Just now we came back from the LAST 2 DAYS of production for the documentary!

We spend a few days with Zé and his son Sion, went to a football game and on a day trip on the islands in front of Gothenburg's coast. Here below you can see a few screenshots from the footage we have taken.

We have now finally closed the chapter of the production and are entering the complex process of post-production and distribution.

Naiara Seara, our editor has been working hard on sifting through our 50 ours of material and is now working on the rough cut of the film. It is an exciting experience to see the film coming to life after almost 4 years of work on this project!!

At the end of April we have been filming in Brussels to interview politicians and lobbyist working on influencing the Common Fisheries Reform. Super Thanks to Jo Jo Lam that has been our camera operator and Christophe Van Der Eecken who took the job of making the photo backstage,

Part of co-direrctor Gabriel's work log from the production of Sandgrains, shot by his family home in Sweden. We are reaching the very end of our phase of shooting, with only two days left of production in Brussels and Gothenburg. Gabriel was in Sweden to organize some of that and to hand over the project to our editor Naiara Seara Romaña in Eskilstuna, near Stockholm. 

Here you go with the second backstage video of the Sandgrains Team on production in Cape Verde.
More to come...

After a long sleepless night at the airport, spent working with the wonderful free wifi there, we arrived at Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente, part of the northern Barlavento archipelago.
We rented a flat (bartered to a great price by Francesca from our landlord Artur), and spent another intense 10 days there.
Mindelo is a strategic point for international fisheries: thanks to geological formations the port is the biggest and most active in all of CapeVerde.
We made several interviews with fisheries engineers, marine biologists and the CEO of the port's node for international and national fisheries. José ended his stay with us in Cape Verde and left for Gothenburg in Sweden. We spent only three weeks with him and it felt like three months!

Another problem caused by sand gathering is the salination of fresh water deposits. Salt water from the ocean seeps into the ground, destroying plantations near the coast and ruining wells. The sand functioned as a filter, and now without this buffer the farmers are experiencing a significant drop in crop productivity.

José brought us to Ribeira das Prata, a beach half an hour north of Ribeira da Barca. Volcanic black sand still
covers a long, wide shoreline here, and it is startlingly beautiful.
The former beaches of Ribeira da Barca and Charco, where José used to play football many years ago, covered an even wider expanse than this one.

The points of view of Ribeira da Barca's fishermen are essential for understanding what is happening in the Cape Verdean waters. We followed a usual work day of fishing with some of the the most experienced fishermen in the village. The catch was disappointing as it often is, with just 6 fish caught. Ze Antonio and Nelson gave us a long and very interesting interview aboard their little boat.

The first backstage video of the Sandgrains Team on production in Cape Verde.
Featuring shots from the first two weeks in our main location.
Ribeira da Barca, Santiago, Cabo Verde.
More to come...

Ze and the crew go to Charco with cousin Ja, where people are gathering sand by the shore. There is none left above water so they must dig it up from the sea bed.
At the end Mirco has a quiet moment recording the sound of crashing surf.

Just outside our window, Jordie and Gabriel return from filming at sea. Fishermen launch their wooden boats just next to our house, which is filled with nets and fishing gear.
We showed a video of Ze playing football for a Swedish team in a bar by the square, and Mirco realized his dream of fresh lobster dinner, provided by Ze's nephew.
Jordie makes grog cocktails during a blackout, and Ze's brother Yuku scrubs with a fish net. The quiet pace of village life continues undisturbed by our presence. 

Sunday, Ze' and his friends went for a walk towards the grog making farmers, but they were not there, so we just enjoyed the walk. Along the way we met Ja, the woman in the trailer collecting sand on the beach of Charco and set up a day of shooting with her.
We made a deal with a lady that agreed to cook for us so that we can concentrate on production and in the evening also sorted out internet connection which will make our communication with everyone following our story much easier!

Ze's nephew and friends came to pick us up in Praia and drve us to Ribeira Da Barca, our main location. Along the way we took the first shots of the country and of Ze' returning home.
We settled into an abandoned house in front of the sea, broken windows but a wonderful view!
And in the evening we had our first local produced grog at the bar.

6 January 2012, after three years of pre-production and hard work the Sandgrains team finally leaves for production in Cape Verde. Ze' and Gabriel left from Gothenburg, Sweden and joined Francesca and Jordie in London.
At the Lisbon stop-over we got together with Mirco who was travelling from Italy. We landed in Praia at 1 o'clock at night, exhausted by the long journey and the stressful days before departure.

Dear friends! Happy new year!
With enthusiasm, we inform you that the first crowdfunding campaign for the documentary 'Sandgrains' ended successfully!

110 donors (including individuals and associations) have contributed 10,833 pounds (12,986 euros), several hundred pounds / euros above our target!

The project also boasts the involvement of roughly 40 people who have contributed through their qualities to the logistics of the project (translators, graphic designers, researchers, people who have opened their homes and hosted the events, people who have cooked and welcomed..)

The 'Sandgrains' project has naturally evolved and expanded. We started with the idea of a documentary, and arrived at something more.

'Sandgrains' and Matchbox Media Collective celebrate today our community of supporters.
The network has grown and new ideas were born, such as the petition to raise awareness on fisheries with WWF.
Moreover, in the coming months, the 'Sandgrains' production will tell the stories of the characters through another medium, photography.
And as always we are open to new contributions, of any kind ...!

This is the victory of crowdsourcing: together we can!

With this newsletter we want to thank everyone who has contributed in an economically difficult period, those who have voluntarily donated their quality and time, and all the people who value independence of thought and storytelling ...

The community of Ribeira da Barca awaits us and we will be with them in 2 days.
We will send you updates and developments on our investigations and stories, and on top you will have the opportunity to understand from the inside the process of documentary production through our and Francesca's blog.

We'll be in contact soon, from the lands of Cesaria and her sodade ...!

Matchbox Media Collective.

We just came back from a weekend of production in Sweden!
We met and spent an evening with Jose', our main character. We watched through old videotapes he has been filming when going back to Cape Verde in the last years. We run through the evening drinking cape verdean grog and dreaming of being back soon...

In the program were two shoots, one on at Heden football greens and another at a professional game between Assyriska FC and Jönköping in Ruddalen. We have beed joined by Robin Westerström as second camera and Linnea Ericsson as audio recordist, thanks very much to them!
New footage for the trailer, with a new interview of Jose'!
Soon to be seen in the film's website!