History of the Project

The development of wtf: an okaymentary has been a long arduous road that began as a simple idea and culminated in an hour-long documentary. The project has taken on many shapes and gone through many iterations, and the process is a story in and of itself.

June 2000

The idea for the okaymentary is hatched while waiting in line for a late Friday night screening of Shaft.

Summer 2000-Spring 2001

The Numerous Cats team consults with various members of the okayplayer community and compiles wtf: a brief okaymentary.

May 2001

wtf: a brief okaymentary screens at 2001 okayplayer reunion in Chicago. Everyone likes it. No one really does anything about it.

Summer 2001

Project stalls.

May 2003

After attending the 2003 okayplayer reunion in Atlanta, the okayplayer community is suddenly reinvigorated and the okaymentary project is given new life.

Summer 2003

Numerous Cats formalizes itself as a company and re-launches pre-production on the feature-length version of wtf: an okaymentary.

Aug. 2003

Regional film crews commence shooting. That doesn’t go quite like it was envisioned.

Fall 2003

Numerous Cats team schedules shoots in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Gets good footage. But not the sort of thing you’d actually make a movie out of.

Spring-Summer-Fall 2004

The team raises money. And simultaneously turns its own suddenly empty pockets inside out. Preparation begins for a landmark road trip throughout the United States that will take the crew into the homes, jobs and lives of dozens of okayplayers.

Spring/Summer 2005

Road trip: Los Angeles to Phoenix to Austin to Houston to New Orleans to Montgomery to Atlanta to Louisville to Indianapolis to Chicago to Detroit to Cincinnati to Columbus to Pittsburgh to New York to Philadelphia to Washington, DC. So. Many. Miles. So. Much. Footage.

Fall/Winter 2005

The team logs nearly 300 hours of footage.

Winter/Spring 2006

Editing commences. Scoring and animation work is completed.

May 2006

Numerous Cats screens a rough cut of the film at the 2006 okayplayer reunion in New York City. A room full of more than 100 okayplayers gives it a standing ovation.

Summer/Fall 2006

Screenings for various focus groups reveal that the film doesn’t suck, but that it could be modified slightly.

Winter/Spring 2007

Additional shooting and additional editing yields what the Numerous Cats team hopes will be the final final version of the film.

June 2007

wtf: an okaymentary screens at the H2O festival in New York City for a rather small audience. And that’s about all there is to say about that.

September 2007

The San Francisco International Documentary Film Festival hosts two screenings of wtf: an okaymentary. A packed house and a not-so-packed house give the film very warm reviews. All thumbs are up.

October 2007

wtf: an okaymentary screens as part of the Lost Chord Music Festival in Rhode Island.

November 2007

The okaymentary goes global with its international premeire in Amsterdam at the Black Soil International Hip Hop Festival. Dutch audiences in Rotterdam and Amsterdam are fascinated by the okayplayer story. No buyers in sight. But the love (or strong like) fest for the film continues.

Winter-Spring-Summer 2008

Team completes DVD extras and increases pursuit of distribution deal. Hustles hard. But not quite hard enough.

Fall 2008

Global economy collapses. Possible distribution deal put on hold.

Winter 2009

Global economy still in the crapper. Team kinda gives up on dormant distribution deal. What to do next?

Spring/Summer 2009

Numerous Cats team rallies. Completes outstanding paperwork. Preps DVD for self-release.