Independent Filmmaking

My name is Keith Aronowitz and I am one of those insane people that decided to fund their own film. Okay, maybe not insane, but it was just something I decided to do, or rather felt I had to.














Let me back up to give you some history. I have been professionally involved in the film & television industry for over 20 years, mostly as an editor working in network TV for companies like ABC News, MTV, Sony, Disney, etc. Having worked in TV for all these years, I have also had the misfortune of working on some pretty mindless stuff, i.e. reality shows and infomercials.



In 2006 I had pretty much decided I had had enough, and I started exploring other opportunities that were far removed from the industry. I decided I was going to go to Vietnam and train there to become a master diver and then move on to some idyllic location in the South Pacific where I would live out my days taking people scuba diving when I wasn't relaxing on the beach. Before I was to make this journey, however, I decided to go down to Peru to try something called Ayahuasca which I had read about in National Geographic Adventure Magazine. I won't go into too many details here, but Ayahuasca is a medicinal plant that has been used by Shamans for thousands of years to heal people of all sorts of ailments. Long story short, I go down to the jungle, where I participate in 5 incredible (and sometimes harrowing) ceremonies that had a profound effect on me. I also happened to take my camcorder and interviewed some people and recorded some of the process. I did this only because I had my camera and it was something to do. When I get back to the states, I quickly put my footage together and send out the mini-doc to the other participants that I had met while drinking Ayahuasca.







This is where it starts to get interesting. I start getting back some really positive responses to what I filmed and the wheels start spinning. I swear I'm finished with the business, but maybe before I head out the door I should give it one more shot and produce a full-fledged documentary on Ayahuasca. I feel this way because of the response and the fact that I feel this is a fascinating subject and would make a great story, one that hadn't really been told before. I also quickly realize, being somewhat unconventional, that I would never take the practical route of trying to secure finances because I don't have grant writing experience, etc., I don't have the patience, and I don't want to wait for a few years in hopes that I might get some kind of funding. So I dive right in, and after convincing (and a little begging) the Shaman who I worked with in the Amazon to allow me to come down for a few months to shoot, I start making plans.



As I mentioned, I have worked in the industry for 20 plus years, but as far as documentaries, I have cut one feature documentary and that's it. So early in 2007, before I was to return to the Amazon to film, I decided to immerse myself in a crash course on doc filmmaking. Over the next few months, I read anything and everything I could on how to make a proper doc (for example, don't fund it yourself, good advice like that). I also watched about 50 docs, including all the major award winners from the last 10 years or so. I wanted to immerse myself in that world to figure out what docs resonated with me and worked for me from a storytelling sense. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to tell a character driven story while also explaining the process of an Ayahuasca ceremony which can be a little complex. After purchasing about 15 grand worth of equipment and fighting off the nagging, doubting voices in my head that were screaming "what the hell are you doing, we were on our way to paradise, this is a pipe dream!" I was headed back down to Peru in May of 2007.



After somehow weaseling my way past customs, explaining that I have all this equipment and over 100 tapes because I "really like to shoot stuff in the jungle." I was on my way. As far as the shooting itself went, there were minor challenges here and there, but considering I was in a somewhat unforgiving environment (i.e., extremely humid) things went pretty well (except for when I tried to kill two birds with one stone and drank Ayahuasca, which kind of makes your limbs somewhat useless, and then tried to film). It took a few months of filming, but I felt confident that I had captured the story and all the elements needed to tell it. One quick word of advice for those who want to film in the rainforest - wear long sleeves and plenty of insect repellent, it sucks when you're trying to do that cool slow pan of a jungle vista and 30 mosquitos are snacking on the side of your face.



Jump ahead to the present. After a few more trips to the jungle for a little more shooting and about 15 rough cuts, here I am. It took about half a year to really flesh out a coherent, compelling story (the film follows several westerners as they partake in five intense ceremonies and experience everything from utter fear to outright ecstasy as well as an in-depth look at the shamans who work with the medicine), and another few months to cut it down to a good running time (95 minutes). I am glad I decided to follow my heart and my passion because this is one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I've put myself in the position where I have risked everything financially but I wouldn't have done it any other way, because I wanted creative control and didn't want to compromise my vision. I have also learned a great deal about independent filmmaking, including how to overcome the problems and challenges that will come your way when you are basically a one-man band in the wilderness (literally and figuratively). I have had to wear many hats, from the obvious ones like director and cinematographer to the less obvious (to me, anyway), like accountant and press agent (not to mention my own P.A.).



I am now in the process of submitting to festivals and preparing for self-distribution, which has been a whole new learning process in itself. I actually had a distribution deal, but decided that since this project is so close to my heart, that I have to see it through to the end (plus I've heard too many stories of distribution deals where the filmmaker never sees a dime, even if there's a profit, and that scares me). Up to this point, I have had several private screenings, and the response has been very encouraging, which helps a great deal, because this is such a long road, and it never hurts to get a little validation for all your hard work.



I have also been invited to screen the film at the 5th International Amazonian Shamanic Conference in Iquitos, Peru this July, which I plan on doing since the Amazon is the birthplace of this medicine, and it feels fitting that the film should premiere there.



After that, I hope that it has a decent festival run in the states and if I'm fortunate, have success selling dvd's as there is a fair amount of interest in the subject. Regardless of how well it does financially, I will have lived a dream in that I got to make a film in the Amazon and learned a great deal about true independent filmmaking and myself. How many people can say that?