Barzan (2012)

This just in…

My name is Cassidy Dimon and I am the producer on a documentary film called “Barzan” I have been following The Political Film Blog for quite a while now and absolutely love it. I am really excited that I finally have a documentary that I think you’d be excited to hear about and that fits your passion for character-driven stories about political issues that make audiences think and react. Our film investigates the story of an Iraqi-American immigrant who was deported back to Iraq after investigations into his potential links to Al-Qaeda. The film looks at his story but also, the greater American institutions that have been tasked at prosecuting this war on terror at any cost, including our freedoms.

The project I am working on now is called “Barzan”. We are trying to get the word out about our film and our Kickstarter campaign to raise post-production funds. There is a little blurb about the film below and some key links. I also embedded a Press Release and attached one here with a still form the film as well.

I would love to hear your thoughts and to see if you could help spread the word about this important documentary. I am available should you have any questions!

Thank you for your time!

Cassidy Dimon
Producer, “Barzan”
www.barzanthemovie.com – see our 2 minute trailer here
Kickstarter Page
(c) 315.480.3238
(e) cassidy@thelastquest.org

THE MOVIE

In 2005, Sam “Barzan” Malkandi, an Iraqi immigrant and beloved family man, was working toward a piece of the American Dream in a Seattle suburb. But a footnote in the 9/11 Commission Report, connecting him to a high-level Al-Qaeda operative, changed everything. Five years of detention and multiple appeals later, Malkandi was deported back to Iraq–leaving behind his wife and two children.

PRESS RELEASE:

Independent documentary investigates controversial deportation of Iraqi man accused of terrorism.

Seattle-based media makers seeking funding for their feature film, “Barzan,” a documentary about an Iraqi-American refugee accused of assisting an Al-Qaeda terror plot in the US. They have launched an online Kickstarter.com campaign and have 24 days to reach their goal of $8,400

February 7, 2012

SEATTLE—Sam “Barzan” Malkandi, an Iraqi immigrant to the US and beloved family man, was working toward his piece of the American Dream in a Seattle suburb. But a footnote in the 9/11 Commission Report, connecting him to a high-level Al-Qaeda operative through his childhood nickname, changed everything. Five years of detention and multiple appeals later, Malkandi was deported back to Iraq–leaving behind a wife and two children.

Seattle-based journalists and filmmakers have teamed up to tell Malkandi’s story in a feature film titled Barzan. The team has turned to Kickstarter.com to help raise the post-production funds needed to complete their film.

Last year Barzan Director Alex Stonehill and Producer Sarah Stuteville traveled to Iraq and conducted a series of interviews with Malkandi. About his time in Iraq Stonehill says, “We met [Malkandi’s] family and roamed the city of his childhood. But there were so many questions that went unanswered, with each day that passed the story got deeper.”

Upon returning to Seattle, Stuteville and Stonehill, co-founders of the multimedia journalism nonprofit the Common Language Project, joined forces with the Last Quest, a local production company, to turn their reporting into a feature length documentary.

Barzan explores the controversial issues of immigration, xenophobia and the price of security in the 21st century. This film is an epic geopolitical journey from the front lines of the Iran-Iraq War to the refugee camps of Pakistan and finally into the opaque government agencies charged with keeping us safe, even at the cost of freedom.

Kickstarter.com, an online community funding platform, has emerged as the go-to source for filmmakers seeking resources for projects large and small. In a recent article, The New York Times reported that Kickstarter campaigns have financed almost $50 million in films (the largest category on the site) in the last three years.

Kickstarter projects must reach their fundraising goals or lose all pledges. The Barzan Kickstarter campaign has until March 2nd to raise $9,500 to fund the post-production of the film.

“The media landscape has shifted and independent producers now have alternate funding models like Kickstarter to help support their work,” says Stuteville, “Documentaries are no longer only the purview of big production companies–they are a community collaboration.”

To learn more about the project and to find out how reader’s can help fund the project please visit: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cassidyd/barzan-the-movie

About the Common Language Project

The Common Language Project is an award winning, nonprofit, multimedia journalism organization housed in the University of Washington’s Deptartment of Communications. The CLP’s mission is to tell underreported local and international stories and to “Connect Stories Around the World.”

About the Last Quest

The Last Quest is a Seattle based media production company specializing in non-fiction storytelling and webseries’ for non-profits, small businesses and independent projects. The Last Quest’s short film work has screened nation-wide and received numerous awards.