It’s official, Mana is out there! As of now, our beloved documentary is one step closer to the world – and that means you too. Here’s how it works: first we’ll be submitting the film to as many festivals as is humanly possible, then we’re planning a limited local theatrical run – either with a specialty distributor or a possible self-release – and then our co-producer OTEtv will broadcast the film on Greek television. After we’re done with these commitments – probably sometime after the summer – we’ll be reaching out to all of you to schedule community screenings all over the world. We’ll also be selling the Mana DVD with its beautiful artwork on our website (shop to be updated in the next few months), as well as offering pay per view options for anyone who’d like to see it. If you’d like to discuss a screening in your country, whether at a film club, an association, a local festival or even your church, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We promise to get back to you ASAP!

So it turns out that making a film is only half the job done! We are currently swimming in an ocean of festival submissions, trying to apply to as many as possible without breaking the bank. Setting an overall budget before even starting the process is always a good idea and we’ve been hearing this little tool can come in very handy if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed {www.ifilmfestapp.com} although we can’t really vouch for it, as we haven’t tried it yet. Bottom line is, we’re here to help! Here’s a few festivals we’ve collected from around the web for those of you struggling with submissions on a shoestring – I mean, aren’t we all? The following ones have low or no fees, so get cracking before it’s too late!

• T-Mobile New Horizons Festival – https://www.nowehoryzonty.pl – deadline is March 15th
• Parnu International Film Festival – http://www.chaplin.ee/filmfestival/index.htm – deadline March 15th
• Durban International Film Festival – www.durbanfilmfest.co.za – deadline is March 20th
• Encounters South African Documentary Festival – www.encounters.co.za – deadline is March 25th
• Ismailia International Film Festival – http://ismailiafilmfest.com – deadline is April 1st
• Jihlava International Film Festival – www.dokument-festival.com – deadline is April 30th
• Sarajevo Film Festival – http://www.sff.ba/en – deadline May 29th
• Message to Man International Film Festival – http://message2man.com/en – deadline is May 31st
• Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival – http://cphdox.dk – deadline is June 1st
• Kiev International Film Festival – https://filmfreeway.com/festival/Molodist – deadline is July 1st

Hurray, our Mana blog is finally up and running! We are thrilled to announce that three years of production and one successful Kickstarter campaign later, “Mana” is ready to see the light of day! Some of our backers have already watched the film (a digital download was part of the perks), but the rest of the world is still holding its breath. We think! Well, no need to torture yourselves any more, “Mana” will be receiving its world premiere at the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, taking place in Greece March 11-22! Director Valerie Kontakos, producer Despina Pavlaki and a few other members from our cast and crew will be there to answer questions and launch the production into the festival circuit. After Thessaloniki, the sky’s the limit! Watch this space for additional venues and dates as “Mana” rolls out, but for the time being, you can watch the film on the following dates:

• THURSDAY 19/3 at 20:45 @ Pavlos Zannas movie theater
• SATURDAY 21/3 at 17:30 @ Tonia Marketaki movie theater

Valerie will also be giving a joint press conference with other Greek filmmakers at IANOS bookstore (Aristotelous Square 7) on Friday 20/3 at 13:00. Come say hello!

After much ado, we would like to give you the grand tour of our brand new website, designed by Leonidas Ikonomou. It took a few months and a lot of work, but we definitely think it was worth it! Leonidas is an architect by training and a musician by whimsy, with graphic design stuck somewhere in between. You can check out his work.

Our logo (top left of each page) is the representation of our four protagonists, intricately entwined with the title of the film. We will be using this space to keep raising funds for the project, open a new channel of communication with the people who follow our work and keep everyone up to date with what’s going on in the production.

We hope you enjoy the website, come back soon for frequent updates!

So it’s official, we’re funded and we’re done! But don’t worry, our Facebook and Twitter accounts will still stay alive with updates, behind-the-scenes insight and daily anecdotes from the Exile Films office. We are extremely grateful to everyone who helped make our dreams come true and we have just released a detailed report of everything we’ve learned through crowdfunding and every single thing that went wrong. Click for here some hard-earned kickstarter wisdom.

THE STATS:

• $46.117 of our $45.000 goal (102% funded)
• 139 backers
• 2.258 Kickstarter video plays
• 1.616 Kickstarter page likes
• 620 Facebook page likes
• 324 Tweets, 256 Twitter followers
• 10.624 newsletter mail-outs
• 1 live presentation (lame, we know!)

If you want to check out our campaign, it’s still up on Kickstarter right here.

See you soon!