International film project seeks to explore seldom seen parts of the world through a volunteer’s eyes.

Metuchen, NJ -- (SBWire) -- 04/03/2014 --Today, Letters from Within, a film project focused on documenting off-the-beaten-path parts of the world through volunteer opportunities, launched a Kickstarter campaign to support its first official project in Nepal in Fall 2014.

The project will take Dmitry Petrov and Anna Soldatova, two of the founding members of Letters from Within, to Nepal to volunteer and chronicle their volunteer experience in the South Asian country.

“While it is wonderful to see new parts of the world as a tourist, international volunteering is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in another culture. It allows you to understand a place in a different and deeper way. We envision this Letters from Within project as a unique window into Nepalese culture that will offer a completely different perspective. It’s a point-of-view rooted in the stories, smiles and sadness and sights and sounds of local residents and daily life,” says Dmitry Petrov.

“Kickstarter really is the perfect place to launch the project,” says Keith Timko, a long-time staff member for several nonprofit organizations and an international volunteer. “We are looking to tell a different kind of story about getting involved as a volunteer and seeing a different part of the world in a new and unique way. And this is the kind of story that lends itself to crowdsourcing platforms like Kickstarter.” Since the launch of Kickstarter in April 28, 2009, over $1,000,000 has been pledged by more than 5,000,000 people with small donations to fund more than 50,000 creative projects.

For the creative team behind Letters from Within, though, the project is a first-of-its-kind world travel adventure focused on people helping each other, following their dreams, and finding a deeper meaning in their lives. The Kickstarter campaign (http://kck.st/1pB7Zzv) describes the project in greater detail including specifics on the $16,360 budget to secure additional equipment, airfare and accommodations in Nepal and post-production. The lettersfromwithin.com website includes video and photos from Petrov’s earlier travels including extensive footage from Indonesia where he volunteered as an English-language teacher at a public high school on Alor Island in Indonesia. This experience helped to shape this first official project of Letters from Within.

“There is a cultural, social and entertainment element to the project. With less intensive equipment and a minimal crew, we can travel as a part of the world and not merely as spectators,” says Anna Soldatova, filmmaker and third member of the team. While not a part of Petrov’s earlier travels to Indonesia, Soldatova is lending her filmmaking and editorial expertise to the Nepal project.

About Letters from Within
Letters from Within is an international documentary film project focusing on off-the-beaten-path places and local volunteer opportunities. The project—led by Dmitry Petrov and Anna Soldatova of St. Petersburg, Russia, and Keith Timko of Metuchen, N.J.—consists of a website, http://www.lettersfromwithin.com, and a Kickstarter campaign seeking to raise just over $16,000 to cover expenses associated with the first official Letters from Within project slated for Fall 2014 in Nepal.