Current overlapping cultural, political, and economic realities seem to necessitate additional doses of care-taking and truth-telling as we navigate, and in some cases, resist, creating a new normal. This round of crowdfunding projects offers models of community care, direct action, and resistance as women community leaders advocate and provide for vulnerable members of their communities.
Amanda Lipp’s “Tiny Homes for Camp Fire Survivors” follows Alyssa Nolan-Cain’s empathetic, determined efforts to provide housing for those affected by Camp Fire. Yael Bridge and Yoni Golijov’s “When We Fight” shows the struggles and triumphs of last year’s teachers strike in Los Angeles County. Gaze Docs’ “MOLKA,” directed by Anissa Rockerfeller, exposes rape culture and the mundane violations of consent that characterize the digital sex crime epidemic in South Korea.
These documentaries showcase women exposing, defying, and providing in their efforts to usher in a safer and more equitable world.
Here are Women and Hollywood’s latest crowdfunding picks.
“Tiny Homes for Camp Fire Survivors” (Short Documentary) – Directed by Amanda Lipp
With this latest project, Amanda Lipp expands her portfolio of documentaries exploring mental health with an examination of loss and healing. “Tiny Homes” follows Alyssa Nolan-Cain, “who learned how to build tiny homes for Camp Fire survivors by watching over 2,000 hours of YouTube videos,” as outlined on the campaign page’s project overview. Having lost her own home in a fire, Nolan-Cain’s undertaking is a deeply empathetic act that seeks to inspire.
Lipp originally volunteered to help build tiny homes out of a sense of deep obligation to a community just an hour away from her hometown, but, as she notes on the campaign page and her personal website, “she got that filmmaker feeling, and knew she had to tell the story.”
“When We Fight” (Documentary) – Directed by Yael Bridge and Yoni Golijov
“Here’s your oxygen for today,” a student asserts defiantly to the Los Angeles County School Superintendent in the trailer for Yael Bridge and Yoni Golijov’s “When We Fight.” The Superintendent had previously referred to students and teachers as his oxygen before pushing forward policy that did not serve his constituents. The incisive trailer promises an in-depth look at how the L.A. County Teachers Union voted to strike in protest of a variety of conditions that negatively affect students, including expanding class sizes with no additional compensation for teachers, and the presence of armed police officers on campus.
As noted on the doc’s campaign page, L.A. was “out in front” of pandemic-related adjustments and pushed to incorporate anti-racist reforms thanks to last year’s foundational push to empower teachers to act in the best interests of their students. “When We Fight” invites viewers to see how they did it as more strikes are organized across the country.
Learn more about “When We Fight” and donate on Kickstarter.
“MOLKA” (Documentary) – Directed by Anissa Rockerfeller
In one sense, the imperative of this documentary is in its title. As it is translated on the documentary’s campaign page, “molka” literally means “hidden camera,” but refers both to non-consensual filming, and “the specific phenomenon of women and girls being filmed on phones or with spy cameras in the least expected situations … with this content being distributed and consumed for use as entertainment, pornography, and ‘humiliation material’ for blackmail and extortion.” This definition highlights the prevalence of rape culture, in South Korea and globally, and the creators encourage “MOLKA” viewers to treat South Korea as a “case study.”
Documentary collective Gaze Docs’ collaborative project follows survivors and activists, including Lia, Ha Yena, and 56 Flame as they share their experiences and “fight for justice [to] transform dangerous stereotypes surrounding survivors.” In so doing, they are “changing the future for women in Korea.”
Learn more about “MOLKA” and donate on Seed&Spark.
To be considered for Women and Hollywood’s biweekly crowdfunding feature, please write to waheditorialfellows@gmail.com. All formats (features, shorts, web series, etc.) welcome. Projects must be by and/or about women.
