From James DeMarco, the director.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who contributed to our Kickstarter campaign for the Newcastle United Fan Film "We Are The Geordies,' either via pledging or spreading the word. In the end we had 138 pledges, totaling £5,179. Unfortunately we failed to reach the £20k we were seeking, which means we get nothing, nada, nowt, and no funds will be deducted from anyone's account. 

Such is the way of Kickstarter. Admittedly, unlike our successful KS campaign of last year, we made a lot of mistakes with this one, most important of which was rushing our launch to coincide with the football season, which ultimately meant that we were competing in a crowded field with as many as 11 other filmmaking crowd funding projects, i.e. a very crowded crowd-funding field (say that ten times quickly). Live and learn. But don't fret. 

My heart will go on. The project will continue. We'll use this European football break to regroup and come back bigger, better, stronger and wiser. We plan to launch another crowd funder later in the year, when we've accumulated more footage, interviews, etc. and are able to cut a trailer to give you a better idea of what we're doing - and it would be great if you could join us on our incredible journey! 

​Meanwhile stay tuned for some fantastic football-related interviews and shenanigans, which will be available via our wearethegeordies.com website, as well as our YOUTUBE CHANNEL (and while we're at it, please SUBSCRIBE). Have I left anything out? Most likely. Thanks again. http://bit.ly/2bA6UYq

And from me xxx

What an amazing day in the Town. We were in Newcastle from 11 and you could actually feel the atmosphere and anticipation build as the day wore on. We got some fab little impromptu interviews with a programme seller and also "Rafa Benitez's biggest fans" just outside the Strawberry. We also has scheduled interviews with Dave, Scud and gang and Julen from Bilbao. Amazing stuff. I bumped into a mate I haven't seen in more than 20 years, someone I used to see every Match Day in the Pit Bar, which used to be under the Tyne Theatre.

I left Devo (The Blade) and Esther at the Three Bulls to actually conduct the interviews while I went up to Richardson Road to meet Davey and his family who we'll be following through the season. What a view of St James' Park you get through the trees in Leazes Park.  Interviewed them on Leazes Terrace - where I saw Tom Lynch, but didn't have time to talk as we had to be at the Strawberry for 1:30 to rendezvous with Devo and Esther. We were also supposed to meet Shane and his mum - who couldn't make it - and Callum.  Hilariously - out of an entire football stadium - the tickets I bought for the crew turned out to be a dozen or so seats away from Callum's season ticket in the Leazes End!

After a little hoo-hah actually getting in to the match, I finally took my seat at about 2:20, so we could try and capture the full Gallowgate Flags display. Great playlist - though part of me wishes there'd been no music and the fans had been allowed to generate the noise. I think pregame music makes people lazy in a way - but hey, that's just me. 

James and Devo tracked down a couple of Huddersfield Town fans to interview outside Bar Loco and then listened to the match on the radio in the Strawberry while learning of a Japanese NUFC fan who flies in to Newcastle three times a season to watch the Toon. Such dedication.

The day finished with a great interview with Mike (@ToonArmySyracuse) who was in Newcastle for his first ever match at St James' Park!  Clip below. 

We want to make a film that EVERY NUFC fan can be proud of. We want to make a film that THIS MAN can be proud of. Yes the season will have its ups and downs, but as I told Rafa - this film is not about football - it's about the fans. 

Amazingly we got to interview the MAIN MAN, Rafa Benitez, last week. And I have to say he is hands down one of the nicest people I have ever met. WE THE FANS are what made him stay and that's why this film is about the fans. In the clip below you have it from Rafa that his daughters could see the LOVE we were showing him on social media and that was a factor in his staying. Now let's get behind the team. 

And just to whet your appetite for the film itself, here's some footage from Fulham last week. It's ungraded and has only camera sound - but you can FEEL the energy! HOWAAAAAAY!