donate

Help Keep the Adrenaline Pumping

When Lisa Wise and I started Pan Left we had little money and less experience (or maybe it was the other way around). In film school we decided we wanted to make movies with a bit more significance that your average Hollywood schlock.

Don’t get me wrong. I have a soft spot for Hollywood schlock. I love chase scenes. Big, action-adventure, cars-speeding, bullets-flying, save-the-world, beat-the-bad-guy, pulse-pounding chase scenes. There, I’ve said it. When I went to film school, I wanted to make big-budget, popcorn-munching films. Ahhhh, the adrenaline rush!

But our thrilling adventure followed a different path. We started Pan Left Productions 15 years ago with equipment set up in the spare bedroom of one of our apartments. Our girlfriends and a couple of mentors from the University formed our illustrious board of directors. We were small, but our chosen path produced plenty of excitement.

Making movies with Pan Left is viscerally, intellectually and emotionally thrilling. Consider some of the events of the last 15 years:

• Tracked border patrol agents through the streets of Tucson (but never got an answer to the burning question: “How could you tell he was undocumented?”)
• Threatened with arrest for videotaping anti-war protests at the Tucson Federal Building.
• Camera confiscated by Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy claiming it might be a gun.
• Locked into tomato field and questioned by sheriffs in Immokalee, Florida, while trying to cover workers’ organizing efforts.
• Denounced by city council members for bringing the Sex Worker Arts and Film Festival to Tucson.
• Arrested while trying to cover Tucson’s Cesar Chavez March in 2003.

And that’s how I knew we were doing something right. Ahhh, the adrenaline rush! Forget Hollywood action movies and their chase scenes. Nothing compares to real life. . . Pan Left style.

Pan Left videomakers lay everything on the line, and they keep plugging along. Why? Because the biggest rush adrenaline comes not from car chases or intimidating Men With Guns. It comes from making something that has an impact, makes a difference.

I know that Heather Lares’ Border Crossings, for example, has changed the misconceptions that thousands of people had about our border. Jason Aragon's Conozca Sus Derechos has informed countless people about their rights when they are stopped by Border Patrol. And I know that people thank Steev Hise because they avoided arrest and harassment because he was present with his camera.

Our videomakers are dedicated, yes. But, we rely on the support of people like you to keep our cameras whirring. We have a modest studio and increasingly modest equipment. Pan Left has a single staff person – MC Thurtle, the finest executive director around. The rest of us volunteer our time.

Fifteen years later, Pan Left’s videomakers have loads of experience. . . but still little money. Please, make a generous donation to Pan Left and keep the adrenaline pumping for another 15 years.

Jeff Imig
Co-founder, Pan Left Productions

P.S. If you have already made a donation, thank you! If not, please make your donation today. Jason Aragón is about to start production on a video that we hope will do no less than drive Sheriff Joe Arpaio from power ; your support will help Pan Left to complete projects like this.

No donation is too small...or too large. You can make a donation through PayPal, or by sending your check to: Pan Left Productions, 631 S. 6th Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85701.