Importance of this movie

Every year thousands of films are made, so why is this movie important? While it’s very important to highlight a problem that is virtually unknown to people, what is more important is to tell a good story.

And that’s exactly what we believe we have: A truly original story about runaway children. We believe that the story has the potential to garner greater international exposure.

Why are we fundraising?

Like every film ever made, we would like to be backed by producers who take interest in original and hard hitting stories. But as unfortunate as it sounds, it is not unusual that there are not many who are even ready to back a story that is not “commercial” enough.

If we didn’t believe in the story, we would have moved on. But we truly do and we believe that the story could create some waves in the international arena.

What is our target?

We intend to raise 48 lakhs through crowdfunding. However, the budget is kept flexible, as we might seek foreign funds for later stages of production and post-production.

How much we achived till date

Rs 35,02,000 Raised from 61 backers

What happens if we don't achieve our target through crowd-funding?

While we're confident that eventually, we'll achieve our target, there are many possibilities to fulfill the gap.

1) We intend to shoot 30 minutes of the footage for the movie with the initial funds we receive. Once we have 30 minutes of footage, we have plenty of opportunities within both India and abroad to acquire the rest of the funds. Some of this includes Doha Film Fund, Switzerland Film Fund, Hubert Bals Post Production Fund etc.

2) We approach Film Markets and Film Bazars to raise the rest of the funds. Some of these are NFDC Work-in-progress meets, IFFI Goa Film Market etc.

3) In the last scenario, we re-adjust the budget to suit our possibilities.

However, given the response we're getting from some of the producers from countries such as Norway and Denmark, we're pretty confident that we'll achieve our requirement.

What do you get in return for your investment?

We pledge 5% of total income earned by the film Railway Children from all sources to the NGO http://sathi-india.org/ whose work is a source of inspiration to make this film.

To all contributors:

Apart from the great feeling of contributing to a serious social cause, you will also receive the following rewards.

  • INR 1000 (USD 20)
  • CONTRIBUTOR scrolling credit at the end of the movie.
  • Acknowledgement on the Website.
  • Thank you message on Official face book page
  • One time online streaming password to the movie Railway Children.
  • INR 5000 (USD 100)
  • ASSOCIATE scrolling credit at the end of the movie.
  • Two tickets to special screening of the movie.
  • A copy of the book Rescuing Railway Children by Lalitha Iyer and Malcom Harper.
  • All benefits of previous section
  • INR 10,000 (USD 200)
  • You’re an INVESTOR of the film and you’ll get a shared credit at the end of the film.
  • You’re entitled to a share - commensurate with your investment in the earnings of the film through all domestic theatrical distribution only.
  • One time online streaming password to the movie Railway Children.
  • All benefits of previous section
  • INR 50,000 (USD 1000)
  • You’re an ASSOSIATE-PRODUCER of the film and you’ll get a shared credit at the end of the film.
  • You’re entitled to a share - commensurate with your investment in the earnings of the film through all domestic TV distribution only.
  • All benefits of previous section
  • INR 100,000 (USD 2000)
  • You’re an EXECUTIVE-PRODUCER of the film and you’ll get a full page end credit .
  • You’re entitled to a share - commensurate with your investment in the earnings of the film through all TV and theatrical distribution only. Both domestic and foreign.
  • You’re entitled to a share - commensurate with your investment in the earnings of the film through online streaming and DVD sales.
  • Four tickets to special screening of the movie.
  • All benefits of previous section
  • INR 200,000 (USD 4000)
  • You’re a CO-PRODUCER of the film and you’ll get a shared opening credit and full page end credit.
  • You’re entitled to a share - commensurate with your investment in the earnings of the film through all TV and theatrical distribution only. Both domestic and foreign.
  • You’re entitled to a share - commensurate with your investment in the earnings of the film through all government subsidies.
  • Two tickets to the theatrical screening of the movie.
  • All benefits of previous section
  • INR 500,000 (USD 8000) and above
  • You’re a PRODUCER of the film and you’ll get a full page opening and end credit to the film.
  • As a Producer of the film, you can attend film festivals and represent Railway Children on invitation from the film festivals.
  • You’re entitled to a share - commensurate with your investment in all the earnings of the film. This includes theatrical and TV distribution (domestic and foreign),DVD sales, Online streaming, Producer/film awards from film festivals, Government subsidy and any other source of income for the film.
  • You’re welcome to be a part of the whole production process.
  • Chief Guest at the special screening of the movie which includes a dinner with the film crew and dignitaries.
  • All benefits of previous section

Payment Options

Payments in USD

Payments in INR

Make a Contribution

NEFT Transfer

Tindrum Beats

Accnt No: 000101601000515

Bank: Corporation Bank

Branch: Udupi

IFSC Code: CORP0000001

Checks can be made out to “Tindrum Beats” , and sent to the following address:

Tindrum Beats, No. 8-64A, T. A. Pai road, Kadekar Post, Udupi District - 576103

We appreciate check payment/NEFT transfers from Resident Indians as this avoids tiny leakages in the form of commission and taxes and full amount can be utilized for the cause.

