Amsterdam filmmaker Finn Szumlas is taking to the streets for the entire month of September to exhibit his work. In doing so, he asks benevolent strangers to support him for the rest of his working life for the sum of 1 cent per day.

“As a screenwriter and director, I have been quite successful with what I have made so far. I also have a major producer behind me and support from the Netherlands Film Fund for writing my first feature film. But it is not enough. As a cultural entrepreneur, I have been in a very precarious, uncertain situation for some time. That unrest is far from ideal if you want to consistently deliver high-quality, creative work. I did not want to let go of my ambitions as a maker of artistic feature films and realized that I could also turn fundraising into a work of art. One cent a day, the smallest conceivable economic transaction, is the result of that.”

Curious passersby can take a seat and immerse themselves for ten minutes in one of the earlier short films Szumlas made. Although he offers his work for free, the writer-director hopes to earn a basic income in this way while working on his first feature film. The eventual five thousand 'eye contracts', as Szumlas calls the relationship with his donors, are sealed with a portrait of a new donor looking into the lens of his camera.

It is striking that the campaign takes place almost entirely offline. There is an Instagram account where the portraits are shared and a counter that tracks progress, but an eye contract can only be established on the street, after a personal meeting with the creator. Szumlas: “For me, cinema is a language of wonder. These street screenings are a way to physically embody that same wonder, to make it tangible, and to connect it to trust and a certain fearlessness. I really have to show something of myself and entrust myself to providence and the goodness of people.”

Szumlas and his films will be on display in the streets, squares, and parks of Amsterdam throughout the entire month of September. From September 23, the campaign moves to Utrecht for a week, where the Netherlands Film Festival is taking place and where the final eye contracts will be offered for the time being. Afterward, the filmmaker will return to his writing desk for a new version of his feature film screenplay. “I don’t expect to be able to close five thousand contracts in a single month. In between writing, while I wait for feedback and funding application results, I look forward to hitting the streets again in the coming year, and perhaps much longer, and having unexpected encounters with special people.”



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