate goal to inject co-operatives into mainstream conversation.
Above all, the filmmakers intend for To the Moon to be a love letter to those at the grassroots. "This film will speak to anyone with a sense of adventure--" explains Miss Gou, "--anyone who is looking for a positive way to stick it to the man."
For the first view trailer, the route of the journey, and profiles on the filmmakers and the cyclists, please visit the film's website.
related links:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/emmathatcher/to-the-moon
http://www.co-cycle.coop/
http://www.tothemoonfilm.com/
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