It’s a now or never moment. Today, I start editing Birthmark.

Forty-five days from now, I will have a draft or maybe something close to a finished film. Along the way, I want to share my process and get feedback. There will be three 15-day editing stints. After each stint, I will host a screening and a discussion with a small invite-only audience made up of colleagues, collaborators and friends.

I would also like to open up a limited number of seats to those who want an opportunity to witness the process and have their name on the credits as a sponsor, if they like. This film is very low budget, without studio backing, all I can do now is some video busking.

Schedules had to open up to changes as things developed. Editing was originally scheduled to finish by July 2015 and entered to Hot Docs 2016. But documentary film making so often requires going with the unpredictable flow of life. I can now fit in exactly 360 hours of editing into this project between now and May 1st and then I’ll have to move on…

For those who know the lingo: I’m doing an offline edit that I’m hoping to take online when I get the budget. Essentially, I’ll need a finishing budget after I deliver a rough cut. I’m seeking real world (money or barter) contributions to help finish this film. I will have to use the rough cut to sell the idea.

It takes a lot of work and a lot of inner strength to make this. I know that I have many believers in me out there. I’m doing the best I can. I’m so incredibly grateful to be given the opportunity to keep doing my “good work” – I think creative writing and film-making is the best skill I have to help change the world for the better.

I’m so incredibly lucky to have Rob Viscardis, Wayne Eardley, and Angel Hamilton as part of the crew; Mike Weber, Victoria Wood, and Jimmy Lightshow as subjects, to name a few of my ardent supporters who believe that I have a vision of a film worth making. I will do my very best in service to this vision.

Along the way, I want to commit to posting at least thirty entries to document and inform the process. By the end this activity, I’m hoping the website will become the digital media component for the film and the destination for viewers who want related content.

I’m going to push my Indiegogo campaign one last time because it is already built and I want to use what I already have. I’ll be giving readers exclusive access to links that lead to secret perks only on this website. Check out today’s exciting new secret perk.

A limited number of seats to private work-in-progress screenings will be available as the days progress. Bookmark this website to stay in touch. I’m hoping to make a good film. I’m not backed by any financiers or studios. I’m closer to a lonely potter working with a kiln in his studio, mostly alone and in my own head.

The screenings are also my way of opening up the creative process to allow me to see the project through fresh eyes and build connections, create community. This could be an incredible learning opportunity for someone interested in the process of editing documentaries and “writing” the story through the organization of footage.

The ultimate plan is to enter ReFrame and Hot Docs documentary film festivals and hope for a world-premiere early in 2017. I want to have a finished product by September 1, 2016

The screenings will give an opportunity to learn through witnessing the process, providing feedback and perhaps meeting new people in the creative field living and working in Peterborough today. I’ve grown a lot this past year, I hope to share what I’ve learned and continue writing my story with love and be able to share something in the end that is worth re-sharing.

Here I go. (I will keep in touch.)

Love, Lester