About this project
The Mae Sot Blind Centre was established by Boon. Boon is a partially blind woman who has fought all her life to prove that she deserves a place in society. After showing everyone that she is more than capable she decided to start a school for poor blind children from her community in Thailand.
Boon has an amazing story and it deserves to be told well. We will use the funds for this project on video equipment including audio recorders, camera, lens, editing, hiring a translator, paying music royalties and traveling to different locations.
One year ago I met Boon; she had posted on a Facebook group for our little town that her fence had blown over and she needed help because she didn't want her students getting hurt or her dogs getting out. So, a friend and I headed over, fixed the gate, and cleared a lot of trash that had accumulated in her side yard.
Since then I have gotten to know her and her students better and better. About 6 months ago I started filming some of the stuff they have been doing. At the beginning it was for a short youtube video to share with her friends back home (which is the video posted here) and after a few interviews, pizza parties, and awards we decided we needed to put it together into a full length documentary.
We are hoping to make something that we can submit to film festivals to share what is going on with the children at the Mae Sot Blind Centre and that even though their lives are tough, they are more than capable to live them.
Risks and challenges
There is a large language barrier with interviews. The students speak Thai and Burmese, and the staff speak Thai. I speak a little of both languages, but not nearly well enough to subtitle a large portion of a documentary. Having friends help me translate is a difficult for them because of the time commitment it will require. However, if the project is funded, I will be able to hire someone professional to translate everything accurately and more efficiently.
While this will be my first full documentary project, I have been interested in videos and video production for as long as I can remember. 7 months ago I started making daily Youtube videos with the idea of honing my skill to start making documentaries of people who are doing great things. With each video I've made, I've learned something new. I know I am not the greatest film maker, but I am willing to do the work to get better.
I have a deep passion for film making and I hope that my desire to make something great will overcome my inexperience.
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