RISK: At-Risk Girls Behind The Camera

Dear Team, Girls, and Website Guests:

I am so grateful that 2007 is past us finally. It was literally the most difficult year of my life. The greatest part of the year was working on my feature film “Girls Behind the Camera”. The worst part was the numerous health issues I faced including a massive surgery in February to get a metal pump and then finding out I nearly did myself in on my film because I didn’t know I was suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis – a very lame name for something extremely serious – your immune system and white cells are basically at war and attacking my own self. I couldn’t walk up 1 stair by August, 2007 and it’s taken me until February 6, 2008 to receive proper treatment for it. I’m now finally starting to have my old energy back and now I can tackle more than two things in one day. It’s certainly been a battle and I really fought to not let down any of the girls in our project.

My biggest job these past 5 months has been working to raise the funds to shoot the reunion and June 6 day shoot to do follow-ups with the girls. It takes a lot longer than we want to make the funds required! I’ve also been hard at work setting up the blog for our girls at Girls Behind the Camera. I am still searching for a few of our participants that I fell out of touch with. I really want to see everyone again when we come out in late April for a reunion. We are in the planning stages right now.

Also, we’ll be sending each girl their DVDs out in the next 2 weeks and we’ve considered sending a few off to a film festival or two. If you have not been in touch with us and you were in our program in any capacity please drop me a line so we can include you in upcoming events.

There are so many great things we’ve been working on that I want to share with you. I’ve no idea where I found the energy to do even one of these but here goes: We began a new audio podcast on moviesbywomen.com. It’s a lot like a radio show with 4 hosts. We have a lot of fun and teach our listeners about making films. We also started our blog at http://blog.moviesbywomen.com which is a companion to the podcasts.

This project made a huge difference in my own life. It gave me the will to live when things seemed very grim in August, 2007. I love the girls in our project truly from my heart and I can’t wait to see them soon!

-Tara Veneruso, Director “RISK: At-Risk Girls Behind the Camera”

Today is a great day. I finally have answers to everything that has been happening. Let me explain.

As some of my team and girls may know, I was quite ill during the filming the movie RISK (and all the way until now). I have finally gotten a diagnosis. Turns out that I have an aggressive form of Rheumatoid Arthritis which is truly debilitating if not under medical care. I’m so relieved to now be on the right path. So now I’ve begun truly editing the film & the girls’ films for competition. (I want to enter the girls’ films into festivals).

I’ve been working on getting in touch with all the girls via email and MySpace (so if you’re reading this now & you’re in our film please email me so that I can begin staying in touch with you more easily). It looks like I’ll be getting everyone out their DVD’s (the ones in the film) just in time for Thanksgiving & Christmas. It’ll be at least June 2008 before we finish shooting the film. There are 3 more segments to be organized & shot. Documentaries take such a long time! If you’re interested in being on our next crew & you live in Missouri please email us.

Thanks so much,

Director Tara Veneruso.

I’ve been hard at work bringing the 100’s of hours of footage down to make it manageable to begin editing. I’m also on the hunt for an awesome editor besides myself since I don’t believe in editing your own feature films. (And continuing to seek donations to continue the program in other cities.)

Most importantly, I am seeking current contact info for all of the GIRLS WHO PARTICIPATED so that I don’t lose touch with them and also so that I can begin sending them their films in a few weeks. If this is you … please email me. Please check out the pages on our girls on this site. More to come - we are going to add a blog for them to participate and check in very soon.

Finally, I have decided to begin a blog on how to make and edit a feature film. It is no easy task - (making a film that is) but I think it will be incredibly useful to the filmmakers out there.

Thanks so much,
Tara Veneruso
Director

Hi everyone!

We have just posted the first installment of the Kansas City RISK girls’ “About Me” pages. Check out what the participants of RISK: Girls Behind The Camera Summer 2007 (Missouri) have to say, right here!

(pssst! St. Joseph girls will be posted very soon!)

We made it!  The premiere was incredible and the girls looked amazing and all dressed up.  Would you believe it - I got pneumonia and could only sneak in to the end of the screening.  Luckily, it was the only part of the project/film where I did not need to direct - my DP Tito is a fantastic professional and he kept the show going along with Producers Eric Keith & Deny Staggs.

