Our story and vision
My name is Chloe Fernandes Mendes and I am a young black woman in my final year of BA Film at Middlesex University. With the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, I was inspired to found my production company, CFM Productions (Chloe Fernandes Mendes Productions). I created my production company so I could produce work that highlights other problems that occur in the black community. I wanted to provide a platform which offers true diversity in terms of the topics discussed and the projects I choose to make.
What is colourism about?
The dark skin vs. light skin debate has been an issue that has been dividing my community for several years. Thankfully the issue of Colourism has been attracting a lot of attention on social media recently so with the help of my team, I have taken this opportunity to delve deeper into this issue by creating a short documentary about it.
In our film we will specifically be exploring the way the media has contributed to Colourism in the black community and whether there is a way to end this divide, in order to better serve the next generation.
the team
Director & Producer- Chloe Fernandes Mendes
Favourite quotes: "A dream without the process is a nightmare."...."I always like to think of the audience when I am directing because I am the audience"- Steven Spielberg
editor- Geoff husseyin
Favourite quote: “The essence of cinema is editing.” - Francis Ford Coppola
Director of photography- Ayo Ige
Favourite quote: "You shouldn't dream your film, you should make it!"- Steven Spielberg
1st Assistant Director- mason okugbeni
Favourite quote: "Cinema is a matter of what is in in the frame and what is out."- Martin Scorsese
Why we need your help and where your money will go!
Making a documentary costs money but with your support we can shed light on this important topic and ensure the right discussions and debates around this issue are taking place. Any donation you make, no matter how small will helps to bring our documentary to screen.
Here is a break down of where your money will go:
Travel and food:
We will be interviewing young people who have been featured in the media - including social media influencers, podcasters, actors, dancers and more!
As some of the interviewees do not live locally, we will be covering their travel costs so their travel to and from interviews is comfortable, safe and hassle free. We also want to make sure we feed them (and our crew)!
Health and safety on set:
To ensure filming is safe on set, we will also be spending some of our budget on items like hand sanitiser, masks, thermometers, etc.
Unforeseen costs and festival entry fees:
Our contingency fund will go towards any unforeseen expenses incurred on shoot days or festival entries.
If no unforeseen expenses are made, we will be submitting our documentary to the Raindance Film Festival (entry fees for short films start at £25) and the BFI London Film Festival (entry fees start at £15).
Keeping Safe during the pandemic
Please rest assured that all our crew have a Coronavirus basic awareness on production training certificate from Screen Skills, and we will have a Covid-19 supervisor on set to make sure social distancing and hygiene safety is imposed throughout filming.
We will be checking temperatures of both crew and interviewees everyday on set and masks are only to be removed if the person is being interviewed (everyone else on set will have their mask on throughout filming). We will also be providing hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes.
When it comes to food, we will be buying packaged meals (e.g. sandwiches and fruit pots) and providing bottled water to give to everyone individually on set so there is limited to no chance of cross-contamination.
What happens if we have to cancel our project?
If our project is cancelled due to another lock down or other unforeseen circumstances, we still plan to conduct our interviews, however they will all be done via Zoom.
In the event we did have to cancel our production completely, we would refund donors minus any costs we had already incurred in pre-production (e.g. if we had used 20% of the Crowdfund donations raised, you will get 80% of your donation refunded).
Your rewards
Check out some fantastic rewards on the right hand side of our page!
Find us
Please follow our production company on instagram @Cfm.Productions. We will be sharing weekly updates on the progress of documentary and behind-the-scenes footage on shoot days and during post production!
sponsors spread the word!
If you can’t donate personally, you can still help us by spreading the word about our project to your own network of contacts.
Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in person or on your blog.
By helping us promote the project, the greater chance we have of turning our bright idea into reality. Your support really matters.
Of course if you are also able to make a small personal donation and sponsor our project, we would be very grateful.
