"Death By China" film director Peter Navarro turns our attention to perhaps the most pressing issue of our nuclear-tipped times: "Will There Be War With China?"
About the Project
Will there be war with China? If both American and Chinese policies don't change, the answer may well be YES!
Over the last decade, the People’s Republic of China has engaged in the most rapid military buildup of an authoritarian regime since the 1930s. Ironically, the bill for this unprecedented building boom is being paid for in large part by unsuspecting consumers of products labeled "Made in China."
Publicly, our government officials aren’t saying much – they pat us on the head and say China is “our friend.”Privately, those in the know fear what might be coming – and it certainly won’t be pretty. That’s why the Pentagon is closely monitoring China's military explosion and devising a wide array of strategies for a possible confrontation. These highly provocative strategies go by arcane names like “Air Sea Battle” and “Offshore Balancing.” They may involve everything from precision counter-strikes on the Chinese mainland should China attempt another invasion of Taiwan to a naval blockade of Chinese shipping in the event China continues to bully the Philippines or attempts to wrest the Senkaku Islands from our staunch ally and defense treaty partner Japan.
Yes, it’s very scary stuff; and as another possible war trigger, don’t forget the wild child in North Korea. With Chinese technology, this newly minted dictator sprung from the loins of Stalin is rapidly developing the capability to send nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles as far away as U.S. bases in Japan and Guam – and perhaps even the West Coast of America. Meanwhile, despite repeated American entreaties, North Korea’s patron China refuses to do anything to rein in its long time client state – even though Beijing’s masters clearly have the power to do so.
Whatever future confrontation may loom on the horizon, there is little doubt China's military is already flexing its muscles. Moreover, China's deafening silence during the global condemnation of Russia's take-over of the Crimea presages its own military plans to annex other territories throughout the East and South China Seas -- and perhaps even along the India-China border.
"Will There Be War With China?" gives you an inside look at what may be themost important question of our nuclear-tipped times. Frank assessments by 50 of top foreign policy and military experts – both within and outside of China -- will provide the world's most complete and accurate cinematic account of China’s military buildup and what it may mean for the prospects of peace and prosperity in our world.
Who We Are
Peter Navarro holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University and is a professor at the University of California-Irvine. Peter made his directorial debut in 2012 with Death By China and made that film out of a deep concern over the loss of America’s jobs and manufacturing base to China. Death By China played in more than 50 theaters around the country, won numerous festival best documentary awards, and is currently one of the most popular and highest rated films on Netflix.
Geraint Bell has over 25 years of experience working on television and film projects in Hollywood. He worked as the technical editor on Death By China, and in this new film, he will also assume the role of editor as well.
Director of Photography Kasey Kirby works frequently for National Geographic, and is a filmmaker in his own right, with an upcoming feature Dog Days.
Scott Jennings has served as sound editor on over 50 Hollywood films, including The Help and March of the Penguins. Scott did the sound mix forDeath By China and loves working on documentaries with impact.
Area 23a astutely shepherded Death By China through the film festival and theatrical distribution process and will handle distribution on this new film.
Let's Make a Difference Together!
Our first film, “Death by China,” continues to be a great success on Netflix because it constructively changes the way we think about our changing world. It has also played an essential role in helping us better understand how our own individual actions impact our friends, family, co-workers, and country. Because of the undeniable power of that film and the community it has since built, no one who watches “Death by China” will ever purchase a Made in China product again without thinking about the economic and safety implications of that purchase.
Our second film builds upon the message of “Death By China” as it moves beyond issues of consumer safety and American job losses and ventures into a perilous world that few wish to think about: the global dangers of a rising China’s rapid militarization. While this is an uncomfortable and disturbing issue, the experts who have studied the implications of China's military expansionism firmly believe that the public has the right to know what is going on behind the scenes and are calling for public awareness.
Our new documentary will present this vital information as no book or think tank report can. That’s because viewers will actually meet the experts on the big screen, hear their observations, read their body language, and watch how the seemingly complex geopolitical pieces are all brought together in an understandable way by an expert filmmaking team.
Through this cinematic process, viewers will have direct access to critically important information currently sequestered by the corporate interests and myopic politicians running our foreign policy show in Washington. This well-known “Shanghai coalition” has a short-run vested interest in not rocking the increasingly threatening Chinese boat. Consequently, they refuse to acknowledge any long-term problem with China’s military buildup. However, by making this film, we can complete an end run around these vested interests and offer the facts directly to the American public.
That’s why we need your help! Your support gives us the voice and power to change the course of history in the best possible sense. Our deep and abiding concern is that unless we take big steps now to soberly address China’s rapid military buildup, our sons and daughters may wind up fighting a war that none of us wants, and we as taxpayers may be forced to finance yet another war that we clearly don’t need.
Other Ways You Can Help
We know times are tough for many people around the globe right now. More than five years after the Great Recession of 2007, millions of people – particularly our young people – can’t find a decent job.
If you fall into that category and don’t have the financial resources to send us a donation, you can still help. Spread the word directly by sharing this campaign with your social media friends. [ADD CAMPAIGN URL]
Where the Money Goes
Producing a documentary in high definition with professional quality sound and graphics is a lot less expensive than making a multi-million dollar Hollywood blockbuster – but it still costs a lot of coin.
The biggest initial expense for Will There Be War With China? will be filming interviews. A typical shoot takes a crew of at least three people for camera, sound, and lighting; and our first big shoot in Washington, D.C. is planned for this Spring. Over two full weeks, we will interview some 30 experts running 12-hour days.
It will then take hundreds of hours to sift through the interview footage before our next big shoot in Summer. Most of this initial analysis and organization of material will be done by the Director Peter Navarro. The good news here: He works strictly on a pro bono basis – this is a mission, not a job.
A second, perhaps surprisingly, significant expense involves the hard drives necessary to store the footage we accumulate. For example, Death By China required over $10,000 worth of storage. At one point in the film’s production, we lost a 6-terabyte drive with critical material. Fortunately, we had a backup stored at a second location; and production continued without a hitch.
As the film takes its shape, we will incur a third big expense producing the motion graphics essential to great story telling. We can do much of this in-house, but high quality graphics are very labor-intensive.
Once the film is close to finished, we will then have to pay the licensing fees for any images or video we acquire through third parties. While we will maximize our use of the “fair use” doctrine that allows for free use of certain materials, some of this expense can’t be avoided.
There are two significant final expenses for the polished product. The first will involve adding a music soundtrack and completing the sound mix. This stage of production is really fun, particularly if you find a top-notch composer who will work for a bargain rate. Death By China has great original music and two original songs – and it was well worth the expense.
A second final significant cost will be for a “brand name” narrator. WithDeath By China, we were lucky to get Martin Sheen’s help at a reasonable rate. It was well worth the investment as it significantly boosted the profile of the film – and the voiceover was superb.
As for what we won’t have to spend money on: We have all the camera equipment, computers, and editing software we need from our last production; and that’s a huge savings!
The bottom line: Producing an HD-quality film in this digital age is a lot easier to do now but quality comes at a cost. We promise not to waste a penny!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments always welcome!