I am recuperating at home here in LA.  I wasn’t sure if I’d make it home! I had to get 911/ambulance from the Kansas City airport! It was very dramatic.  (Never a dull moment!)  But things are going well again and I am working on getting the girls’ pages up on this site.  Any donations you can offer will allow me to spend more time working with these girls and also new ones in a few months!  Click here for more info.

Best,
– Director, Tara Veneruso

Please join us for two very special nights to celebrate our Girls Behind the Camera gala premiere events. Tuesday July 10th at 7pm in St. Joseph MO, at the Hollywood 10. And Wednesday, July 11th in Kansas City KS, at the Granada/Screenland Theater.

The celebration will include awards for the girls, diplomas, judging and screening of all of girls’ films. This will definitely be two nights to remember! The girls from each city will be meeting each other for the first time.

The theaters are large, so seating is on a first-come first-served basis. The price of admission is Pay-As-You-Can, so bring a friend or your whole family! We are still seeking 12 more donors for our Sponsor-A-Girl program, and also to continue RISK in the future, in cities throughout America.

UPDATE: You can also read the official press release with full details of the gala premiere event right here!

Fresh from Missouri, here is the second RISK: Girls Behind the Camera webisode! In this webisode, watch instructors Jeph, David, Jacques and John teach the girls how to make their “About Me” movie.

Stay tuned for Webisode 3!

Don’t forget to check out all the other RISK Webisodes.

Here’s a quick photo direct from Missouri: You can see Tara (and some of the RISK crew on the “set”) interviewing one of the RISK program participants in sunny St. Joseph, Missouri.

We interviewed this particular RISK program participant in her front yard!

OK, I admit it – I’m an emotional gal. So writing about the first 2 weeks of the 3-week RISK filmmaking program is going to send me over the edge. The girls of Girls Behind the Camera have been so enthusiastic, so creative, so engaged, so willing to embrace all the technology, so very wonderful – it’s tough to be dry-eyed when thinking about how successful the program Tara Veneruso developed truly is. It’s amazing to think that the girls in Kansas City and St. Joseph can now:

• Talk about plot, genre and climax like a professional screenwriter.
• Develop their own scripts with the storytelling tools they’ve learned.
• Pick up cameras, boom mics and lights with confidence to shoot and direct their fellow students’ films. Plus, the acting, animation and teamwork skills they’ve learned are priceless. And even if these girls don’t choose a video/film production path in their lives, they’ve now been exposed to a world outside their normal realm – the better to open
  their eyes to other possibilities that may come their way.

Though we have one more week of the program, it’s not too late for anyone to make a difference. To make a tax-deductible Sponsor-a-Girl donation to RISK via Red Echo Group, our not-for-profit producer of RISK, send a check today payable to “Red Echo Group” to:

Red Echo Group
ATTN: RISK Sponsorship
299 Paseo Blvd
Kansas City, MO 64106

Whether you send in $50 or $5,000, you’ll be helping us meet our financial obligations for picking up and dropping off the girls at their homes (a shout out to our valuable mentors and drivers); feeding them breakfast, lunch and snacks (the girls put in at least 8-hour days!);
and educating them (we’ve had exceptional guest teachers).

We’d also like to thank the University of Missouri-Kansas City – and especially Dr. Thomas Poe, Kevin Mullin and Jennifer Underwood – for letting us house the KC program at Haag Hall for the entire 3 weeks. Their support, and those of our other generous benefactors, is truly
making a difference in at-risk girls’ lives. - Linda

P.S. Check us out in the Kansas City Star! For an instant contribution (non tax-deductible), click here to contribute via PayPal.

Hi RISK fans! Just wanted to let you all know that the very first RISK: Girls Behind The Camera webisode is up and on our site. Watch what the RISK girls have been up to and check out our amazing program right here.

Check back often, we plan on having at least 2 more RISK: Girls Behind The Camera webisodes just this coming week!

And don’t forget that we still need your help! Please read Linda’s post below…..