We’re nearing the end of this long and exhausting journey. 12 days of intense campaigning have resulted in over £15,000 in micro-investments from more than 350 members of the adventure community!
The show of support has been incredible for a project which is as much about questioning the status quo as about telling tales of adventure in far-flung corners of the globe.
Travel for long enough and you start to realise that remarkably few people truly want to do this. Questioning the status quo risks discovering that the world isn’t like you’ve been told. Dealing with that revelation and its consequences can be a big challenge, and to many, it’s easier simply not to go there.
With these films, as well as the adventures, we really want to show that this process of unexpected discovery can be a really positive thing.
And despite the exhausting process of getting the word out about the project, we’re excited to see that – with 2 days to go – we might still be able to pull it off!
Iran, in particular, is a word that carries predominantly negative associations. This is due almost entirely to the overall picture painted by all the little stories you hear about the place.
What if we could tell a different story – one that won’t suit those who spend their days wielding mass media with a political agenda, but instead will show the place for what it really is?
And what if that story dissolved fear and suspicion and helped build bridges between the citizens of two regions of the world supposedly at odds with each other? How would that change the way we think, talk, act, vote, and allow our media and politicians to carry on?
Iran’s just hit centre stage again, with news of the historic nuclear agreement in Lausanne. This is bound to be followed by endless rhetoric on all sides. Could our film provide a realistic and ultimately human picture of what’s at stake here, rather than adding to the noise? We really hope so.
In Patagonia, too – our journey uncovered an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen, a triumph of short-sighted greed over a fair assessment of the costs and benefits to a wilderness region and its inhabitants. It’s a story of which there are unlimited variants happening around the world as I type.
But there’s positivity in our tale as well, strangely enough. Most obviously, there’s a chance that justice will be done in the Santa Cruz province and that people’s right to self-determination will be realised. Our film, if made and released in time, could play a real part in this process.
Yet even beyond this, there’s a powerful reminder that the world is changing, and what that means for each of us – specifically that the world won’t wait for your dreams.
If you’ve got a dream – as with Leon’s dream to follow in Darwin’s footsteps before it was too late – then follow it, however crazy it might be.
Follow it now. Because the biggest risk of all is that you’ll delay it until one day it really is too late. And you’ll rarely know when that day is going to come.
* * *
The clock is really ticking now. If you’ve been following this project and are considering adding your support, this weekend is your last opportunity to do so.
You can make a pledge if you haven’t already, or if you’re not interested in getting involved (and that’s fine!), you can simply check out how we’re doing:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1107425124/a-tale-of-two-rivers-journeys-on-the-karun-and-san
Thank you again for being here – your support really is appreciated, even if just in spirit. And every little contribution does of course help, whether that’s a pledge, a Tweet, or a mention to a friend down the pub.
Happy Easter!
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