The Mouse That Roared - a documentary film

WHO WE ARE:

I'm Judith Ehrlich, and I was nominated for an Academy Award when I directed “The Most Dangerous Man in America, Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers.” This film expands on the issues of my previous film, in the context of the 21st century.

THE MOUSE THAT ROARED, based in Iceland, investigates one of the most pressing challenges in the world today—how do we extend the hard-won rights of democratic societies into the digital space where most of our communication now takes place? 

Through our character-driven documentary featuring  Birgitta Jonsdóttír—poet, Buddhist, activist, single mom, and elected member of the Icelandic Parliament—we explore the question, “is the Internet to become what WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange calls 'most significant surveillance machine that we have ever seen,' or will it be a platform for innovation, creativity, community building and justice?"

WHAT WE NEED AND WHAT YOU GET:

Iceland's people have crowd-sourced their laws for a new constitution to make Iceland a safe haven for freedom of information, and now my team and I are crowd-funding to make a film about it.

My team and I need your support to raise $50,000 to get to Iceland, the U.K, New York and Washinton D.C. this Fall to film critical events that will become pivotal scenes in the film. 

Capturing Birgitta in action, editing new material and moving towards a first rough-cut of the film is our overall goal for the next six months. My Crew and I will follow Birgitta Jónsdóttir and cybersecurity expert Jacob Appelbaum as they participate in Iceland in their historic Constitutional Referendum and address Onternet pioneers in London.

We will reward you handsomely with credits, DVDs, Posters, and even dinner with the Ellsbergs and Birgitta herself! Plus, we take you with us! You'll get the backer-only production updates while we are on the road filming and developing this exciting story!

OUR FUNDING SITUATION:

Sundance Institute, LEF Foundation, Berkeley Film Fund, and Chicken And Egg Pictures  have all funded our start-up along with many individual donors, all of whom we are very grateful to.

This early funding has been crucial to get us this far, but now that we are ready to complete another round of filming, and begin editing, we are out of cash and coming to you for your support! WE NEED FUNDS FOR THE FOLLOWING!

• Flights & Accomodations in Iceland + UK +  New York City this Fall for director, producers, and film crew
• Hiring local crew, grip truck and lights on location
• Managing media, growing our audience, and building our support base
• Processing, Transcribing and editing new footage

(above: Julian Assange on left, Robbert Valentijn Gonggrijp in middle, Birgitta Jónsdóttir on right, Icelandic volcanic erruption in background, photo by Johann Hansen)

IMAGINE A NATION that offers a safe haven to whistleblowers risking their lives to stand up and speak the truth.

IMAGINE AN INTERNET that empowers “netizens,” rather than collecting data and spying on them.

This Fall is a critically important time to film again. Birgitta is leading the fight to move IMMI, The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, through the Icelandic parliament, as well as traveling worldwide to advance these ideas. Passing IMMI will make Iceland into a unique haven for online free speech, promote government transparency, and protect whistleblowers worldwide.

(Above: Birgitta with the Dalai Lama at a Free Tibet Conference in Ottawa, April 2012)


 PARTNERSHIPS!

A film starts with an idea, but takes a hard-working crew to make that vision a reality. 

We need your support to make this movie come to life!

SHARE! TWEET! FACEBOOK! TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

Join with us to help create a global community in support of the fight for digital democracy.

** TAX DEDUCTIBLE contributions can be made via PayPal payment option.

** Music in trailer by Chris Hajian, Sigur Ros & Zoe Keating—currently unlicensed until we raise further funds!