Why I am making DRIVEN

Here’s a little background on my film JENS PULVER | DRIVEN, and how I came to the project.

Four months ago I met Jens Pulver. Jens is a mixed martial arts fighter, and former 3 time UFC World Champion. Now, I am quite new to MMA, I honestly haven’t watched it much, nor before my first meeting with Jens, did I know much about his career. What I did know, after that first meeting, is that Jens is a warm, casually unassuming guy, with a quick smile and big heart, that is willing to chat with anyone.

After that meeting, due to my avid curiosity, I did my research, read his book (which I highly recommend “Little Evil: One Ultimate Fighter’s Rise to the Top“), and learned that there was so much more to Jens, and his sport, than meets the eye.

If you haven’t read it, the first chapter in his autobiography begins like this:

“When I was seven years old, my father decided that he no longer wanted children. On a cloudy Seattle afternoon, he grabbed my two younger brothers and me by the collars of our shirts and hauled us into the living room. After lining us up in a little row by the fireplace, he stumbled into the kitchen to fetch his shotgun.”

I was hooked from that moment, and became engrossed in the story of an abused kid from the horse tracks in Seattle, who despite every opportunity to repeat the mistakes of his father, instead embraced athletics, and eventually rose to the height of World Champion in his sport.

His life story, coupled with his current return to the WEC, simply struck me as an amazing story to tell. So, we talked some more, I attempted to find some financing, unsuccessfully, and as 2009 came to a close I decided rather than miss out on this story as it happens I just needed to start shooting, and find other means of financing the film while I shot.

After the holidays were done, Jens and I got together and the end result was this teaser trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYgwLofk7j4 meant to capture the story, tone and look of what I was going for overall in the film I am making. Since releasing it on YouTube 13 days ago, it has now been viewed over 26,000 times, and prompted countless emails from fans, and friends of Jens recounting their experiences, and what an inspiration Jens has been to them personally.

All of this has helped me strengthen my resolve, and go all in on making this film happen, whatever it takes.

You see, to me, Jens and his story, reflect our collective American psyche of right now.

Many people out there are feeling beaten, bruised, and battered. They are carrying a heavy burden, feeling alone, and in many cases…are losing hope. But, across the board, deep down, there is that spark, that drive, that need to overcome, to succeed, to conquer. We are all fighting for something. Whether we’re fighting against our pasts, fighting for a better future, fighting for what is right, in our families, our communities, and our country, or fighting to simply stay alive, we share in this universal human struggle. Jens’s life story has run this entire gamut, and reflects this need to overcome adversity at all costs.

In the end, I will shape a feature documentary that follows Jens’s immediate journey back to the cage through to its end, while probing his early life, his rise as a mixed martial artists, and the art of fighting itself.

After failing to attract traditional financing, I decided in order to get DRIVEN off the ground, I needed to do something non-traditional that would invite others into the filmmaker process. And, just as I was trying to figure out exactly how to do that, I received an invite to present a project on Kickstarter.com. It seemed a perfect vehicle, as it created a strength in numbers sort of approach to financing, and in a way that was not ‘something for nothing’, which I simply can’t do.

The way a Kickstarter campaign works is contributors pledge to back your project, and exchange for their gracious monetary contribution, they receive rewards. I’ve set up a number of rewards for this film, including receiving a pre-release limited edition DVD of the film signed by Jens, all the way up to the opportunity to be flown in for a private pre-release viewing of the film with Jens at his Idaho training center.

If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to visit my Kickstarter.com campaign: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/…ilm-about-a-le where I am seeking to raise the $25,000 (of which a little over $7K is pledged thus far) needed to get through production, including following Jens to Columbus, Ohio for his March 6th bout. My deadline to complete this goal is February 1st at 3pm MST. If I don’t reach the goal, the film is not funded.

I know that there are very many pressing financial concerns out there today, that absolutely deserve our attention. And that the current economy has made a real, and devastating affect on many. So when I ask for support of this film, it is with the belief that Jens’s story is indeed worth telling, and can speak to many, as well with the hope that once completed it can carry Jens’s inspiring message to those who need it most.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I understand that not everyone has the means to contribute, but would appreciate greatly, anyone and everyone passing this along. Every bit of help counts!

With Warm Regards,