Cashback (working title)

Speak-It Productions.
Producers/Directors Marc and Nick Francis.

In development

Tipping Point Film Fund is excited to be working with the makers of the highly acclaimed Black Gold on their next feature-documentary film  Cashback.

Cashback will be a landmark cinematic feature-documentary thriller about illicit financial flows. It will tell the story of how money is drained out of developing countries by a network of  bankers, accountants, and lawyers into secret,  off-shore Western bank accounts, undermining the lives of millions of people. It is estimated that for every dollar of aid that goes in to developing countries ten dollars comes out under the table.  How does this happen? Why is no-one paying attention? This landmark film will peel away the secrecy to reveal one of the 21st century’s biggest scandals. Cashback will act as urgent wake up call to the public on one hand, as well as being a powerful lobbying tool for organisations to use at the highest level.

Critically, the release of the film will be supported by a multimedia website and 3 – 5 year international outreach campaign. Development agency Christian Aid were early development funders of this project. It is hoped the film will start production in late 2010 and that funds raised through Tipping Point Film Fund can contribute a significant part of the overall production and campaigning budget.

For more information and how you can support this project please contact us.

Campaign – Tax Justice

Tax justice is a growing campaign as the issue of tax – evasion, avoidance – both domestically and internationally becomes more and more relevant to global politics. Developing countries have lost, and continue to lose , massive amounts of revenue from unpaid taxes.

Unpaid taxes that multinationals avoid paying through a combination of practises – some just plain unethical, others illegal. They are ‘assisted’ by banking and accountancy systems where secrecy and complexity combine to make it impossible for poor countries to track what is truly theirs. It amounts to billions. Watch this space for more information on the Tax Justice campaign that will be developed alongside the film.

Also find out more about Black Gold which continues to stir audiences up across the world.

Black Gold Movie Trailer

More information:

• Tax Justice Network
• Christian Aid
• Global Witness

More about your donation

Tipping Point Film Fund is a not for profit organisation that, through public donations, supports great non-fiction films that can change our world. A regular donation enables the growth of a sustainable fund that can stay committed to funding films that help make change happen. Find out more about how to donate. Email us at info@tippingpointfilmfund.com to claim your free tickets after setting up your regular donation.

More about the film

With both humour and outrage, Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story explores a taboo question: What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism? Years ago, that love seemed so innocent. Today, however, the American dream is looking more like a nightmare as families pay the price with their jobs, their homes and their savings. Moore takes us into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down; and he goes looking for explanations in Washington, DC and elsewhere. What he finds are the all-too-familiar symptoms of a love affair gone astray: lies, abuse, betrayal…and 14,000 jobs being lost every day.

Capitalism: A Love Story is both a culmination of Moore’s previous works and a look into what a more hopeful future could look like. It is Michael Moore’s ultimate quest to answer the question he’s posed throughout his illustrious filmmaking career: Who are we and why do we behave the way that we do?  Read more about the film.

Commit to regularly donating to claim your 2 free tickets – donate now.

Terms and conditions
You must sign up to be a regular giver with Tipping Point Film Fund. Minimum monthly donation to qualify for the 2 free tickets is £10. Donations can either be made via paypal or standing order. When a donation is made by paypal Tipping Point Film Fund will contact you to arrange which cinema you want to go and see the film. When you set up to donate by Standing Order you need to email info@tippingpointfilmfund.com to tell us that you have arranged for a donation. We will then issue your tickets to the cinema of your choice when your first donation is made. This promotion does not apply to one off or annual donations.

IMAGE ©2009 PARAMOUNT VANTAGE. A DIVISION OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION. AND OVERTURE FILMS. LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Film Programme

Life and Debt

- Lewisham Library, 5.45pm on Monday 1 March

- Forest Hill Library, 5.30pm on Thursday 4 March

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Black Gold

- Downham Library, 7.30pm on Monday 1 March

- Manor House Library, 2.30pm on Saturday 6 March

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The Luckiest Nut in the World - aimed at children and families

- Downham Library, 3.30pm on Tuesday 2 March

- Forest Hill Library, 12noon on Saturday 6 March

- Manor House Library, 1pm on Sunday 7 March

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More about the films…

Life and Debt

Life and Debt is a documentary looking at the effects of globalisation on Jamaican industry and agriculture. The movie makes you think and question the motives of rich and powerful organisations.

If you care at least a little bit about what’s happening in the world, you should definitely take the time to see this movie. It talks about the negative effects of globalisation in developing countries. Perfect example of “the rich are getting richer because the poor are getting poorer.”

It shows the social implications of IMF policies and the human tragedy, Economic strangling of developing countries, total dominance over them financially, abuse of power, leaving no other choice but to agree to the terrible terms of big organizations. Many ordinary workers speak up.

It is a great movie!  Catch it at Lewisham Library at 5.45pm on Monday 1 March or Forest Hill Library, 5.30pm on Thursday 4 March.

Black Gold

As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished Ethiopian coffee growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. In this eye-opening expose of the multi-billion dollar industry, Black Gold traces one man’s fight for a fair price.

Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.

Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.

Catch the film at Downham Library, 7.30pm on Monday 1 March and at Manor House Library, 2.30pm on Saturday 6 March.

Luckiest Nut in the World

The film follows an animated American peanut, who sings about the difficulties faced by nuts from developing countries.

The singing peanut presents a mixture of animation, music and archive which sweeps the viewer through the stories of the cashew, brazil and ground nuts – all of whom suffer as world trade is liberalized. But it is a different story in America – where the peanut is protected by tariffs and heavily subsidized, and worth over four billion dollars a year to the American economy. Certainly the luckiest nut in the world.

The film helps people to see how the pressure to embrace free market’ economics, with it’s promise of a wealthy, abundant market place has actually driven many countries further into poverty.

The Guardian’s take on the director Emily James:
Emily James is a genius, and will, in time, be revered as a TV innovator, dead clever and a woman who really knows her nuts.”

Catch the film at the following times and places:

• Downham Library, 3.30pm on Tuesday 2 March
• Forest Hill Library, 12noon on Saturday 6 March
• Manor House Library, 1pm on Sunday 7 March

Find out more about other events taking place in Fairtrade Fortnight across Lewisham.

As westerners revel in designer lattes and cappuccinos, impoverished farmers in Ethiopia, where 15 million people depend on coffee growing for their survival, hover on the brink of destitution. In their documentary Black Gold director and producer Nick Francis provides an eye-opening expose of the $80 billion dollar coffee industry, now the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

The film traces the efforts of one man, Tadesse Maskada, to achieve a fair price for the exploited African farmers who support it. Against the backdrop of his journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. Deborah Burton is the co-founder of our very own Tipping Point Film Fund which (as you know) raises money to support independent film-makers, and she was involved in the production of Black Gold.  Following the film showing, Nick and Deborah will respond to a Q&A from the floor.

Friends of Le Monde Diplomatique is a UK-based affiliate of the Les Amis Le Monde Diplomatique which supports the writings and tradition which has evolved over 50 years of publication of the Le Monde Diplomatique Newspaper. The Cafe Diplo meetings are held at The Gallery, Farringdon on selected Monday evenings. The sessions give an opportunity for lively debate between speakers and audience.

We are looking forward to working with them, and other agencies, on the outreach campaign for the film, including its partner organisation Trócaire, who has already pledged its support to the film.

The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace is a democratic movement for international solidarity, supporting partners in the Global South in the pursuit of alternatives to unjust social, political and economic structures. It educates the Canadian population about the causes of impoverishment of peoples; mobilizes actions for change; and in the struggle for human dignity, Development and Peace associates with social change groups in the North and South.

As an organisation working to improve the lives of all human communities in a lasting way, in the Palestinian Territories Development and Peace assists Caritas Jerusalem in relieving people’s hardship and the Society of Saint Yves in defending the human rights of those most in need of help.

• To find out more about the film and how it’s developing read on here.
• Donate to help Tipping Point Film Fund gather together the final money to make this film a reality.

We at Tipping Point Film Fund are delighted to have secured our first major donor.

It is a £20,000 donation from an individual, who has decided to support an organisation

‘with a strong vision and sense of direction, lots of positive energy and deep commitment to the power of films to change our world – all of which I endorse. I hope this donation will encourage other donors – large and small – to back what I think is a very exciting – and timely – initiative.’

- First Tipping Point Film Fund Major Donor.

On behalf of all of us at Tipping Point Film Fund, we want to offer our deep thanks for this significant donation.

Come along and get more involved

You are invited to come along to find out how to get more involved with supporting Tipping Point Film Fund. During the evening we will be introducing the idea behind our 360° network.

Come along and meet up with a group of people who believe in the power of people and film to make change. The event will be held in central London but there will also be a chance for people all over the UK and around the world to take part online.

