About The Film
The Secret Cancer is a documentary film about the various forms of Appendix Cancer. This website features the doctors, researchers, patients, survivors and their families who participated in this effort to raise awareness of this disease.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Updates and Plans
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Great News for the Film!
The fundraiser has had modest success monetarily though we have raised enough to fund equipment for Jon to edit the footage as we go. However, the effort has had big results in other areas. I have had many offers of equipment and crew to help shoot the film and get it through post production. The response has been wonderful and very moving. The fundraising effort also yielded something very exciting and unexpected.
I'm not at liberty to divulge many details, but I am excited to share what I can. The Secret Cancer has a wonderful new production partner who is a long time part of the entertainment industry and heavily involved in philanthropy. We now have a 'big gun' behind us that will make sure the film gets shot in a timely manner with the production values needed to guarantee it will be shown in the best venues to raise awareness.
We will be meeting with our new partners in the next few weeks to map out a production schedule. As soon as the relationship is formalized, I'll share all of the details.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Fundraising Update
All of this has been invaluable and will definitely help us shoot this film. So, the fundraising is having a huge impact despite being slow with cash. But we still need more cash for the things that will go wrong. So, share this link:
http://igg.me/p/25469?a=126025&i=shlk
Put it everywhere you can think of.
Monday, June 13, 2011
June Update -- Orgainzing the Interviews
I'm going to start scheduling phone interviews in the next couple of weeks, so that I can begin to shape the narrative of the film.
Though I will not be attending the events in Philadelphia, the trip to Cleveland in August still stands.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Steady Progress Toward the First Shoot.
Though we've been very quiet, progress is being made with regard to the shoot in Philadelphia. I had an opportunity to interact with one of the chairs of the PMP Cancer Walk last week. We was very pleased to hear that there will be more experts on the disease present at the 2nd Annual PMP Symposium than we thought. That's great for the documentary and for me. I'm still learning about the disease I've been fighting. As for crew for the shoot, along with my nephew, we are asking for help from Jon's Ala Mater, The University of the Arts. There is a good possibility that there may be film students available to help with the camerawork. That would be great. We can run a camera, but it's better for Jon to be focused on getting the best shot possible. And for me, it's best that I'm focusing solely on the interview. Also, my immediate family and my In-Laws are organizing transportation to get us everywhere we need to be.
The most important thing happening is the creation of a database of patients, survivors and caregivers. We've been very pleased at the level of responses we've received. We're asking respondents to share very personal and painful stories. Their courage and generosity is inspiring. We really look forward to meeting them in person.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Building Blocks Are Coming Together
The PMP Research Organization has really embraced the documentary. They kindly put out a call for stories from patients, survivors and caregivers. The response has been overwhelming. At times, I mean this literally. Each story is very moving and inspiring. These are extraordinary people showing tremendous grace under considerable pressure. It's been an honor to meet them. We hope to do their stories justice.
Speaking of moving stories, I've had my first conversation with Sean Hepburn Ferrer about telling Audrey Hepburn's story. We're very excited about that.
Relatives and friends in Philadelphia and Ohio have piped up to be our crews during the shoots this summer. We're also getting more offers for equipment. Still, our fund raising efforts need to pick up more steam as we aren't getting very much for free. The word is getting out about the fund raising by people kindly posting the link on their Facebook and Twitter pages. Hopefully, the donations will pick up soon.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Starting Down a Long Road
Please pass this link along. We're still looking for people willing to appear on camera and share their stories about Appendix Cancer.
Also, we ask for forgiveness in advance. The information and pleas above will be repeated often as new readers discover this site.