Not Just A Film
The launch of the feature documentary "Vitalik: An Ethereum Story" and the "Ethereum Stories" short film series
Letter to the Ethereum Community
It was a sunny day in Marin County in 2021 when Morgan Beller first introduced us to Vitalik Buterin. Living out of a 40L backpack, and cracking dad jokes while typing up his latest blog post on verkle trees, we were struck by Vitalik’s down-to-earth demeanor given the outsized role he’s played in the crypto revolution. He defied the “cryptobro” and “egomaniac founder” stereotypes we were used to seeing in mainstream media.
The deeper we stepped into the Ethereum ecosystem, the more surprises awaited us. In the weeks following our meeting with Vitalik, we connected with the incredible Linda Xie, who would become our trusty guide through this quirky and wonderful ecosystem. Before we knew it, we were quickly onboarded into the space, and launched a pplpleasr NFT crowdfund with Denis and his team at Mirror.xyz. In just 51 hours, we raised 1,035.96 ETH, with Leorad.eth, PleasrDAO and Mariano Conti snagging the top spots on our leaderboard.
The film world quickly took notice of the unorthodox approach, and we were able to bring Steve Jang's Lone Palm, Time Studios, and Big Beach into the fold. This incredible support allowed us to create a fully independent film without pressure from a major media company to sensationalize the story. We simply started filming and asking questions, with the Ethereum community and our crowdfund supporters helping us learn along the way.
Over three years of filming, our cameras witnessed history unfold: the NFT boom, a war upending the world order, scandals toppling bad actors, and the most ambitious software upgrade in history. During the rollercoaster of 2021-2023, the Ethereum community experienced some serious growing pains. But no matter the chaos and challenges, Vitalik remained an anchor, steadfast in his vision for an open internet accessible to all.
We began filming expecting to make a single documentary about Ethereum, but our journey led us to something bigger.
Vitalik: An Ethereum Story is our feature documentary about the humanity and heart behind a technology. This is a film for community members, the crypto-curious, and skeptics alike. We’ll be the first to admit, this film can't capture the full story of Ethereum—this is an ecosystem too diverse and vast for one film—but seeing the community through Vitalik’s eyes helps make this story accessible and human.
This film is the centerpiece of our “Ethereum Stories” series. The additional stories will be shorter, easily digestible, and take viewers into the very heart of the community. Expect to learn about the history of generative art, feel the democratic power of ConstitutionDAO, relive the launch of GitcoinDAO, witness the innovation of Uniswap, and much more.
Through our Mirror crowdfund, we experienced first hand the incredible power of decentralization. And as our film industry goes through its own reckoning, we want to harness this community-powered technology for how we distribute our work. Partnering with the teams at Zora, Bonfire, and Base, we've decided to put the power into the hands of people, not big distributors, by making the film and full series available onchain.
Minting the trailer, tickets and ancillary content for the film not only unlocks viewing access but will help to fund the feature documentary’s self-release in theaters and on streaming platforms worldwide, making it accessible to people both within and outside of the crypto space. Join us for a story three years in the making. One that chronicles Ethereum from the eyes of the people most committed to keeping it vibrant and infinitely evolving.
-Zach, Carrie, Chris, Jenna & Linda
Mint. Watch. Distribute.
Film Distribution 3.0
Introduction
Film distribution has long been controlled by a handful of powerful intermediaries, leaving creators little control over their work’s reach and monetization. But the advent of blockchain technology and the rise of the Ethereum community presents a unique opportunity to disrupt this broken system. By embracing onchain funding and self-distribution, we can revolutionize how films are financed, distributed, and experienced.
Background
In the past five years, we’ve seen the consolidation of major media companies, significantly limiting distribution opportunities and narrowing the type of content produced and distributed. Creators and audiences are at the mercy of media giants with business models that favor certain types of genres and algorithms that create echo chambers. We miss out on discovering stories that expose us to new ideas and challenge us with different perspectives.
We think there’s a different way. One that celebrates and supports independent creators, diverse perspectives, and alternative distribution platforms. The Ethereum community has been building decentralized alternatives in finance, art, and social media. It’s time to bring that disruption to the entertainment industry.
