High On Hope

The most original Christmas gift… ever?

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:16:32 +0000

What will you buy your loved one this Christmas? Jewellery? Furs? The new Jeremy Clarkson DVD?
Stuck for an original idea? Show you care and put your loved one’s name in the credits at the end of the film. Donate £100 to the music costs and we will send you a certificate showing how their name will be in the credits, so that the special person in your life has something to open on Christmas day. Once the music is cleared you will also get two DVD’s, a link to watch the film on line and 2 tickets to the premier screening near you. Imagine the surprise, the wide smile of recognition when they know what it is, the brownie points you will get for such an original gift AND know you will be helping get an importnat film to the audience it deserves! Everyone wins. Go to the donate page now to order that special gift.

The first 150 donations

admin — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:28:45 +0000

Today we had our 150th person donate towards the music costs of the film. We have now raised £2595 which means that the average donation is £17.30! That has amazed me. I thought that most people would donate the minimum amount of £3. But by far he most popular donation amount has been £10. What has also been amazing is how global the support has been. Of the 150 people who have donated 107 are from the UK, that means almost a third of the donations have come from the rest of the world. I would never have guessed that when we started the appeal. We have people send money from Russia, China, Brazil, Columbia, New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany , Spain, USA, Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Japan, Mexico, Argentina and Switzerland. It seems that the acid house spirit travelled the world.Thank you everyone who has helped us so far.

Why I launched this appeal

admin — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 21:06:53 +0000

Nobody likes to have to ask for something from someone, not us Brits anyway. We’re too proud. So it was a tough decision to make, to ask people to donate to the costs of the music clearance. But it was also the last resort, the film has been finished for 2 years, done really well at festivals and had hundreds of enquiries as to how to watch it or buy the DVD since even before it was finished. Yet because of the costs of clearing the music i have not been able to do a thing with it outside of film festivals, not even been able to give anyone a clear answer as to when it would be out to the public.
Originally I hoped that when it was finished the people in TV land would want to buy it and pay for the music clearance. When that didn’t happen i hoped that some festival success would get it a distribution deal and that would pay for the music. Despite winning 2 big prestigious festivals and being screened to enthusiastic audiences all over the world that still didn’t happen, the distributers liked the film but didn’t want to pay for the music clearance. No sponsors have come along, no rich benefactor has come to the rescue and despite some nice people offering to help nobody came up with the cash to get the film out.
So that is why i have launched this appeal, there is nowhere else to go with it now and unless this appeal works the film will never be seen in a public venue. So I hope that there are enough people out there able and willing to give a little bit of money to make the film happen. Like the original parties back in the day i am hoping that people power will defeat the odds. And I have faith, after all there was 10,000 people at the last party in Nelson alone. Each one of us that was there experienced the dream at its pinacle and also the sheer horror of what happens when that dream becomes a nightmare and you are faced with the full force of Her Majesties police. If every one of those people gave £3 then the film would get released. And there were more than 10,000 people who were touched by acid house. Hundreds of thousands across the Uk and the world know how special that time was and millions more experienced the legacy left by that pioneering movement. These are the people who will come and donate to the film. I just need to find them.
After so many knock backs (its taken 10 years of refusing to take no for an answer to get this far) why have i persevered and why am i still trying everything to get it released? Why have i got to the stage where i am cap in hand like a online busker asking for donations? Because I believe in this film. I believe it’s an important social document, one that honestly captures a moment in our collective history that has not yet been preserved in popular culture, for the generation who were there to gloriously remember and for future generations to be able to see. I believe that it goes some way to explaining why this time was so influential to those who experienced it and i believe that it also reminds us what happens when the government, our elected officials, abuse their power, through ignorance or fear or both. This is why i have persevered with this film and this is why i am asking for your support.

Early Supporters

admin — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 13:26:02 +0000

The lovely Jag, our website designer has added a donation page so that people can help towards the costs of the music clearance. The official launch is next week but whilst this has been up for testing and with no promotion at all, 3 wonderful people have donated already.
Adam, Urs and Joe – you ROCK!

Exit through the gift shop

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:52:20 +0000

I am working on the launch of the appeal to raise the funds for the music at the moment and i’m thinking of other bits and pieces we could produce to help raise money. T-shirts are a must, but also maybe mouse mats, mugs, badges, posters? How far do you go??? I dont want to have a whole shop full of tat that looks like those rooms you are made to exit through after a ride at Alton Towers.

1000 likes

admin — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:52:21 +0000

Ok so we are not the most popular kid in the playground (yet) but we have 1000 likes on Facebook and we are starting to feel the love. Thanks everyone for your support. The film is gathering momentum and with you behind it we will get the funds to clear the music and get this film out. Big love to you.

New footage of the film on Vimeo

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:03:10 +0000

I put a few more clips of the film on Vimeo. If you would like to see it email me through the contacts page, introduce yourself and ask me to send you the link and password. Cheers, Piers.

This is how it started

admin — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:29:11 +0000

Well its taken nearly 2 years but we have finally got a proper website.

I think its only right to start this blog with a big thank you to everyone who has given their time to make this film happen so far. To all the contributors of the film, those original acid house pioneers who have shared their amazing experiences on camera, to everyone who has worked on making this documentary for love and no money – and a big thank you to everyone who screened the film at festivals, watched the film, voted for the film, promoted the film, i salute you all!

Also a thank you to Jag the latest collaborator to help bring High On Hope to its audience. Jag has kindly built this website and like the rest of us he has done it for a no money upfront.