Alumni-Produced Thriller “Mzungu” Impresses Kickstarter, IndieWire
September 14, 2012
A pair of Chapman Alums are returning to the crowdfunding space for the production of their most recent film “Mzungu,” a low-budget thriller set in Africa. Their Kickstarter campaign is currently seeking backers, and most recently landed a huge spot in IndieWire’s “Project of the Day.”
Director of recent box-office hit “The Fourth Kind,” Olatunde Osunsanmi, and friend and Executive producer Olumide Odebunmi, who co-wrote the sequel to “Smokin’ Aces,” are currently in development on an exciting new thriller, dubbed “Mzungu.” Co-alumni Wondwossen Dikran and Danny Rowe are also joining the team.
Mzungu is a scripted feature film that explores an American traveler’s unexpected nightmare while vacationing in Africa.
Mzungu (pronounced [muh-zun-gooo]) is the southern, central, and eastern African term for a person of foreign descent. Literally translated it means “white person”. The term is also loosely used to mean some sort of “Boss” because of the association between tourists and money.
With its engaging elevator pitch, creative Kickstarter Rewards (the tangible/intellectual goodies you take away by virtue of being a financial backer on a project), offer to include people in the production in Keyna, and an earnest pitch video, the film project recently nabbed IndieWire’s coveted “Project of the Day,” a category of the online blog designed to bring some increased publicity to deserving indie projects.
Congrats to the filmmakers on their early success, and here’s hoping they bring home $40k supplemental budget through the power of the crowd. With 78 backers already, and over a month left to go, their chances are looking good.
Take a look, and if you’re interested, send them a donation!