Difficult Times

Dear <<First Name>>,

Times have become a bit scary. What started as a China-based pandemic has spread rapidly to the rest of the world, claiming the lives of many. The United States is now under Spain with the 4th most confirmed cases in the world. I blame the government.

I don't normally ever get political publicly, but I 1,000% stand with US doctors and other healthcare professionals in blaming the government for being ill-prepared. Despite now standing at #4, the federal government has not issued a lockdown or any other preventative measures. They have only looked into the financial impact and have been working on a stimulus package, which, yes, is definitely part of the problem, but arguably does not decrease the spread of the disease.

I live in the epicenter of the USA's pandemic, in New York. Thankfully, our state government has put us on official lockdown starting yesterday. However, I have been in contact with my former classmates and professors in Prague. They are doing a much better job there, with mandatory masks and police making sure that people are not leaving their homes. In France, you can be fined over 100 euros for leaving your home without an official paper for getting groceries and such. Half of my family is from, and lives in, France. My younger cousin has the virus.
 

*sigh*

Regarding Floxed, we have understandably put everything on hold. Our interview subjects are far too high risk to even contemplate filming right now and continuing our Kickstarter campaign on March 30th, after many people have lost their jobs without pay, is irresponsible, I believe. We have pushed the date to April 30th, but I think that we may continue pushing it until it makes sense.

For now, we will be working in the background as we have been, working on logistics, outreach, and anything else we can do from behind the safety of a computer or phone.

During this time, I suggest going outside if you can, in the woods or a national park of some sort, maintaining distance from everyone other than household members. I went for a hike yesterday with my boyfriend, my brother, and his dog. It was a nice refresh for my mind and for my body. I wish I could just live out in the woods right now, but my current living situation won't allow it. If yours does, go outside. Sit in a chair and read, maybe, like I did for months when I was floxed. It was the only thing that calmed my mind and it will likely calm yours, too.

As for me, I have also taken on another documentary called COVID POV, a completely remote documentary based on self submissions alone. If you are interested in learning more, participating, or you're a floxie with confirmed coronavirus, please feel free to reach out to me by responding to this email.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly considering Floxed, I was asked to be on a podcast episode about how the coronavirus affects the film industry. If you're interested in that, I'll provide a link when it's out! We are recording it today (remotely, of course).

Thank you all for all of your support thus far. Please be careful, stay safe, and maybe stay positive, too. We're all in this together and we can lift each other up in many ways during this crisis. I wish you all well. Thank you.


Best,

Michelle Polacinski
Floxie, Director, and Producer of 'Floxed'