We are finally ready to show it to the public and we wish to have an impact on those that will take important decisions regarding our oceans in the following days and weeks.

The event will be at the Goethe Institute in Brussels, just a couple of blocks away from the European Parliament.

Invite all your friends and lobby your MEPs to come along and take a stand on the upcoming Common Fisheries Policy Reform! Now we can change it! Next time will be in 10 years!

Now the project is with Mirco, who is taking care of  audio mastering, sound design and adaptation of the his composed music to the structure of the film.
And Filippo Bianchi is working on color correction, balancing lights, colors, saturation, contrast...
Naiara is working on the motion graphics for the film (titles, character names, credits), while we are putting together the long list of credits and preparing final subtitles for the film.

Photos by Francesca Tosarelli and article by Alessia Gallione.

The work has been created in coproduction with the Sandgrains documentary and the article explores the conjunctions of sand gathering and the construction industry.

Visit this link to read the full article in French on the online version.

We spend a few days with Zé and his son Sion, went to a football game and on a day trip on the islands in front of Gothenburg's coast. Here below you can see a few screenshots from the footage we have taken.

We have now finally closed the chapter of the production and are entering the complex process of post-production and distribution.

Naiara Seara, our editor has been working hard on sifting through our 50 ours of material and is now working on the rough cut of the film. It is an exciting experience to see the film coming to life after almost 4 years of work on this project!!

Here below is the tearsheet of the double spread page, and if you want to see the online version visit this link.

A special thanks goes to Gonçalo Carvalho, Catarina Grilo for organizing the event, and to Helena Pimentel for her simultaneous translations!

Thanks to all those that came to see the new screener and the photo exhibition by Francesca.

if you want to check it out visit this link

Fish tales from the high seas of Senegal

http://www.fengsushi.co.uk/time-for-tea/win-tickets-to-the-preview-of-sandgrains/

Here you can see the photo gallery for a glimpse of what we filmed during that week of investigation.

Here is the photo gallery by Pierre Gleizes.
and here you can find a short extract of our helicopter landing on the ship.

All photos copyright of Pierre Gleizes/Greenpeace

With special thanks to the photographer Andrew Sutton who took the under water pictures.
Full copyright © Andrew Sutton

http://www.fria.nu/artikel/91838

The project also boasts the involvement of roughly 40 people who have contributed through their qualities to the logistics of the project (translators, graphic designers, researchers, people who have opened their homes and hosted the events, people who have cooked and welcomed..)

The 'Sandgrains' project has naturally evolved and expanded. We started with the idea of a documentary, and arrived at something more.

'Sandgrains' and Matchbox Media Collective celebrate today our community of supporters.
The network has grown and new ideas were born, such as the petition to raise awareness on fisheries with WWF.
Moreover, in the coming months, the 'Sandgrains' production will tell the stories of the characters through another medium, photography.
And as always we are open to new contributions, of any kind ...!

This is the victory of crowdsourcing: together we can!

With this newsletter we want to thank everyone who has contributed in an economically difficult period, those who have voluntarily donated their quality and time, and all the people who value independence of thought and storytelling ...

The community of Ribeira da Barca awaits us and we will be with them in 2 days.
We will send you updates and developments on our investigations and stories, and on top you will have the opportunity to understand from the inside the process of documentary production through our and Francesca's blog.

We'll be in contact soon, from the lands of Cesaria and her sodade ...!

Matchbox Media Collective.

Finally, after various meetings, the British NGO 'Global Ocean' donated £1,180 to 'Sandgrains' an amount that will cover the travel and equipments costs of Andrew, our underwater cameraman.

In short, the end of this year is giving us solid hopes regarding the practical possibilities of  crowdsourcing and crowdfunding. At the moment we reached £8,026 and the total target is £10,000, with a total of 88 donors!

There is only one more week to go until the end of our crowdfunding campaign and there are real possibilities to reach the target!

We are asking you all one last effort! Please forward this project to friends and family, share it on social media, or if you can, contribute with a donation!

In the meantime, we wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

We're working towards a European fisheries policy that honours fishery agreements around the world. EU boats must abide by a sustainable fisheries policy wherever they operate to protect people and the environment from the adverse effects of overfishing.

Help us collect enough signatures for WWF's More Fish petition campaign, so that we can ask for a change in the policy.