Drawing inspiration from the Ethereum ethos, we propose a new approach to the distribution of Ethereum Stories, a multi-faceted documentary series, and our flagship film, Vitalik: An Ethereum Story. This isn't just a documentary project; it's a bold experiment in community-powered storytelling.
By harnessing the power of crypto for the film's trailer, ancillary content and ticketing, we’re creating a distribution model that gives the community direct access to the film while funding a decentralized release of Vitalik: An Ethereum Story in theaters around the world and on a traditional streaming platform. This is your chance to be more than just a viewer. Every click, every share, every ticket helps build a new world of decentralized film distribution.
Minting and Distribution Plan
Phase 1: Trailer Launch - July 23rd (9am PT)
Mint the film's trailer on Zora to power the film’s distribution.
Trailer releases as a “Zora Mint”. The trailer can be minted an unlimited number of times, with every mint, you’re helping to fund the distribution of the film.
Public Goods split with Protocol Guild to help support Layer 1 infrastructure.
72-hour Minting Leaderboard Challenge on ethereumfilm.xyz (Locks at 12pm PT on July 26th, 2024).
Rewards:
Top 3 minters (based on number of mints):
Private pre-premiere screening set up in a theater of their choosing for 25 guests with a virtual Q&A with the film team.
"Contributing Producer” credit in the animated end credits.
Onchain ticket to stream the film via ethereumfilm.xyz.
Top 4-10 minters:
2x tickets to an in-person world premiere of their choice.
"Infinite Thanks" in the rolling end credits of the film.
Onchain ticket to stream the film via ethereumfilm.xyz.
Top 11-20 minters:
1 ticket to an in-person world premiere of their choice.
"Special Thanks" in the rolling end credits of the film.
Onchain ticket to stream the film via ethereumfilm.xyz.
Phase 2: Presale of Onchain Ticketing - July 26th
Onchain ticketing powered by Base to stream the film on ethereumfilm.xyz.
250+ worldwide IRL premieres via Gathr's decentralized, community-driven platform.
Release of Ethereum Stories as we countdown to the global launch.
Original Mirror crowdfund supporters to receive exclusive perks, including a ticket to stream the film.
Phase 3: IRL World Premieres (Sept 18th) & Onchain Streaming (Sept 20th)
30-days to stream the film for ticket holders on ethereumfilm.xyz.
Bringing together local Ethereum communities around the world with IRL premieres of the film on screens across the globe!!
Phase 4: Extended Theatrical Run - Fall 2024
Bring communities together through in-person events and cinematic screenings.
Phase 5: Mainstream Streaming Debut - Winter 2024/2025
Film is available globally on traditional streaming platforms (TBD).
Major marketing push to bring these Ethereum stories to new audiences.
Conclusion
By combining the best of crypto with traditional distribution methods, we’re empowering the community while maximizing the film’s reach.
Vitalik: An Ethereum Story isn't just about watching a film; it's about being part of a movement that's redefining how stories are told and shared.
This is going to be fun! We hope you’ll join us.
wow wow goosebumps reading this and anticipating how we can all spread the ethos and values of Ethereum by contributing to the distribution of the film about Ethereum in a decentralised way. Bit like the universe looking at itself when I experience ego-death during a psychedelic experience.
Thank you for the love, cosmic warrior!
This is basically most of the things I love combined into one. Can't wait to be a part of the minting/distribution experience and watch the film. And what about film festivals? I would love an in-person screening here in Perth, Australia. Thanks and well done team!
Fear not! in-person screenings will be available in Perth and worldwide in our decentralized theatrical release! Tickets for in-person screenings will go live on July 26th.
When does the minting for the trailer start? Is it open now. Confused as Phase 1 has the date of July 23rd but also states that the Leaderboard lock is at 5pm PT on July 11th?
Thanks for catching that! We've corrected the copy. To confirm, the trailer will go live on July 23rd at 9am PT and the trailer's leaderboard will close on July 26th 12pm PT.
We're doing an @ethereumfilm team AMA right now with directors @zachingrasci @christemple and producer @carrieweprin Send us any questions you have about the film! You can check out the full trailer and mint at ethereumfilm.xyz
Thanks all for the great questions!
