Crowdfunding campaign “KinoBit: Tool for Empowering Young Activists”

From 15 May to 30 June, FORUM 16 is running a crowdfunding campaign “KinoBit: Tool for Empowering Young Activist” to provide 5,500 US dollars, funds needed for equipment for the production of short films during the first Kino Kabaret event in Bitola, Macedonia.

The campaign is published on the platform Generosity.com. The preparation of the crowdfunding campaign was supported with mentoring from the Association Leaders for Education, Activism and Development – Skopje.

This project will serve two important purposes:
· Empowering Young Activists Through Art
· Establishing the First Kino Cell in Macedonia

There is strong local support for this effort, but your help is needed to help us secure modern recording, editing and screening equipment for use by participants in our first Kino Kaberet and for the continuing development of a human rights focused Kino movement in Macedonia. With full funding of this project we’ll be able to equip two teams of young filmmakers (one basic, one more advanced) with cameras and PC-based editing platforms, and to acquire the portable screening equipment (audio and video) that we need to take ours shows on the road.

If we’re able to exceed this goal, our hope is to equip additional teams with upgraded recording equipment (including action cams and wireless mics) and to upgrade our editing platforms to include professional quality systems).

Bringing the Kino Movement to Bitola

The Kino Kaberet concept of creating short films in a short period of time began in Montreal in 1999, as a strategy to promote collaborative efforts at artistic expression. FORUM 16 plans to establish the Kino movement in Macedonia, combining activist education on human rights with an exciting, creative challenge to young activists. We will promote Kino Kabaret in Bitola as an annual event focused on advocacy for policy change. We will also organize mobile Kino Karavan screenings and other special presentations of the work of young creatives across Macedonia, and a permanent Kino group to provide online and physical venues for continued collaboration among creative artists and young activists.

Why Bitola

Part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Bitola’s history with film dates back to 1905 when the Manaki brothers brought to Bitola a Bioscope 300 film camera acquired in London. The brothers famously filmed the very first motion pictures shot in the Balkans and what was then the Ottoman Empire. Today, the legacy of the Manaki brothers is reflected in Bitola’s annual International Cinematographers Film Festival “Manaki Brothers”. Documentary film is an especially important part of the Bitola film culture, including the annual International Festival of Non Professional Documentary Film – Camera 300, which recently recognized the work of FORUM 16 President Natasha Chavdarovska with their award for reportage.