PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Meet a transgender sex-ed teacher, a knife-fighting mafioso and India’s top gossip blogger. Go fishing in the Arabian Sea, rub noses with Bollywood elite and dance your way to the sea. Jugaad is an immersive mosaic of stories about people from different communities in Mumbai, one of the most disparate, diverse and densely populated cities on Earth. Behind the camera, the outsider-filmmaker makes her way through India’s “biggest, fastest, richest city”, exploring the highs, lows and in-between moments of everyday life. Jugaad captures the emotional essence of an urban centre while reflecting how we all survive our paradoxical world.

The word “jugaad” means creative problem solving. It’s the connective tissue of the city and is at the crux of survival in the world today.

Jugaad started as an idea on paper in 2008, began production in 2010, continued production between 2013 and 2015, and was edited over several years. I made it with some Canadian arts grants, all my personal savings and some generous support from family and friends. It took a lot of work, passion and persistence, and when I finally finished it, my story editor Omar put it to me bluntly: “Congratulations, Susannah! You’re at the halfway mark.” What lies ahead is the next phase in every film’s life: distribution. Yipee!

This next stage involves making the rounds at festivals, marketing, networking and sales. I need to make artwork and other marketing tools, apply to film festivals, travel to festivals and industry events, find broadcasters who want to buy the film, edit a shorter, one-hour version of the film to sell to broadcasters, and find all the people who want to watch it! Each of these steps takes a lot of time, and while a lot of groundwork can be done myself, there are many costs that add up quickly.

If you can’t contribute financially to my campaign, you can still help! Please share this campaign every which way you know how! Email the link, post it on Facebook, tweet it and tell everyone you know about Jugaad. Being seen is half a filmmaker's battle in our competitive, media-saturated planet, so thank you for any help you can offer to spread the word.

Making this film has been a challenging, life-changing, soul-feeding journey. It’s been a transformative personal process and has set an internal compass for my future work. I even live in Mumbai part-time and hope to continue exploring the city through film. Being an independent filmmaker is personally rewarding, but it’s not easy and it can’t be done alone. I hope you’ll join me in my quest to share Jugaad with the world.

Thank you for your support!

YOUR CONTRIBUTION WILL GO TOWARDS:

• Editing of a 1-hour version for broadcasters – 25%
• Sound mix on 1-hour version – 5%
• Festival submissions – 5%
• Digital cinema package – how most festivals screen films these days – 3%
• Travel to festivals and industry events – 10%
• Translation and Subtitling in other languages (currently the only version is in English) – 5%
• Design and production of the poster, postcards and other marketing tools – 10%
• Errors and Omissions insurance – 20%
• Legal counsel – 15%
• Indiegogo fees – 5%
• Credit card fees – 3%

BIO:

Susannah Heath-Eves is a filmmaker based in Montreal and Mumbai. 

Prior to JUGAAD, she worked at EyeSteelFilm, where she was Line Producer and Co-Editor on two documentary projects: the Blue Water Project, a web series on freshwater conservation, in collaboration with CloudRaker; and The Fruit Hunters, directed by Yung Chang, a feature film and two-episode TV series for CBC's The Nature of Things, in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada. 

Susannah has worked as a reporter and current affairs associate producer for Canada’s public broadcaster, CBC Radio and Television. She has a Masters in Broadcast Journalism and a BA in English Literature, both from Carleton University in Ottawa.

WHO MADE JUGAAD : All of the non-Mumbai collaborators are from Montreal's independent documentary film community. 

Susannah Heath-Eves, Producer, Directer, Editor. (See bio)

Omar Majeed, Story Editor and Adviser. Omar is a filmmaker, producer and editor, and a Toronto-based Montreal transplant. He directed Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam, co-directed The Frog Princes, and edited The Fruit Hunters. He's also a human encyclopaedia on cinematic knowledge, and is an incredible teacher and mentor.

Amrita Singh, Line Producer and Sound Recordist. Amrita is a Mumbai based documentary researcher, line producer and sound recordist. She's worked on several docs commissioned by channels such as BBC, Discovery, National geographic as well as independent and corporate films. Her background is in social work. We worked together to strike a balance of communities to explore for Jugaad. Sadly, not all of the stories made it into the final cut!

Benjamin R. Taylor, Cinematography. Benjamin is a filmmaker, programmer and cinematographer. He made Niagara's Fury, shot El Huaso, and founded La lumière collective, an artist and exhibition space in Montreal. He was a slow, steady chameleon who blended into the background, which was ideal for shooting in Mumbai.

Alan Kohl, additional cinematography. Alan directs, shoots and edits. He directed Roadsworth: Crossing the Line,  was co-director and cinematographer of H2Oil, and directed and shot Mon Israel.  He was Jugaad's original cinematographer in 2010, when I went to make my taxi doc. He really helped me stay on my feet while the film's scope changed. 

Jonah Fernandes, additional cinematography. Jonah is a freelance underwater videographer in Goa. He remained on land while shooting Jugaad.

Kyle Stanfield, Sound Design and Foley. Kyle is a freelance sound designer who has collaborated on many documentary films, including Up The Yangtze, Taqwacore and Chameleon. He created a dynamic soundscape for Jugaad, and gave the city the intense sound treatment that it deserves.

Shane Mendonsa, Music Consultant & Composer. Shane is a composer, arranger, producer and sound engineer known for pushing boundaries in Bollywood, indie cinema and his own music. He created the film scores for Indian Indie docs Placebo and Just That Sort of a Day. He made the sage decision to advise that Jugaad be score-free, and then went on to compose the most beautiful score for the trailer. 

Luc Léger, Sound Mix. Luc is a sound recordist, mixer and does sound restoration at The National Film Board of Canada. It was a dreamy two weeks in the studio with Luc, the most patient and sensible mixer I could have asked for.

Francis Hanneman, Online & Colour Correction. Francis works in post-production on many Montreal docs, and his work includes Tokyo Idols and The Wandering Muse. His colour was bang-on and he fixed shots that I thought were irreparable. Such a relief!

Mentors, creative advisers and production consultants include: Kat Baulu, Mila Aung-Thwin, Bob Moore, Yung Chang, George Butler and Michael Ostroff.

And many more...

The film was produced with support from:

The Canada Council for the Arts, The National Film Board of Canada Filmmaker Assistance Program (FAP Quebec), La Société de développement des entreprises culturelles – Jeunes Créateurs, the CJOH Development Fund, and generous contributions from family and friends. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!

Please check out the perks and help spread the word! Social media links are at the top right.