As part of the evening we will be hosting a special screening of one of the most highly acclaimed documentaries so far in 2009.  Want to find out which film we will be screening? Come along on the night and all will be revealed! - with thanks to dogwoof for allowing us to show this film.

When: Thursday 12th November
Where: St. Anne’s Soho, 55 Dean Street, Soho, London, W1D 6AF – map.
What time: 6.15pm for 6.30pm
Drinks and light snacks will be provided during the evening.

Not able to make it to London?

You can take part in the event over the web. Just RSVP and let us know that you will be joining us online on the night and we will send you instructions how to link up with us.

As Tipping Point Film Fund supporter Caroline from Edinburgh says:

I met the Tipping Point Film Fund team at Greenbelt Festival in the summer and then again at the Take One Action Film Festival in Edinburgh. I think what they are doing is really important. I can’t make it down to London for the event but I will be joining the evening virtually and am looking forward to getting more involved.

Please RSVP to info@tippingpointfilmfund.com by Monday 9th November to let us know if you can attend the event either in person or online.  RSVPs will be treated on a first come first served basis.

A quick reminder of who we are…

Tipping Point Film Fund is a new, non-profit organisation that aims to grow a fund drawn from donations from the wider general public in order to support outstanding social action feature documentaries – films which also have an integrated campaigns involved.  Our aim is to offer funding as well as campaigning support on each and every film. Tipping Point Film Fund is for people from all walks of life, all ages and all parts of the world – supporting challenging, truth telling films.

We hope that you can make it on the 12th!

Please RSVP to info@tippingpointfilmfund.com by Monday 9th November to let us know if you can attend the event either in person or online.  RSVPs will be treated on a first come first served basis.

All the best,

from Debs, Thea, Kev and all at Tipping Point Film Fund.
Giving. Watching. Campaigning.

‘I’m fully supportive of what Tipping Point Film Fund is doing. To use the medium of film to move and inspire people to get involved in important social justice issues is critical… we have an opportunity right now… we must make use of that opportunity and momentum and ensure our voices are heard.’

Danny Glover – actor, producer and campaigner.

‘Tipping Point is crucial to ensure more films like Black Gold continue to made and now is the perfect time for this fund to be launched.’

Nick Francis, Producer/Director – Black Gold.

‘Tipping Point Film Fund has just launched, with the explicit aim of getting cash to great filmmakers making social/political docs. Why didn’t they invent that five years ago, goddammit?’

Franny Armstrong, Director of The Age of Stupid

‘So to the really exciting news in doc land which is the launch of the Tipping Point Film Fund, a new UK initiative to crowd-fund documentaries with big ambitions to change things. It aims to unite ‘campaigning networks, independent film goers and online social networks, through a mix of regular giving, one-off donations and support from major donors’ and I hope so much that it takes off. I’m a massive advocate of ‘crowd-funding’ and this is a perfect opportunity to invite people who love documentaries to roll up their sleeves and help make it happen. So, go donate, OK?!’

Charlie Phillips, Sheffield Doc/Fest and Tipping Point Film Fund Regular Giver

Here Comes the Sun: Redistributing the Power

Director – Marc Silver
Producer – Lisa Marie Russo

Directed by Marc Silver (currently working with Gael Garcia Bernal, Jamie Cullum and Michael Nyman), and  produced by Lisa Marie Russo (BAFTA and Emmy award-winning producer whose many credits include the critically acclaimed Of Time and the City), Here Comes the Sun will be stunning in its use of visual language and sound design, whilst at the same time packing a political punch and engaging with audiences beyond those in the know.

In Development

Following the disappointing outcome of the UNFCCC conference, in Copenhagen in December ‘09, Here Comes the Sun can offer a vital critique of where the debate about climate solutions goes next. Research is underway to identify the characters who will take us through the story, ultimately offering a pragmatic and positive solution designed to empower us all to continue to tackle the issues of climate change.

Background

Many experts argue that the human race can secure all the energy it needs from renewables and energy efficiency combined.  At the very latest, we have until 2040 to massively cut our dependence on fossil fuels. We have reached the climate change ‘tipping point’ and almost every day brings deeply alarming new information about the changes the planet is undergoing, and by definition, ourselves – not just us here in the rich northern hemisphere but even more so, in the global south, where the impact on the world’s poor has been evident for more than 20 years.

