Experience with Firestarter: Harko Wubs - The E-Team

Thanks to fundraising through Firestarter, filmmaker Harko Wubs was able to work on a YouTube series for young people focused on climate, nature, and animal rights. In each episode, the “supertwins” Mon and Gi, along with a guest, take on funny and exciting challenges to promote a better environment, among other causes.

The series premiered on YouTube on Thursday, January 18, 2024. The 16-episode web series will then air every Thursday at the same time on the YouTube channel @e-teaminactie. Following the premiere, there will be a livestream with the hosts.

What is the project about?

In this humorous web series, “supertwins” Gi and Mon go to great lengths for nature. Like the E-Team, they travel across the country to carry out all kinds of crazy, playful, and humorous stunts in support of animals and the environment and against climate change. They often do this with a guest or organization that advocates for these causes. By combining lighthearted fun with serious themes, they come up with creative perspectives and surprising situations. The E-Team also focuses on diversity and climate justice. The show encourages young viewers to look at their surroundings differently and to relate to climate issues in a new way. In this way, the E-Team offers them a sense of agency and optimism.

“The E-Team” is a new YouTube concept produced exclusively for this online platform. Never before has a series of this kind been produced with cultural funding. The project was realized
thanks to the VSB fund, the Haella Foundation, the Triodos Foundation, and the Makers Fund of the Municipality of Nijmegen. The series was produced by Stichting Zaaigrond Filmproducties and filmmaker Harko Wubs, who previously won awards around the world at the
for his short comedy film “The Human.” In that film, he also combined humor with the themes of animals and the environment.

The Process

Harko says that fundraising had been delayed a bit but ultimately went well. “After that, it was hard work to produce all the episodes. With a minor adjustment to the schedule, things still went pretty much according to plan. The production was full of challenges, and we often had to do exciting things, so we could never predict how it would turn out. Still, looking back, everything went exceptionally well, and we ended up with some really great episodes."

With a large, long-term project, the budget can quickly grow. As a producer or creator, it’s tempting during the fundraising process to cut costs in order to increase the chances of securing funding. Harko’s tip: “Be aware, however, that this means you’ll have to work with relatively low budgets throughout the entire project, which requires a lot of your own commitment (and thus time), (organizational) creativity, and also means you’ll have to rely on a great deal of goodwill from others.”

The E-Team is a completely different project from Harko’s previous ones. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting addition to his earlier films. In it, Harko often draws on recognizable visual elements from popular/mainstream media and then puts a new spin on them. Above all, the project has given Harko many new insights into leading (business) projects.

About Firestarter

Do you have an idea for a project but find it difficult to apply for funding? If so, Firestarter can help you with an interest-free loan, which you can use to hire a fundraiser for your project. Click here for more information about Firestarter.