The upcoming film "Shine" emphasizes the power of art as a source of redemption. The story of the film could very well serve as a subtext for the production of the movie.

Director Anthony Nardolillo had to go through one failed financing campaign as well as rejection from studios before eventually taking it upon himself to finance the film through his own hard work and the contributions of salsa fans around the world.

The New York-born director, who considers himself a symbol of "Spanish Harlem," was born to Puerto Rican and Italian parents. He launched his filmmaking career six years ago with the film "Mano," which would end up winning best cinematography at the 2008 Sundance Latino Filmmakers House and also picked up some awards at HBO's Latino Film Festival, Berlinale and Beverly Hills Film Festival.

The director recently spoke to Latin Post about the experience of funding and making "Shine."

Latin Post: Why did you decide to go with crowdsourcing to fund this movie?

Anthony Nardolillo: I had this movie funded with a much bigger budget. It fell apart. I went to many studios and pitched it. But they wanted to change the movie. They wanted one of the brothers Caucasian and change the music to Spanish and English.

The studios were just disconnected. They liked the storyline and loved the dancing and saw it as just a dance film. They weren't into the cultural nuances. I struggled with that. I could have made the film a lot sooner if I would have given in, but I wanted to stay true to the authenticity of the culture.

As for the crowdsourcing, I want you to know that it was more than the $100,000. I worked two or three jobs, put in $60,000 of my own and then went out and raised on another $180,000. Then we went to crowdsourcing for the remaining $100,000.

LP: So when you went to do crowdsourcing, what kind of research did you have to do to avoid it falling apart?

AN: First of all I had done crowdsourcing before for $13,000 and it was tough. So when I went after the $100,000 I did a ton of research. One of the common characteristics of successful projects was timing. You can't go 90 days, but the reason why Kickstarter is better than other crowdsourcers is because of the psychology behind the immediacy and high stakes. We did 60 days and the timing did not pick up until the last 30 days.

You also have to have other strategies. Like ghost investors putting in big sums or doing contests and creating mini milestones all the way through. That is the kind of research we did.

LP: How many people worked with you on your campaign?

AN: Three people. I had volunteers to help at events. I had three people on it every day.

LP: Who did you reach out to?

AN: The dance community. It is a sleeping giant which is one of the reasons for the movie. You have half a million dedicated salsa dancers around the world. That was the market we wanted to play to and also play to the Latino market.

Latinos purchases one-third of all movie tickets but less than two percent of movies are Latino and less than two percent of directors are Latinos. So this is a story that is not cliché and not playing into the stereotypes.

Those were the markets we reached out to on social media. We didn't do any media. Just a few interviews at the end, but it was 100 percent Facebook.

LP: What was the greatest challenge of this crowdsourcing strategy?

AN: Reaching the first $50,000. People start pledging and donating when they see others doing it. It was about getting that momentum and keeping it. The first 30 days were tough and then it eventually became a movement.

LP: Did you find that early on people were donating smaller amounts or were you getting big investments right away and that helped build the first half?

AN: There were big amounts at first and then there were people that came back and donated when they saw how close we were getting.

LP: What advice would you give Latino filmmakers that want to take this route to fund their movies?

AN: People want to know where the money is going. So we explained that this was the last of the budget. That made people comfortable knowing that we had a plan and that they weren't throwing away their money on crowdfunding. It really comes down to the content. Make sure you have your best foot forward in terms of content. I know that I am putting out the best content I can right now.

Also important to know is that crowdfunding is not for every kind of project. If I was doing a regular drama then I think it is still more difficult.

LP: How has the production process gone and what are the challenges of doing a film with a $250,000 budget?

AN: We are already talking with Universal about them acquiring this film and then funding the second film. This is how good this movie is. If I emailed you a select right now, you would think it cost $10 million and that's because we got the same camera package that "Magic Mike," a $40 million movie, got from Panavision. What was special about the package was that the lens package included 13 lenses that cost $80,000 each. We got that lens package for nothing because I got approved for a grant.

We stretched that money. Dolby is doing our music and let us do a shot on their high rise overlooking Avenue of the Americas. We are crewed up. We have two five-ton trucks. We have three guys on each camera. We have a full Grip and electric team. We have a first Assistant Director, a second assistant director, a production manager, a location manager. We have two on wardrobe, four on makeup. Our catering was nothing so it helped put more money on the screen. We also got a lot of product placement on clothing and the performances are just... We are going to make millions next year.

LP: How did you manage to stretch the money that way?

AN: Humbly speaking, I have four crew members that flew down on their own penny. One of them was the producer of "Maker" which is owned by Disney. It's the content and a lot of people believe in me as a director. They think it's the film that is going to open doors. Gina Rodriguez and I have spoken twice and she is probably going to come on as an executive producer. She saw dailies and was blown away.

It's all about momentum. It's a giant snowball that keeps on growing and things keep happening favorably to the project.

LP: Do you think that you will continue to direct Latino stories moving forward?

AN: My goal is to be a Latino Tyler Perry. We need a powerhouse Latino director that Universal will write a blank check to and say "Go ahead and make these next few movies." Absolutely I want to tell Latino stories. I can tell stories for the next 100 years and only scratch the surface of the content out there.

I saw a good analogy in a Hollywood Reporter article for Lionsgate. We like Iced Tea too, but we just like a splash of passion fruit in it. You don't have to serve us something different. Our movies don't have to be different. We can have epic action films or war stories. We can have the discovery of the new world. How about the discovery of Puerto Rico? There are so many stories that can be told. I am in love with Latino Culture because it is all encompassing and would be very comfortable working with Latino actors for the rest of my career.