In 1995 I moved to Hollywood with the intention of making movies. Despite the typical and endless obstacles I managed to make a low-budget feature, but it ended up being a disaster. I naively trusted a predatory distributor (unfortunately there are plenty of those in L. A.) and quickly lost everything. I wound up living on the street.

Being an independent filmmaker can be a terrifying business. It has its highs, its unrivalled sense of achievement, the recognition of your peers... and it has its lows. Whilst making THE HAIRY HANDS I simultaneously managed to animate my way out of a full time job and into hospital. There’s little comfort to be had from an award collecting dust on the mantel when you’re struggling to pay the rent. To believe in something from conception to delivery takes courage.

Independent filmmakers are at a cross-roads, they must determine the best way to evolve this promising “crowdfunding” model. Its survival  depends on expanding “crowdfunding” to a definition beyond a convenient way to indirectly ask friends and family for money.