WHAT: A word about this initiative
When we started working on The Illusionists eight years ago, we knew that we wanted to make more than a documentary: our desire was to start a movement, sparking a public conversation about body image, consumer culture, and the globalization of beauty. This dream is now getting closer to reality: we’ve been taking the film on tour across the United States and Europe, and our educational distributor the Media Education Foundation is making the film available to high schools, universities, libraries and non-profits all around the world. They, in turn, have been organizing their own screenings and debates. It’s the best feeling in the world to get enthusiastic feedback from students in Nebraska, Iceland, and as far away as China. This is becoming an incredible global movement… and we’d love to get you involved.
We’ve been doing things in a rather novel, unorthodox way. We’ve eschewed traditional offers from television distributors and we have avoided the festival circuit. We’ve had a simple goal in mind: to release The Illusionists straight to viewers on the same day, in every country in the world, without the limitations of traditional TV contracts. We think the way the current film distribution model works is antiquated and we want to provide people a simple way to get our film and watch it on whatever device they want to use.
We believe in the magic of the internet. That’s why we’re reaching out to you.
Every month we’re selecting a group of 100 influential people – from fields like media, consulting, business and non-profits – and providing each one a free digital copy of The Illusionists. The idea for “The Illusionists 100” stems from the hundredth monkey effect – a phenomenon describing how an idea can suddenly and mysteriously reach critical mass, by spreading from a group to another. We deeply admire your work and what you stand for, and we’d love to share our documentary with you. We’re not asking for anything in return, but if the message of The Illusionists resonates with you, below you’ll find some simple action steps that can help amplify our message.
Thank you!
Elena Rossini + Serena Shapero
HOW: What You Can Do To Help
1
Gift The Illusionists to friends and family.
You enjoyed The Illusionists so much that you’d love to send a copy of the film to a friend or loved one. That’s super easy to do:
Gift It
2
Do you know any influential people who may help us spread the word about The Illusionists?
If so, we’d love to include them in the next class of “Illusionists 100” ambassadors and send them a free copy of the film.
Email us the details and we’ll add them to our list!
3
Do you know any journalists or bloggers who might be interested in writing about us?
We’ve already had phenomenal press coverage in places like Vogue Italy, New York Magazine’s The Cut, Mic, and TeenVogue – to name a few. But this was BEFORE The Illusionists was ready for distribution. We need press coverage now more than ever, so if you have any contacts in the press, please let us know via email. Our press kit is available here.
4
We’re looking for a champion: a corporate sponsor or philanthropist willing to buy The Illusionists in bulk, with the goal of getting copies of the film in as many schools as possible.
If you know anyone who may fit the profile, please email us.