The sun is but one of a number of renewables available to us, along with sea, wave and wind power. Ideally, the whole range of renewables needs to and can, work together.

This film wants to share the vision held by many about the specific – and unlimited – power we must harness: solar.  We hope to create a different ‘tipping point’ – one where the call to capture the limitless power of the sun is heard and acted upon.  It will link with environmental and social justice campaigns around the world.

A few facts

The sun is 150 million kilometres from earth yet, day by day, the sun supplies 15,000 times the amount of the daily energy demand of the total global population.  In less than 30 minutes the sun sends more energy to our planet than is consumed in a whole year.

A gigantic solar plant in the Sahara (roughly the size of Wales) could provide for our global energy demand. The panels would only need to capture 0.3 per cent of sunlight falling in deserts such as the Sahara to meet Europe’s energy requirements.

Meanwhile, 90% of the worlds population lives within 2,700km of a desert and could be supplied with solar electricity  from desert sun power. Equally, if every rooftop had solar panels, our energy supplies would be revolutionized. The sun as a source of eco-friendly, abundant energy, is available for at least another 5 billion years.

Budget

We are seeking £15,000 development and estimate a production budget of approximately £350,000. Additionally we will be seeking a campaign outreach budget of approximately £70,000.

Find out more:

• Age of Stupid – new documentary tackling climate change, oil, war, politics, consumerism, human stupidity and more.
• Stop Climate Chaos – the coalition of UK development and environment groups campaigning together on climate change.
• Solarcentury – one of the UK’s market leaders in providing solar cell technology.
• Friends of the Earth – find out how to make an difference on climate change at home and abroad.
• Greenpeace – take direct action.
• Christian Aid – campaign for a just climate.
• See the impact a 4 degree temperature rise would have on the planet.
• Read how solar power from the Sahara is a step closer.

Bees are dying in their billions. In the UK alone one fifth of the honeybee hives were lost in the winter of 2008/09.  Bees pollinate a third of the food we eat, and this contributes £200million a year to the UK economy.  The Vanishing of the Bees is an eye opening account of the shocking truth behind the declining bee population.

If you could imagine your food cupboard / plate / picnic without the things that rely on bees to pollinate them…then you would have a sad half-empty cupboard/plate/ picnic…

We need bees that much.  and if you are an urbanised soul, then you may not quite realise that, without bees – those small little things that you pay no attention to – our food chain is in trouble….

Bees are in a critical state of emergency – which means we are too.  If we don’t get to the bottom of how and why this is happening and then take all the measures necessary to address it, we can kiss goodbye to the bee – and all that it does for us.

Vanishing of the Bees (UK Première on Thursday 1st October) will make a vital contribution to raising awareness on all these issues.  The film, like Tipping Point Film Fund is supported by The Co-operative. The film is another example of a powerful mainstream cinematic social action feature documentary that will tell us a story we need to know about and act upon.

The Vanishing of the Bees and Tipping Point Film Fund have alot in common – we both believe in the power of people and film to make change through – giving, watching, and campaigning.

Read more

• Find out more about donating to Tipping Point Film Fund.
• Read more about the film, the Vanishing of the Bees.
• Check out The Guardian’s article on pesticides and the death of the honeybee.
• Read The Telegraph’s report – Call for research into pesticides blamed for vanishing bees.

Imagine This

As we experience an unprecedented global economic crisis, this film will reveal that there are alternative ways of doing business – be it large or small scale – and that, around the world, there are well established and highly successful alternatives already existing. Alternatives that challenge the dominance of the multi-national corporation. Alternatives that have embedded in them the principle of the social good over profit for profit sake.

About the film

This is a film that will take us on a journey to show how you can combine ethics and commercial success. We are seeing now the outcome of unfettered greed in the markets and financial systems, exploited by a relatively small number. And it is this negative human behaviour which, paradoxically, is leading to the re-evaluation of thinking around ‘unselfish gene’ activity and how it too is embedded in many areas of human economic activity. Values that are being re-discovered as essential to a fully rounded (global) society.

The film’s development is being led by Tipping Point Film Fund and James Erskine, director / producer, has recently come on board.

James Erskine: An award-winning film-maker, his work has taken him across the world exploring subjects as varied as the meaning of human expressions, the workings of the Brazilian Mafia, the impact of oil on geo-politics and most recently the threat posed by the demise of the honey bee. Passionately committed to make films, both documentary and fiction, that open people’s eyes, and offer practical solutions to individuals to change their lives for good.