Why also use the crowdfunding websites?

With the sole intention to make payment easy for the contributor. Many payment gateways have declined giving their services to us, as we’re not a service or a product oriented company. Hence to avail the gateway advantage, we’re launching our project on a crowdfunding site also. However, our primary point of focus will remain our website. For NRIs, our paypal payment gateway is still the best option. And for resident Indians who wish to contribute through wire transfer and checks, we’ve provided details for both here on our website. And we appreciate check contributions from resident Indians, as this does not cut into your contributions in the form of gate-way commissions.

Current status

The movie is currently is in pre-production stage.

Lead actors are finalised through auditions. Workshop is in progress for them.

Road Map

Pre-production: All the artistes will be cast after thorough auditioning. We will take help from the Department of Women and Children Welfare to look for the children to be cast from their Government Homes. Most of the children on Government Homes are runaway children or orphans.

We have the support of the NGO SATHI (www.sathi-india.org) and we’re hoping to rope in the support of other NGOs also.

Once the actors are cast, they’ll rehearse at a workshop for a few weeks.

The entire film will be shot in and around Yashwantpur Railway station. And production starts immediately after the completion of pre-production with a solid team in place.

Rest of the crew is not finalized yet. But rest assured, they’ll be the best we can afford.

Experimenting

Art without experiment is not art.

It is very important that you understand our approach for this movie.

As the story is rooted in realism, the approach is also realism. The whole movie will have a documentary style of filming and minimalistic approach with regards to everything else.

Since most of the child artistes we take are going to be new to this whole experience and are likely to be semi-literate, we’ll not burden them with dialogs and directions. Instead, we’ll give the children enough freedom and space to understand their characters and bring out the best in them with their own lines and expressions.

What are the risks involved?

Film-making is laden with risks. But the rewards for the risks can always be great. We’re making the film on a very small budget. And we’re basing it on strong and original content. In recent times, small budgeted original films with original voices have made big impact both at international festival arena and at theatrical release. So, we’re confident that Railway Children will receive the same kind of support from both the sources.

There are many international film funds, film markets and Indian co-production markets that are always on the lookout for original films from committed filmmakers. These funds are eager to provide for those films which are starved of funds.

So, we’ll approach international co-productions that are available and explore other venues such as NFDC film bazaar.

How do you know what’s happening with the project on a timely fashion?

Our PR team will keep you updated on every small and new development of the film on facebook, twitter, our website, linked in and through emails.

You’ll be constantly in touch with the producers throughout the completion of the project.

At any point in time, you’re also welcome to call us to ask anything you would like to know.

Where will your money go?

The breakdown of the costs are explained in the diagram below.

Every penny received will be accounted for, thoroughly audited. The reports will also be made available to every Executive Producers, Co Producers and Producers.

Completion of the project

We intend to complete the project by the end of May 2016.

Special screening for the investors will be held in the month of June 2016.

Theatrical release will be made once we have accomplished sufficient milestones at international film festivals.

About the writer/director

Prithvi Konanur worked as a software engineer for a few years before pursuing filmmaking.

Working as a software engineer abroad, his first screenplay titled “The Abiding” was previously optioned by a UK based producer for a Hollywood project (presale poster of the same: http://avpictures.co.uk/abiding.htm).

After a short filmmaking program at the New York Film Academy, LA, he made a short film A Conditional Truce (http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/1379/A-Conditional-Truce) in Srilanka with his NYFA buddy Rick Dalton and former executive at Lions-Gate Canada, Denis Krupnov.

The film was completely shot in Srilanka with local talent and was in Sinhala language. The film was screened in many international film festivals.

He made his first feature film Alegalu in Kannada. The film was produced by the Children’s Film Society of India, Mumbai , under the ministry of information and broadcasting.

The children’s film premiered at Ocean Cinefan Film Festival in New Delhi. It was officially selected in some of the well known international film festivals such as Toronto International Film Festival-kids, Zlin film festival, Tehran, Stutgart-Indian film festival etc.

The film opened the Children’s India film festival in Bangalore in 2013.