PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT THIS YEAR
With the economy as it is, small museums like ours need your help now more than ever. Nonprofits, educational institutions, libraries and museums across America are seeing financial donations plummet to record lows, and many of us are being forced to cut back on programs and staff, or face permanent closure.
The Douglas Fairbanks Museum has been particularly hard hit by the financial crisis, as we are still trying to recover from the flood damage which forced us to close our doors last year. Over the past quarter, the amount of financial contributions from individuals and businesses who have been our strongest supporters has dropped significantly due to the unstable economy, but we are hoping to get a much-needed boost from our spring donation drive this year.
Since the museum presently does not have a physical location for our annual film screening during the annual donation drive, we’ve decided to get a little bit creative and try doing the annual fundraiser online this year.
We think this new and different approach will especially benefit people outside the Austin area who want to participate, along with the added convenience of being able to watch the screenings from the comfort of home, on your own schedule. Perhaps best of all, instead of having the annual party on a single evening (traditionally held during the SXSW Film Festival in mid-March), hosting the event online as a four-week event keeps the celebration going all month long!
So during our 2009 March donation drive, we will be offering a special treat for all of our virtual visitors to enjoy: a free online Fairbanks film festival that you can watch from anywhere in the world!
This year’s selection is Douglas Fairbanks – The Great Swashbuckler, a full-length documentary film on his life and work. Produced in 2005 by Delta Entertainment with assistance from the Douglas Fairbanks Museum, the film features rare artifacts from our archives and on-camera interviews with Hollywood Forever’s Annette Lloyd, film historian Sparrow Morgan, and Douglas Fairbanks Museum curator Keri Leigh.
DVD Cover for "Douglas Fairbanks - The Great Swashbuckler" documentary
We will be screening this 90-minute documentary film in it’s entirety here on the museum’s blog throughout the entire month of March. The film will be shown in nine consecutive parts (shown much like a biographical mini-series), each episode examining a different aspect of Fairbanks’ unique artistry and vision for the film industry. Below are the screening dates for each episode:
DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS – THE GREAT SWASHBUCKLER
SCREENING SCHEDULE
MARCH 2009
Watch for free at http://douglasfairbanks.wordpress.com
Mar. 3: Part 1 – Early Years of Douglas Fairbanks
Mar. 6: Part 2 – From Broadway to Hollywood
Mar. 9: Part 3 – Love and War
Mar. 12: Part 4 – Pickfair and the United Artists
Mar. 15: Part 5 – Zorro, D’Artagnan, and Robin Hood
Mar. 18: Part 6 – King of Hollywood
Mar. 22: Part 7 – The Talkies
Mar. 25: Part 8 – Divorce and Decline
Mar. 28: Part 9 – Final Days, Lasting Legacy
Episodes will be posted early in the day (each new episode goes live at appx. 8 am on the scheduled date) and will be featured on the front page all day long, so you can watch at whatever time is convenient for you.
This documentary film is now out of print commercially on DVD (although used copies can still be obtained through Amazon.com, Ebay, and in the Museum Gift Shop), so our March film festival offers Fairbanks fans a rare opportunity to learn more about his life and legacy online here — and it’s free – there’s no admission fee at the box office!
We hope you enjoy this month-long tribute to Douglas Fairbanks, and please don’t forget that our dedicated staff and volunteers make it all possible. Without their efforts, we would not have been able to make it through the storm (and the subsequent damage to our building), nor would we be able to continue making our collections available to the public while our doors remain temporarily closed.
Without YOU, a new library and exhibit space may not be in our future. We really do need your help now as we continue to rebuild. So please show your support for silent film, as well as your appreciation for Douglas Fairbanks and the many dedicated individuals who keep his museum going with a financial contribution today!
Your financial support helps us achieve our mission, enables us to acquire new artifacts, and to provide the very best care and conservation for our existing collections. As these items are now approaching or over 100 years of age, they need increasing amounts of attention and preservation.
You can make a donation quickly, easily, and safely through PayPal using a credit card, debit card or bank account below. Every donation, small or large – even just dropping $5.00 in our Virtual Donation Box - brings us one step closer to accomplishing our mission. That goal is establishing a permanent place in history for Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., to ensure that film historians and fans have his work, his extraordinary life and legacy to study and enjoy for many generations to come.
Make a financial gift through safe, secure Pay Pal International below:
Thank You.
(*) – Donations may not be tax-deductible.
