After writing on his wall that he was in desperate need of funding to make his new movie dreams come true, more than 400 members of the social networking site pooled their resources so Onir could make I Am. And now the film has finally hit cinemas, Onir has taken time out to give his thanks and acknowledge his Facebook financers. "Thank you for being a part of I Am," he wrote on his Facebook page. "I am because you are."
Onir raised about one-third of the 30 million rupee (Dh2.5 million) budget through Facebook donations, with the smallest offering coming in at 1,000 rupees (Dh83.) But with the top 55 donors stumping up more than 100,000 rupees (Dh8,303) between them, their reward for their patronage of the arts has been a co-producer credit and a share of any profits.
"People often asked me how they could get involved in films," Onir said. "So, I decided to post on my Facebook page asking for donations." Just six weeks later, he reveals he was able to shoot the first scene, as donations began to arrive from India, the US and Australia.
Shame Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg couldn't spare a few notes from his Dh180 billion stash, eh?
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