How am I producing this film?

A bit of behind the scenes information on how I am able to produce an independent documentary:

As mentioned in a previous post, I have received a small grant from Cinergia. This grant is for $4000 and it is the only source of funding I have been able to aquire so far. So the rest of my budget is coming right out of my own pocket, or from donations of time and talent from a few supportive friends. My initial budget is about US$45,000 but that doesn't include the Costa Rica or Canada trips, so the actual budget is going to be much higher. Of the original $45K, about $14,000 is needed in cash and the rest is in the form of deferals or donations. My production company is donating almost $11,000 in equipment and other services. If I fail to raise anymore cash, I will end up working for free, to the tune of about $9,000.

I own a small video production company in Belize, Central America. My company is called Oxa Productions (pronouced oh-sha). It's really just me and I do a lot of different things to put bread on the table such shooting and editing of local commercials, freelancing for other ad agencies and broadcasters, etc.

My biggest source of revenue however comes from providing location scouting and management to foreign productions who come to Belize. These include film, video, and still photography. These gigs pay decent money so it allows me to spend time working on this film without worrying about paying my rent.

I own a PD-150 (plus all the usual extras) that I am using to shoot, and I have FCP4.5 on my Mac powerbook that I use for editing. If I didn't own this gear I couldn't afford to make this film.

The big challenge is finding time to work on the documentary while still working on jobs that actually pay money. It's been tougher to balance than I expected because (fortunately) I have been extremely busy with paid projects from Novemember through January. So while my company balance sheet looks better than expected, I am way behind on production of the documentary. It's a catch 22; if I don't get the other work I can't make the film, and if I get the work I don't have time to make the film!