1. Are you planning to screen in theaters? 2. How / when can we watch online?
1. Yes! We are doing a decentralized world premiere on Sept 18th with over 100 screenings in theaters around the world. This Friday you’ll be able to buy early bird tickets on EthereumFilm.xyz! If you live outside of the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand WE NEED YOUR HELP hosting screenings! You can find instructions here for how to set up a premiere in your city and have the ticketing go live on our site on Friday: https://paragraph.xyz/@ethereumfilm/host-a-premiere 2. We will also have unchain streaming that starts on Sept 20th and runs for 1 month. You’ll be able to buy unchain tickets this Friday, July 26th on EthereumFilm.xyz
- is there any info on which locations are planned for the world premiere, couldnt find any info on it here ( https://paragraph.xyz/@ethereumfilm/not-just-a-film) - how do we help in hosting screening?
what was the most surprising thing you learned while making the film?
Honestly, I thought decentralization was a buzzword until I really saw the community of builders in action around the world.
truly! didn't fully grasp what the term "digital nomad" meant until we started making this film!
congrats on finally putting this out. 1. is this also focused for people outside the crypto space to get more aware of the industry? 2. how was the first day of the shoot looked like?
1. We definitely hope the film is for community members, the crypto-curious, and skeptics alike. We often say documentaries are bad at information, but good at emotion and story. So we leaned into showing the heart and humanity behind the technology through Vitalik and the builders behind it.
2: The first shoot was with Vitalik and Aya. It was a whirlwind for our team because it felt like an entirely new language and world to learn!
thanks, @christemple - all the best for the launch ahead!
When did you first start gathering footage for the film? What is the earliest footage that you ended up using?
We have some great archival from the early days of the internet, but also feature some home video footage that was generously provided to us by Vitalik and Dima.
How many locations did you film in?
I think we filmed in 28 cities in 15 different countries. And that barely scratched the surface of how many places we wanted to include lol
first q: can i mint the trailer in a farcaster frame here? :) second q: how did you guys find each other and decide you were the right team to direct and produce the film together?
Trailer mint is native here with Zora! https://zora.co/collect/base:0x923b382f3205c26efe706c53d69f71f0817aa954/1
1st: Yes, you can! We've added frames to the trailer posts on @EthereumFilm. 2: Zach and I have been working together as co-directors for over a decade as the founders of a non-profit called Optimist. We then met Carrie when we were working on another film in the crypto space called "This Is Not Financial Advice" that premiered at Tribeca last year.
Excited for the movie! I'm curious about your decision to focus on Vitalik. His contributions are undeniably amazing, but I'm interested in understanding the choice considering Ethereum's unique structure where no single person owns it
+ curious too! would be kinda ironic if a film about one of the most important pieces of decentralised tech focused on a central figure lol (even if it’s more than deserved, i think symbolically it matters a lot)
https://warpcast.com/zachingrasci/0x5f2b3a33
Documentaries always evolve in the process of making them because we never know what story will unfold. It’s the fun and challenge in making them. Focusing on Vitalik, and taking a character-driven approach to the film, allowed us to make the film more accessible to a broader audience, while also allowing us to focus on someone who we felt represented the larger values and ethos of the community. This film is the centerpiece of our “Ethereum Stories” series. We’ll be sharing additional stories each week starting on July 30th that focus on topics like community, generative art, DAOs, public goods, DEX’s and more—all through a human lens!
sounds amazing zach. looking forward to the film and that series as well.
will the film be only about vitalik, or will it expand beyond him?
Vitalik is a core part, but there's so much more in it. A single film couldn't capture the full story of Ethereum—this is an ecosystem too diverse and vast for one film—but seeing the community through Vitalik’s eyes helped us make this story accessible, human, and focused. This film is the centerpiece of our “Ethereum Stories” series where we’ll be sharing additional stories each week that focus on topics like community, generative art, DAOs, public goods, DEX’s and more—all through a human lens!
To @linda: what is the most interesting thing you've learned about film production from this experience? To the production team: what is the most interesting thing you've learned about Ethereum?
Honestly just learning how long editing takes for a feature documentary, had no idea before. Standard to have 1 month of editing work (or more) for every 10 minutes of finished footage
That's a hard question to answer in such a short format! The technical elements have been fascinating undoubtedly, but I think personally I've loved seeing how the decentralized coordination actually happens in practice. We're so used to a traditional top-down corporate structure, that we've loved seeing the messy, beautiful process of consensus.
The full trailer for ”Vitalik: An Ethereum Story” Our @ethereumfilm documentary premiering worldwide on Sept 18th! Mint the trailer at ethereumfilm.xyz
so exciting, great trailer!
Thank you! If you like this, just wait till you see the full movie
so pumped ?8^)
Really excited for this! Great trailer. So what was your involvement in this Linda?
A co-producer on it. Was the main crypto person on the team so helped guide/make intros throughout + worked on the onchain crowdfund and distribution/release stuff
That’s awesome! Took a couple of years to complete?
Super excited too watch it. Thats like 1000× better any scoop in a life of "X-anyone" on youtube.
tried to mint the trailer, but unable to connect thru FC or MM on desktop =/
rip
Shared with Bonfire team to look into You can also mint here on Zora https://zora.co/collect/base:0x923b382f3205c26efe706c53d69f71f0817aa954/1?referrer=0x5e349eca2dc61aBCd9dD99Ce94d04136151a09Ee
excited to see the movie!
Looks like a banger Visuals are stunning
Minted :)
this is amazing! CAN’T wait for the documentary. congratulations @linda.
Awesome trailer! Minted 🩵
👍🏻
We showed a sneak peek of our @ethereumfilm documentary trailer publicly for the first time tonight at @ethglobal Brussels It was so awesome to see that finally out in the world. 3 years in the making! 😊 Trailer will be live on July 23
This is sick! can’t wait to see it!
Looking forward to see it 😊
Loved it! Can see what an insane amount of work went into it, can’t wait to mint it and watch later this year!
Were you involved in making it?
Yep am a co-producer on it
CONGRATS 🎉 can’t wait to see the full film!
GO LINDA GO LINDA GO
Thank you! HUGE team effort with a lot of people behind the scenes
congrats linda! can’t wait.
This is awesome, congrats Linda! What a journey 🌟
Highly recommend following @jaredhecht.eth (investor at USV, was founder of groupme and fundera). He's one of the first people I go to to get feedback on something for Bountycaster. He's really sharp, direct, but also has empathy for founders since he did that for 11 years Plus I've been working with his amazing wife Carrie on the @ethereumfilm documentary for the past 3 years :)
Carrie gave us lots of alpha and sneak peeks into the documentary at our /fbi community call today. Mad work!
We just had Carrie on the FBI community call yesterday. Complete joy listening to her experiences of shooting the documentary. We’re planning on doing premiers together in Bangalore, Dubai, and NYC.
@jaredhecht.eth has quickly become a favorite follow. appreciate the recommendation
😊
Is Carie on Warpcaster as well?
Not that I know of or at least not active
Done! 🌐
Followed both of em! Can’t wait for the film 😬
Trailer for "Vitalik: An Ethereum Story" dropping in 18 days. This will be an intresting release with onchain tickets and 250+ worldwide IRL premieres before a mainstream debut on traditional streaming platforms. Courtesy @linda https://paragraph.xyz/@ethereumfilm/not-just-a-film
I just subscribed to @ethereumfilm on /paragraph! Check it out:
AMA for the next 1 hour - can be about Bountycaster, the @ethereumfilm documentary, investing, nomading, etc
What did you like better about mostly investing and what do you like better about mostly building?
With investing I loved getting to learn a lot of broad topics and talk to experts in each of those areas, perfect role for someone who has a lot of curiosity. Since working on Bountycaster means going a lot deeper on one area and I have less time for things outside of it With building I love getting to talk to users directly and get excited about them using the product and giving feedback so we can make it better. It's really fulfilling for me. With investing, that kind of feedback was really removed
Why did you choose an uncommon font for the BountyCaster website? Is there a story behind it? PS: Personally I’m not used to this kind of font.😅
@pirosb3 just picked it when building our site and it looked fine to me so we went with it. I personally wasn't trying to spend too much time on the logo and font early on
That was fun! we picked that font in Vermont I think, we also generated the Bountycaster logo on that same trip
what are some lessons from your past/current experience as a delegate of multiple DAOs?
I actually wrote about my DAO learnings here https://linda.mirror.xyz/BIasTPr7Ym_rfbhxpKjlMqKCz3qVMaFgQeV3EphkO-E Some highlights: - progressive decentralization is ideal i.e. not just having the foundation drop off everything to the community and expect it to work - smaller working groups are much more efficient - focus on establishing accountability early on - foster a culture of being comfortable saying no and having tough conversations 
epic. thanks for sharing!
what’s something very few people agree with you on re bounties?
I don't know if it's very few but most have said/think that bounties should be monetized through taking a cut of the transaction but I don't think that's the route for us https://warpcast.com/linda/0xc6208bde
support this, and believe there're other meaningful monetisation opps. one alternative i've been tinkering with is 'stake to access' — one stakes crypto to access a service or pro features while the project earns the yield. no recurring fees, no costs for users. staking requirements could be adjusted based on bounty amounts or feature unlock tiers.
you’ve been collaborating a lot with the founders — as both an investor and a founder yourself. could you share some surprising work ethic / high agency examples that influenced you?
I think about this example all the time from @fehrsam about not celebrating artificial wins and not letting that distract you from working on the important parts that matter https://x.com/ljxie/status/1731158032992903363?s=46&t=QNlz9swNdb9dxGQvZZJaCw
what's something you've changed your opinion on recently?
Probably how I view partnerships after thinking more on this https://warpcast.com/dwr.eth/0x342f2be5
what are some overlooked use cases you wish people would utilize Bountycaster for?
I would love to see more IRL bounties - started seeing some with tree planting, trash cleanup ones
noted ✍️
how do you decide how much time to spend doing social things for work (casting, events, coffee zooms, etc) vs building?
Really a case by case basis but I am focused on distribution so casting about Bountycaster is important IMO. Otherwise I don't really attend any events beyond 1-2 conferences a year (FarCon + will be Devcon) I think a question I ask often is if this is for the company or my own ego and that helps guide me
How did you get into birdwatching as a hobby?
My friend @coravos who can basically convince me to do anything
Hahahaha *scheming* :)
what’s something that surprises you most about yourself?
Probably just how much I love starting my own things (company, fund, etc) since I grew up with that not even being a career option and don't think I can do anything but that going forward now
3 years in the making. The Ethereum Stories documentaries are finally here. Crowdfunded by the community. Made for the community, the crypto-curious, and skeptics alike. So here’s our distribution plan and heartfelt letter to all of you that make this vibrant community ❤️ And, stay tuned - our onchain trailer mint is coming soon, and you’ll have a chance to be part of this journey with us! ⭐ https://paragraph.xyz/@ethereumfilm/not-just-a-film
Can't wait!!! <3
Our @ethereumfilm documentary has been in the works for over 3 years and it’s almost ready to share with the world! We’re releasing a feature documentary "Vitalik: An Ethereum Story" and the "Ethereum Stories" short film series. Huge thanks to our Mirror crowdfund supporters for making this possible We’ll be launching a full crypto-native distribution with onchain tickets and 250+ worldwide IRL premieres before a mainstream debut on traditional streaming platforms. It’s our chance to disrupt the film industry using crypto and help get these stories to new audiences Full details in our letter to the Ethereum community https://paragraph.xyz/@ethereumfilm/not-just-a-film
Countdown to the @ethereumfilm trailer drop begins! ethereumfilm.xyz
This is epic! Can’t wait
monumental efforts — appreciate you & the crew leading such a meaningful initiative, Linda. so exciting, can't wait to see it — spreading the word
love this! would love to figure if we can host an IRL premier for /fbi folks. wdyt?
Yep you'll be able to with the set up we have
Is this the same as The Infinite Machine film in production?
No, this is a documentary. The Infinite Machine is a film with actors/cast
Great. Can't wait to see it.
congrats! can't wait to watch it
Minted! Thank you so much for working on this.
Wow, when? waiting for this!
Sept 18 premiere but all dates are in Paragraph article
hi linda, i participated in crowdfunding, cant believe its been 3 yrs! will there be a premier in S.G.? how to collaborate local events?
We're working with Gathr so that people can host their own screenings around the world. More details on that later https://gathr.com/
Can't wait for this - this is really going to change the way the world understands @vitalik.eth and the Ethereum community!
Thanks for all of your work and support with this distribution rollout! :)
Just glad we @brainstormhq could help- and we're just getting started!