WWF just published a page on their website to promote the work of the Sandgrains team. Visit this link to know more.

Garage is a specific branch within the MUBI site that exists to curate and showcase media created by emerging filmmakers. Here is the full article written by our wonderful Richard Webb.

"Today, with the publication of the following article by the Matchbox Media Collective, we initiate a collaboration that hopefully will culminate with the screening of the documentary here in Portugal, during 2012".

Here for the full article.

The sita has ½ million visitors and 1 million pages read monthly.

Follow this link to read the entire article.

Since then, the project has developed in leaps and bounds and the team of Just Do It has joined in supporting it.

Read here the full article.

2011

March

september

2010
December		Filing interview with Swedish MEP Isabella Lovin, an expert in European fisheries policy.
October		Filippo Bianchi from The Butchers Productions assisted with the colour correction and Mirco wrapped up the audio mastering of the trailer.
May		Made contact with various international NGOs and media professionals to discuss the prospect of promoting Sandgrains to a European audience.
April		Compiled raw footage shot around Cape Verde and produced the first trailer which was edited by Karla Guimaraes and also included an interview with Jose in Gothenburg.
March		Arrived in Ribeira da Barca and met Demisi, our fixer. We received a warm welcome from his aunt Tata who granted us excellent hospitality at her house sleeping next to her pet chickens and loud rooster. Demici usually works as a local guide for tourists, and he introduced us all the local characters in the village. We slowly learned Portuguese and the local version of Cape Verde creole, gaining even more trust (and provided endless amusement for) the villagers as we adjusted to the way of life. Many people such as Captain Gaita and farmer Dino approached us, giving us their points of view and explaining the situation on the ground, enabling us to gain a much clearer insight into the life and conditions of the village. We met with the president of the local fishermen association who informed us of the DCP project. We couldn’t talk about fishing without seeing the process for ourselves so went out to sea with local fishermen. Alain, a Frenchman living and working as a diver in Cape Verde (who was also involved in the DCP project) agreed to be our underwater cameraman. We recorded a session with Tcheka, Cape Verdean musician and winner of Radio France International Music of the World Awards 2005. We also met the agent of Cesaria Evora , and local musicians, to secure music rights. In Sao Vicente we met with experts on fisheries development, marine biologists, marine engineers from the University of Mindelo, and Navy officers as well as local entrepreneurs.

2009
November		Received funding from Project Aware who supported our pre-production in Cape Verde.
September		Francesa Tosarelli was engaged as stills photographer and Mirco Buonomo for audio.
April		The pre-production process started with drafting the treatment, outlining the timeline and budget and making initial contact with relevant people. We spoke with the Consul of Cape Verde in Gothenburg who provided us with contacts of researches, scientists and members of the Cape Verdean government as well as securing permits to film around various locations. We talked to Jose’s family and friends who kindly provided us with local contacts and offered us where to stay when in production on location.
February		After spending months researching the history of Cape Verde, the issues relating to the global fishing industry and the legal, political and economical situation surrounding José’s claims, the team finally met to discuss how to put the idea into action.

2008
September		Gabriel was working off hours at Pustervik Bar & Theatre, a cultural center in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. One quiet night he put on an album by the Cape Verdean musician Tcheka, which one person in the bar instantly recognized. That person was José, lead character of Sandgrains, and childhood friend of Tcheka. José starts telling Gabriel about how the beaches of his homeland are disappearing. The one by his home in RIbeira da Barca, where he used to play football, had been devastated by industrial fishing. An idea was born...

Here is the video! Also with English subtitles.

Here the link to the full article.

Thanks so much for the pubblication!

A magnificent buffet was organized for the more than 80 people attending the event and we discussed the concept of crowdfunding and new ways of creating content.

Thanks to to the work of Dario, Dagmar, Peppe, Giuseppina, Jenny, Judith and Julia we we managed to raise over 1000 euros!

In the program were two shoots, one on at Heden football greens and another at a professional game between Assyriska FC and Jönköping in Ruddalen. We have beed joined by Robin Westerström as second camera and Linnea Ericsson as audio recordist, thanks very much to them!
New footage for the trailer, with a new interview of Jose'!
Soon to be seen in the film's website!

Matchbox Media is opening up submissions for the creation of Sandgrain's Logo!

