- April 25, 2024
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After a year of working on a documentary on 18th-century naturalist William Bartram, Eric Breitenbach finally has the funds to finish it.
In just under a month, the Ormond Beach resident and his team raised over $30,000 on Kickstarter to complete "Cultivating the Wild: William Bartram's Travels." The project was backed by 126 people, and the campaign will run until Oct. 7.
"We are both thrilled and humbled by the experience," Breitenbach and his partner, Dorinda Dallmeyer, wrote on the campaign page. "No rest for the weary, though. Kickstarter encourages those who meet their goal early to initiate a 'stretch campaign,' and we’ve decided to try to raise another $5,000 in order to fund an additional location shoot."
William Bartram wrote extensively on Native Americans, so the team wants to take the time to explore the contemporary lives, in Florida and Alabama, of the descendants of the southeastern Indians he encountered on his travels.
"Making the Kickstarter goal involved reaching out personally to hundreds of people — and then reaching out again — and again," they wrote. "In short, the personal touch works. We would ask that you take a few moments to do the same. Consider reaching out to someone who would appreciate William Bartram and what he stood for. Vouch for our production team and ask them to join you in supporting the film. Any amount helps."
Anyone interested in pledging can visit kickstarter.com/projects/ericbreitenbach/cultivating-the-wild-william-bartrams-travels.
