A
local filmmaker’s documentary about the impact of the crash of Flight 93 was
successfully funded this weekend.
Dingman
Township native, 23-year-old Ryan Balton, is co-producing the film “We Were
Quiet Once.” The feature-length documentary shows how the crash of Flight 93 on
Sept. 11, 2001 affected the people of Somerset County who witnessed it from the
ground.
Laura
Beachy, the film’s executive producer, grew up in Somerset and was in sixth
grade several miles from the field where the plane went down in 2001.
The
film’s fundraising campaign on Kickstarter.com raised $6,682 from 121 backers.
Kickstarter is a crowd-sourced funding platform for creative projects, with an
all or nothing approach. The goal was to raise $6,000 in 45 days, a goal which
was exceeded by 11 percent on Saturday night.
“We’re
so thankful to have such a supportive community behind us,” Balton said. “The
contributions from my friends and neighbors in and around Pike County will allow
us to take this film and share it on a much bigger stage.”
During
the Kickstarter campaign, the project also received donations totaling over
$2,085 in the mail. Many of the donors have been from northeast Pennsylvania,
and involving the local community is something important to Balton. Donors will
be thanked in the credits of the film, and will receive advance copies once the
film is complete.
The
money will pay for editing, finishing and distribution. This includes entering
the film in festivals and holding screening events in northeast Pennsylvania,
such as the recently passed Black Bear Film Festival, which has featured Balton
and Beachy’s work before. Click for the article in The Abington Journal.