Here on the side is the crowdsourced flyer for the documentary film made by Lorenzo Dzieduszycki.

Outside the coast of West Africa, on the islands of Cape Verde, beaches are disappearing, and with them a way of life. José returns home to witness his fellow islanders struggling for survival while European fleets empty their ocean. Sandgrains is a crowdfunded and crowdsourced documentary telling the story of a former football star discovering why and how the beach where he started to play football began to disappear.

We are developing a campaign together with Global Ocean in order to create a documentary film that becomes a catalyst for real impact.

The campaign is starting to take shape around asking for a change in policy at the EU level and we are planning to involve football celebrities and high profile ocean conservationists to champion a call to action.

Become Sandgrains' graphic designer by creating the logo!
The slogan for the campaign is Footballers for a Future with Fish.

The ideogram should reflect ideas around a soccer ball with fish printed on it. Sandgrains' campaign is asking for a petition to stop fishing trawler subsidies and we are at the beginning of developing a visual petition for people to upload their image with their own football with a fish painted on it.

If you'd like to give a hand please get in contact with jordie@matchboxmedia.org

Here below are a few drawings made by Howie Cooke to give an idea

Sheffield Doc/Fest and Shooting People teamed up to present By Popular Demand: Crowdfunding Your Films Panel at the BAFTA Rushes Soho Shorts: Short Filmmakers' Market.

The panel focused on how to raise funds, create a social impact, engaging communities, and what this means for film funding and business-building in the future.

Jordie Montevecchi, co-director of Sandgrains was one of the filmmakers that was on the panel to speak about how to raise money and awareness from crowd/fans/audiences/frien​ds. A discussion to find out why crowdfunding matters beyond film from those using it for music, other arts funding, activism and social impact. In three flash half-hour discussions we’ll survey the practical uses of crowdfunding and how arts funding, media and society are changing right now through the wisdom/madness of crowds.

here is an article on the event by Mike Chapman on Front Row Reviews.

present on the panel:
Michael Troughton - CEO of We Fund
Gregory Vincent - CEO of Sponsume
Jordie Montevecchi - Director of 'Sandgrains'
Richard Shaw - Producer of 'How to Start a Revolution'
Heather Leach - Director of 'Dancing with Hugo Boss'
Moderator Helen Jack for Shooting People

We now also have a team of dedicated and crowdsourced researchers working on finding core audiences and implementing the data for marketing Sandgrains to funders.

We've crowdsourced subtitles for the Sandgrains trailer, now in Danish, Turkish, English, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish! All done through the wonderful Universal Subtitles app that allows for anyone to translate into their language directly on the Sandgrains Home page. Do you speak Japanese? Finnish? Translate our trailer! Universal Subtitles is fun and easy to use.

Below is a screenshot of the app on our home page.

From 7pm to 4am
MIMI' MOLLICA, photographer, "London I (Exposed)”
ENRICA CASENTINI, painter, “Open Doors”
DYBBUK *LUKE MOSS, graphic artist
FABRIZIO QUAGLIUSO, photographer, “Shine on Japan”

Bideo installations by the Butchers
Beats by Fucknose - electro-swing, gypsy & dubstep/bassline
Posh cocktails by Gabriel

8, Camerton Close E8 3TB (5 mins from Dalston Junction) London

Free entry, donations welcome at the door

Thanks to everyone for coming and making it such an awesome event, here are some photos and soon we'll have a video edit ready.

Keep track of this blog as we gonna have more events coming up

A couple of days ago we appeared in his home page!

This is the article (in italian) dedicated to crowdfunding projects and in particular about MatchboxMedia Collective and Sandgrains. To read the full article click here!

Back in London after an intense week of networking and documentaries.

We arrived second at Sheffield Doc/Fest Crowdfunding Pitch, thanks to all of you!
The online vote for Sandgrains was massive (187 votes!), but due to previously unknown rules, the present audience carried more weight.

Thank you all for voting! It showed how much support we have!
We now believe that we can have the film ready to screen at next years festival!

The panel

2000 international delegates, over 100 documentaries, 70 industry sessions, pitching events, free drinks from the BBC and much more!

Today we are pitching at the Frontline Club's Matchmaking event! The club championing independent journalism in the UK.
A good test to prepare ourselves for the major pitch at the Crowdfunding Day tomorrow.

We woke up with a nice surprise as we have been also selected to present the film at Frontline's Club Matchmaking Event at the festival. So we will have another opportunity to be on stage to present the project!!!

Looking forward to a week of intense networking and an abundance of documentaries!

This documentary is Matchbox Media Collective's first project applying the innovative approach of crowdfunding and crowdsourcing!

Discover the crowdsourcing section or check out our funding strategy and budget, read about the characters and locations or the film's background, meet the team and look up the production company. And to know more about the project, check out the whole plan.

Here is the flyer that Lorenzo Dzieduszycki made for the launch, thanks a lot!!!

We would for this documentary to have a worldwide impact, and to make this possible we developed this site to support multiple languages. Now there are only a few, but we’d like for You to get involved!

• Do you like the idea?
• Is there an audience in your language?
• Can you use your skills to support us?
• Could you help as part of a school or college project?

Whatever the reason, we’d love you to help us out, maybe even by telling your friends about us

Maybe you have a friend you’d like to send the trailer but he might not understand the language?

Our videos incorporate the Universal Subtitles widget that allow you add subtitles in  your language.

Why not subtitle the video here?

If you feel like it, just click on the subtitle button, and start making your version.

Want to be involved in a deeper capacity, gain professional experience and maybe even join in our adventures? Just send a mail and let us know where you’d like to help.

Joao created portuguese subtitles for our trailer and started translating the website so that we can soon have the site ready for the lusophone audiences worldwide. Joao found us on the web, and because he has been to Ribeira da Barca and actually knows personally Demici, our local fixer, he took the project by heart and started helping us out.

Many thanks Joao!!!

We are planning to shoot a few underwater sequences for this documentary, but nobody of our team has the experience nor the gear, and in Cape Verde we had difficulties finding someone up to the job.

Are you an underwater camera person and want to meet us in Cape Verde for a week? Write us a mail stating your interest and please include a link to your showreel.

Do you have a friend that might be interested? Why not link him this page?

Unfortunately for this job we can only allow a fee that will cover all the expenses, check out the budget to see for yourself.

If you feel like helping us out with this aspect of production, and are happy to do it just for the fame, let us know.
Just drop us a line also if you just want to discuss all this a little further.

If you take part in the project you will be credited in the film and get a profile in the Team page.

Some say that the crowd has talent, We believe them!
Are you a graphic designer? Can you do the job? You are in the team!

Are you a professional designer and want to become part of the team?
Or are you a graphics amateur wanting to give your shot at this?
Maybe you are a student looking to find the perfect work to bring to the exams and want to make something that becomes real?

If you participate with your idea, you will get a behind the scenes access through our subscribers’ newsletter for producers and a special note on our web site.
If you win the contest your work will become the logo of this project, and you will become the designer for this project with a profile in the team page and a credit in the film. Check out the budget to see how much is allocated for this paid job.

If you choose to take part in the contest, here are some guidelines:

You should submit a finished and fully developed graphic idea for a logo (ideogram) and the ‘Sandgrains’ text (logotype) connected to it.

The idea should be that these two elements go together but can also be used separately.

Keep in mind that this creation of yours, if selected, will be giving the tone to the entire graphic visualization of the project on different media.

The design should take inspiration from the issues explored in the film; there is a lot of information in this web page, but if you would like to discuss further any aspect relating even remotely to the work you intend to do, don’t hesitate to drop us a mail.

If your work is ready for submission just export a full resolution image, and send it along with your full contact details to Jordie or Gabriel, whose contacts you can find here.

If you win the contest and accept to be the graphic designer for the project, bear in mind that this is an innovative but also risky way of making a film, and we can’t foresee how much we will be able to fundraise.

Do you believe in the project and think it can make some kind of impact?

Share your thoughts with your contacts!

Write about it in your blog!

Get others interested in it!

Spread the word on Twitter, Facebook and other destinations! 

Our project relies on word of mouth, so please consider making the leap from just following the project to having an impact.

If you're a journalist, then perhaps your audience might be fascinated to hear about all the cool stuff we're doing. We're currently compiling a Press Kit where you'll be able to find some relevant info but for the meantime you can send us a mail and we'll be happy to answer any questions.

If together we decide to start a collaboration, you will be credited in the film as part of the research team and have a special note on this website.