The Film
It covers the republic that printed its own money and ran its own post office. The constitution that banned adult slavery before any other in America. The Green Mountain Boys, who were less a militia than an extremely committed neighborhood association. The negotiations with the British that Vermont has never fully explained. Lyon. The embargo. The county name.
Around the film: live music, art on the walls, a speaker worth the drive, and a room full of people from three towns that have been arguing about this history for two centuries and enjoying every minute of it.
We'll announce the guests and the program as they're confirmed, here and in the newsletter — the same day we know, not a month later for effect.
Why We're Like This
Matthew Lyon arrived in America as an indentured servant, bought out his own contract, and got himself elected to Congress. In 1798 he criticized the President in print and became the first American convicted under the Sedition Act — four months in a cell in Vergennes.
Vermont's response was to re-elect him while he was still in it.
Ten years later, Jefferson's embargo strangled a Champlain Valley that had always traded north. Vermonters went on trading. Jefferson declared the region in a state of insurrection and sent troops.
This county was chartered in 1810 as Jefferson County. By 1814 it was Washington County. The theater where we're showing the film sits in a county Vermont renamed to get a president's name off of it.
None of that is in the textbook. That's the movie.
Every Dollar Is More Movie
In 1777, Vermont declared independence with no permission and no budget. We have slightly more of both.
This is the honest version: the film grows with the fund. Not as a gimmick — that's just what a documentary is. More money is more archive access, more research hours, more shooting days, more minutes on screen.
Tier One
$12,500
A 15-minute film premieres at the Big Picture. Live music, art on the walls, a speaker at the podium, and a full house. This is the floor. Below this we're showing slides in somebody's barn, which, to be fair, is also very Vermont.
Tier Two
$100,000
The film grows to 45 minutes — room for the outlaws, the uprisings, and the radicals the textbooks skipped. Full research behind every frame, primary sources for every claim, and a campaign loud enough to fill every seat in the Valley.
Tier Three
$250,000
A full feature. A companion book in the Take Me Back tradition. A float in Warren's Fourth of July parade, which we will build badly and love enormously. The whole Valley in on it.
The Build Log
Most campaigns tell you things are going great. We're going to tell you what we actually shot this month, which archive turned us away, what the rough cut is missing, and how far off the money is.
You're in. Tell your neighbors — that's genuinely how this works.
No spam, no drip funnel, no urgency countdowns.
Premiere Seats
Every number in this section is 1777 with the decimal point in a different place. We had a meeting about it. It was a short meeting.
$177.70 — waitlist only
Here's the honest situation. The Big Picture Theatre has 250 seats — one for each year, which we did not plan and intend to take full credit for. We have three towns, a mailing list, a newspaper column, and a steadily growing number of people from away with strong opinions about Vermont. We are not going to sell you a seat we can't promise you. So the waitlist is free, it's first-come, and the day we know what we've actually got, you'll hear in the order you signed up.
$1,777
A confirmed seat, premiere section. Swag. Your name on the founders' wall. Our gratitude, delivered in person by someone who will tell you considerably more about General Wait than you asked for.
$17,770
Two confirmed seats, front of house. Your name in the film's credits. Swag. First pick of whatever we end up giving away — a decision currently being made by a committee, which is why we can't be more specific. At this level you are functionally a producer, and we will introduce you as one.
Yes, Booster and VIP jump the waitlist. Money moves you up the line, and we'd rather say that plainly than dress it up. The waitlist is how everyone else gets in, and it's how most people will.
The Waitlist
You're on the list. We'll write the moment we know more — that's the whole promise.
Give Monthly
The 1777 Club — $17.77/month
Monthly between now and the premiere puts your name on the founders' wall at the event.
Secure checkout by Stripe. Receipts come from Take Me Back Inc, the 501(c)(3) behind the film.
Want to support the work behind the film — the books, the buildings, the photo archive? That's the organization's own site. → takemebackvt.org
Volunteer
The 250th is being built by neighbors — the same way the Valley has always built things. We need:
Ushers, setup, teardown, and calm people at the door on July 8th, 2027. If you are unflappable, we would like to speak with you.
Posters in windows, articles shared, word passed along at the store. The least glamorous job on the list and the one that most determines whether the theater is full.
If we hit our wildest dreams, somebody has to build a float for Warren's Fourth of July parade. We will build it badly. We will love it enormously. It should probably be you.
You're in. We'll be in touch.