Inocente makes history as first crowd-funded Oscar-winner
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Academy of Motion Picture Arts also made internet history yesterday, by awarding the first ever Oscar to a film part-financed via the crowd-funding website, Kickstarter.
Inocente, the story of a 15-year-old homeless girl from California who dreams of becoming an artist, triumphed in the Best Documentary Short category. The film’s creators raised $52,527 from a total of 294 backers on their Kickstarter page in June and July 2012.
Inocente co-director Seth Fine claimed the site had “really helped galvanise a community.” Speaking to Mashable.com at the Oscars, Fine said, “It helped fund a bunch of the film and kept us going through post-production. It's a great outlet for films, especially for documentaries.”
Kickstarter announced last month that since its launch in 2009, more than $102m (£67m) had been pledged by users to independent film projects. Around 40 per cent of those funds went to documentaries, including Kings Point, which was also nominated in the same Academy Awards category as Inocente. The Oscar-nominated live action short Buzkashi Boys, set in Afghanistan, was part-funded by Kickstarter, too, as were three films nominated in previous years.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments