Send More Letters – take part in a mail documentary!

mail paper trail diary

If you have mailbox from MailboxEmpire and you love receiving mail then you must know that not only receiving mail but making mail and want to send some for the hell of it (also to be part of a documentary), this opportunity would be super fun for you! I’ll be taking part and am currently obsessing over how to make the prettiest mail I’ve ever made.

This brings to mind another mail documentary – Making Mail – which will surely inspire you to make all sorts of things once you watch it.

Here’s the public call for submissions:

Hello all snail mail lovers!

I am a Canadian filmmaker attending a film school where my current project is to make a documentary. As a mail enthusiast it was easy to me to decide what I want my project to be about – SNAIL MAIL. This is where you guys come in…

I need help in two areas,
1. I need LOTS of mail for the shots so if you helped me out by sending some my way then that would be fantastic. I am looking for a variety of interesting mail art, even postcards, just really cool pieces to include in the shots. I want to show how creative snail mailers are, how people really think outside of the box to make awesome mail in this digital age. You can even leave the inside empty if you want, or you can include a letter – either is appreciated! If you do send a letter, give a little introduction to yourself and look at number 2 to see an idea of some questions you can answer in it!
Here is the campus mailing address where I will be picking up the mail for the film:

Haley Klassen
3737 Wascana Parkway
Luther College
Regina, SK
S4S 0A2

2. The second thing I need is your personal stories of why snail mail is meaningful to you. Why did you get started? How has it changed your life? What motivates you to choose snail mail over texting? Maybe a touching/funny story that has come to you BECAUSE of snail mail. What is your letter writing process/what do you include in the letters? How does sending letters contribute to your self-identity? What is the most creative letter you have sent? Have you ever met a pen pal? If you sent this in your letter that would be amazing, but I also need a few people willing to be talking on the film as well sharing these stories. Ideally I will interview you on skype or another free video service that you prefer. If you are more comfortable doing it on your own then you can record yourself on a DSLR camera OR if you have a great microphone and don’t want your image to be shown then you can just record an audio file.

If you know anyone who has interesting stories involving the postal system, whether it be how your grandparents kept in touch through the war or how your friend sends love letters to strangers to make their day or a colleague got a surprise letter from a mysterious person, please send them my way!
I would like all the letters to be coming in through February to assure they will be included so please be prompt sending them out!

Thank you to everything who read this and those who are going to help me out, my email is klasseha@uregina.ca – feel free to ask any questions you may have!

2 comments

  1. Melanie Godecki says:

    Oh I love this idea for a doc! I will try to send her something fun. Thanks for sharing the idea – I’ll pass it along too.

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