Joshua Prendeville: Building an Audience on Boosted

What was your first crowdfunding campaign, and what drew you initially to crowdfunding? 

My first crowdfunding campaign was for the film 'The House Within,' which was a feature documentary on the life and work of 2026 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow Dame Fiona Kidman. We found ourselves in a tight spot in post-production and, having funded it independently until that point, needed additional finance to get it over the line.   

What surprised you about crowdfunding on Boosted in that initial experience? 

I was really blown away by the wave of generosity which that first campaign brought, and the way incredible contributions showed up from unexpected places. 

I was somewhat dubious going into it the first time, having never crowdfunded anything before, but I was quickly humbled by the experience. I also found that the campaign helped to start a conversation around the project itself; it wasn’t simply an avenue to gather funds. It was really a way to open up a dialogue with a community of interested, and interesting, people. In many ways it felt like the first stage of the theatrical release campaign which came later. 

How did that contrast with the next campaign you ran? 

My next campaign was a little different as it was for a contemporary short film adaptation of Katherine Mansfield’s story The Garden Party titled 'Our Party.' The amount we needed was considerably more, and it was for a project that was not yet in production. Which is to say that if the Boosted campaign didn’t work then the film wouldn’t go ahead. So the pressure felt a little higher for a number of reasons; including the scale of production and the cast and crew that were already attached to it. 

But this time I had more faith in the process, and believed that with a lot of work we’d be able to get it over the line. I also work with a wonderful team of people who were out there advocating for the project, so I definitely didn’t do it alone. 

What lessons did you take with you going into the next campaign? 

I learnt how to better have conversations with the right sort of people which would lead to contributions to get the campaign over the line. In my experience, it isn’t necessary to have hundreds of small donations if you know how to work methodically and productively towards a few larger ones from key supporters. 

What are the non-financial benefits you have found from crowdfunding? 

Outside of the obvious financial benefits, as soon as the campaign goes live you’re out in the world actively talking about your project and building an awareness of it in your industry and community. 

Film, like anything, is a conversation within yourself and with the people you rally together to help bring these ideas to life so the campaign puts you in an immediate discourse which is explicitly concerned with translating your vision into a very real piece of work. 

How have you engaged your crowd, and built an audience for your work? 

Well I think your first obligation is to make the work as good as it can possibly be, so you can then present something to everyone who generously contributed a result that makes their support feel worthwhile. 

Delivering on what you say you will is really important to me, and it’s also helpful if, with subsequent projects, you show a trajectory of where you are heading. That way people see the important ways they’re helping to grow and develop not only one person’s art and career but also all the people that are involved with that person's creative practice. 

What is your new project about? 

My new project is the short film 'Earthly Shadows,' which is an adaptation of the award winning story by Fiona Kidman. After my film 'The House Within' and my current project to adapt her novel 'This Mortal Boy' for screen, this project feels like a natural continuation of the work and relationships I’ve been developing and exploring over the last few years. The film is a tight chamber piece, which centres around the interior mechanics and larger frameworks that exist within the landscape of art funding in New Zealand. So it feels like a very fitting project to bring to Boosted! 

What is your aim with your latest campaign? 

My aim is to be able to make a world class short film that both stands on its own as a piece of provocative and self-reflective cinema as well as being representative of the work my collaborators and I are passionate about exploring in the future.