For Immediate Release

Contact Brian McDermott

cfafilm@hotmail.com

610-574-8147

lostwordsdocumentary.com

Philadelphia Filmmaker Seeks Internet Funding for Film on Dying Native American Languages 

Philadelphia, PA January 14, 2012 — Brian McDermott, filmmaker and social worker, races against the clock to fund his film on dying languages. With two months left to fund the project, the filmmaker talks about the importance of saving languages and explains why he appreciates alternative funding sources.

McDermott says he decided to make a film on the subject after the professor had challenged the class to imagine what it would be like if they were the last people to speak a certain language. It was then that he says he felt how important language is for people - not only for communication, but as something that provides a sense of identity, meaning, and relationship with community and as something that helps to pass on traditions and even spirituality to younger generations.

McDermott feels that internet sites like IndieGoGo.com that allow independent artists to quickly raise funding for projects are a welcomed alternative to grants which can sometimes take up to two years to receive. He also believes that “alternative Internet-based funding methods like IndieGoGo help to increase exposure for projects while raising the excitement of everyone involved.” And with rewards to backers such as free tickets to screenings and even a free language lesson, McDermott says IndieGoGo enables “people who pledge to become more involved with and connected to the project.”

The 60-minute documentary tells the story of Anthropology and Native American Studies professor S. Neyooxet Greymorning and others who are engaged in saving endangered languages. Through them we learn how language is used to perform ceremonies and to express cultural identity. We also learn of the government push to eradicate American Indian languages and how the traumas experienced affect Indigenous peoples today. McDermott hopes that making a film on the subject will ultimately raise awareness about the importance of languages, the problem of language loss, and perhaps even spark an interest in keeping Native American languages alive.

McDermott and his crew have to raise $5,000 by March 13th in order to complete the filming of Lost Words. To learn more about the documentary, visit the film’s IndieGoGo page:

http://www.indiegogo.com/Lost-Words?a=381435

About Brian McDermott:

Brian McDermott is a social worker and filmmaker who has worked with adjudicated youth, families in poverty and institutionalized senior citizens. Through his films, Brian hopes to engender empathy and pursue social justice. Brian has written three feature scripts, and has also written and directed three short films including an award-winning film on the treatment and care of seniors in assisted living entitled ‘Cigarettes and Fresh Air,’ which aired on public TV and is now in distribution. In 2008, Brian conceived of making Lost Words as a way of advocating for the importance of language revitalization among American Indians. In 2009, he began learning to speak Arapaho, an endangered Native American language. Brian holds an MFA in Film and Media Arts from Temple University and an MSW in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania.

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