I - Technical Specs
Working title: Remember Us
Film duration: 70-90 minutes
Production Company: Concept ViewProducer: Frederico Beja
Writer: Dalia Abuzeid and Vanessa Rodrigues
Director: Dalia Abuzeid
Director of photography: António Morais
Editor: Mariana FigueiredComposer: Ricardo Guedes
II - Working Hypothesis and Interpretation
This documentary will tackle the situation of a forgotten minority in Jordan; Palestinian refugees from Gaza living in Jerash Camp that is also known for Gaza Camp in the town of Jerash. According to different sources, the population of the camp goes from 20,000 to 40,000 people living in the space of 0.75 square kilometers. Unlike other Palestinian refugees, Gaza Camp refugees have no Jordanian National number, which leads them to live in tough conditions related to health, education, and financial situations.
The average income for a family in the camp is $217 US dollars, which includes the help they get from agencies. Yet, 64% of the refugees in the camp have an average of $2 US dollars to spend a day, and those who have 1 US dollar a day to spend are 14% of the camp.
Some of the major problems in the Gaza Camp are poverty, high unemployment, and the majority of shelter being unsuitable for accommodation. Of the 20,000+ refugees, there is an unemployment rate of 43% due to the following reasons:
They cannot work in public sectors.
They cannot work as a dentist, agricultural engineer, lawyer, or legal accountant.
They have difficulties working as nurses.
They cannot work in private schools unless a security clearance certificate is provided from the Department of Palestinian Affairs.
They cannot work in a bank.
They cannot work in a 4 or 5 star hotel; and working in a 1, 2, or 3 star hotel is difficult.
They are not allowed to register a company (business) outside the camp.
They are not included in vocational trainings conducted by the government, or a private sector in cooperation with the government.
For more information about the legal status of ex-Gaza refugees in Jordan, please visit the Statistics and Legal Status page.
The documentary will lead the audience to not just witness the daily tough life, but live it as well with an interesting raw interactive style.
We believe this film will open the eyes of both governments and individuals around the world to the inhumane conditions they are living under, and encourage them to help them by giving them more opportunities rather than taking them away. Also to encourage people to start projects in the camp; which will make capable individuals to working individuals to give them better and equal opportunities to other citizens of Jordan to have a decent productive rate as well as decrease the rate of drug and alcohol intake which will effectively decrease the murder rate within the camp.
III - Visuals
In Gaza Refugee camp, the evidence of struggle is in their daily life, this should be helpful to the project to give a clear idea of their life. The film will portray the story in a fictional film standards with constant reenactments of their rough moments with raw presentation of their story.
We are going towards a dramatic approach with our characters who kept on sinking with their lives. Visually speaking we are going towards dark and strong visuals portraying their feelings in words and image; meaning the set design of each interview will represent the feeling of the interviewee. Ex. when a character is feeling angry, we will create a circle of fire around him interviewing him between the flames.
Remember Us will combine the visual beauty of a fictional film with the honesty of a documentary film
IV - Marketing and Distribution
On completion of the project, the distribution plan is as follows, in chronological order:
1) Selected Screenings and Interactive events 2) Film Festivals
3) Cinema
4) Home Video5) TV Stations / Broadcasting 6) Online distribution
Our Marketing Strategy is composed of 4 mains steps:
STEP 1 - Pre-Filming
Even though our marketing campaign will accompany the above steps, the strategy will actually start on a very early step: the fundraising period.
During this period, we will try to raise awareness and create a worldwide hype about this topic. Through the creation of International Remember Us teams, we will spread the fundraising aspect throughout the globe and create a movement that will generate word of mouth, global concern and will elevate this topic to an international debate.
People will be able to interact with each other and the filmmakers themselves through social media, making every one feel involved since the start.
Our Facebook page (that gathered more than 2000 fans in about a week) will play a very important role on this first marketing step, but also the fundraising campaign website (www.indiegogo.com/rememberus) will be important with updates and other detailed info about the project.Currently, the International Remember Us Team is spread through Jordan, Palestine, Portugal, UK, Spain, Canada, France, China and United States.
STEP 2 - Filming
Interactivity is the main concept of this marketing strategy, and therefore we are planning to involve the international audience in the process of filming. On our second marketing step, we will invite our main investors to visit the filming, as well as local TV stations and Press. We will be delivering daily information about the making of on our social media interactive group.
This second step will not only make sure that the word of mouth doesn’t decrease, but will also work as a teaser for the upcoming release of the film, by creating anticipation on the audience.
STEP 3 - Presenting the Film
Once the film is finalized, our marketing goal is to connect the audience with the final product, by allowing them to help the Refugee Camp cause.
The film will be presented in selected screenings that will be surrounded by special fundraising events, where all profits will revert immediately to the camp.These screenings will be custom made and interactive. Example: While we screen the film, a band will perform the soundtrack of the movie, live; we will have established guests from around the world as speakers for the cause; we will have refugees from the camp addressing the audience about their experience filming the project; etc.
This phase will work as the launching ramp for the official release of the film.
STEP 4 - Mass Release
This will be the official release of the movie. It will follow the international standard distribution procedure: International Film Festivals, where the film will finally be exposed globally and where we’re confident on achieving some awards. Once the festival circuit finishes, the theatrical distribution of the film will be negotiated with international distributors in order to have the movie released in cinemas worldwide.
The Home Video distribution of the movie (DVD and Blu-ray) will be negotiated with the same distribution company as the Theatrical release.
After this, the movie will be available for broadcasting by TV Stations as Al Jazeera Documentary, Ro’ya, Press TV and such.
Finally, we will be releasing the film online, through various channels as YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion, etc.
The involvement of our supporters and sponsors will be constant throughout the 4 steps of our marketing strategy. Brands, companies or individuals associated with this project will see their logo / name exposed widely on every marketing campaign, under a very positive and humane social cause.
V - Impact of the Film
1) Commercially
According to our distribution and marketing campaigns, Remember Us will be released globally, transposing Jordan’s filmmaking industry, associated with a good cause, to audiences worldwide.
We expect to cover most territories.
2) Awareness
Being this a film surrounded by a social cause, we pretend to raise worldwide awareness towards the living conditions of “eternal refugees”. We will be helping them to be remembered, which will lead to different help and support.
3) The Camp
The film will also greatly impact the camp, not only through telling their story, but also by raising fund through our events, which will help to flourish businesses that will boos the camp’s economy, making it less dependent on external help.
