Friday, October 21st 2016 Maariv by Avi Bnayahu
The crowdfunding system, which helps to encourage and support writers, poets and artists, is gathering more and more momentum. It’s, simply put, fun. With a small amount of money you know you are paving the way for an artist who is on early of his career or is struggling. You become a part of the creation, become a partner, and enjoy the fruits of the labor. The more people support, the more the artists feels the “push” coming from the public’s direction.
This week I’m asking you to explore the possibility of supporting Chen Drachman. An Israeli actress and writer who resides in New York. She’s a graduate of the film and TV department at the Eylon High School in Holon, who specialized in scriptwriting and production. Upon finishing her army service in 8200, she took part in establishing the “IMTC”, the first musical theater company in Israel. Later on she studied at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York and once she graduated she stayed in the city and started working in the industry.
As an actress, Chen participated in the shows Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Blackbox and The Path (airing on HOT in Israel), starring Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul.
In the last couple of years Chen wrote two scripts: Aurora, a full length script, and Ruth’s, a short film script. Both scripts have been accepted as official selections and finalists in international festivals, among them the International Film Festival of Madrid, the Toronto International Film and Video Awards, and other festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and more.
Nowadays Chen is running a crowdfunding campaign to turn her short script, Ruth’s into a film. The story deals with the hypothetical scenario in which Anne Frank survived the Holocaust and is living her life peacefully without anyone knowing. Name actresses showed interest in the lead role, and the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam called the script interesting and daring. You can support the campaign by going to fromtheheartproductions.givecorps.com and look up “Ruth’s.” (More information about Drachman can be found on www.chendrachman.com.)