Kickstarter distribution campaign for ‘Columbus’ shelved

The “Columbus” movie’s Kickstarter distribution campaign in conjunction with the Sundance Institute has been shelved.

“The idea of funding distribution didn’t catch fire with the Kickstarter community,” said Michelle Satter, founding director of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program. “For that reason, we’ve decided to turn to other sources to fund the fellowship.”

The Kickstarter campaign began May 2 with a $150,000 goal to help with distribution costs of the “Columbus” film and “Unrest,” a documentary about a woman’s long illness.

Within three days, it reached $18,000 before the campaign was suspended.

A Sundance spokesman said the institute is still committed to some financial and in-kind support to distribute the two independent films, but the institute representative said it’s too early to know what those other sources could be, or whether financial support eventually still could equal the original $150,000 funding goal for the two movies.

“We remain committed to supporting the distribution of these films and to helping independent filmmakers innovate in distribution to further the sustainability of their careers and the reach of their work,” Satter said.

For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.