Sometimes we can feel alienated and left out by the narratives portrayed in culture and media, particularly when they fail to address and include the unique experiences of those with marginalized identities. Our latest crowdfunding picks change and challenge the narrative around their chosen topic, whether that is refocusing the concept of self-love on colorism and its effect on young women, shaking up the Western genre by including themes of race and gender, or pushing back against common tropes found in depictions of the mental health care system.
Writer-director Carly Miller’s “Rogue” focuses on the intersection of gender and race against the backdrop of the American West. Saloon worker Elle Danton, an African-American woman who lives on the New Mexico frontier in the 1870s, plots her escape from her backwards town by robbing her devious employer.
In its portrayal of Jo, a teenage girl placed in a psychiatric ward following a suicide attempt, Laine Elliott’s short, “Snapdragon,” addresses the relationship between LGBTQ+ youth, psychiatric bias, and mental health care in the United States.
Finally, in “Unapologetic,” a short film written and directed by Britney Abrahams, Phoebe dreams about being light-skinned after experiencing a cruel prank at the prom. She finds hope and inspiration in the unlikeliest of places — a fellow young Black girl who is literally friends with her own self-hatred.
Here are Women and Hollywood’s latest women-created and women-centric crowdfunding picks.
“Rogue” (Short) – Written and Directed by Carly Miller
Elle Danton wants to move west to California more than anything — but stuck in her backwater New Mexico town, underpaid and badly treated for her work in her uncle’s saloon, she can’t manage to scrape together the funds. She hatches a plan, a daring scheme to flee town in the middle of the night after robbing her uncle. But in a world comprised of outlaws and gunslingers, things always take a turn, and witnessing an act of violence leaves Elle wondering if she can make her escape after all.
“Rogue” offers a new take on the Western genre that centralizes underrepresented characters and stories. It allows the Western’s classic, morally ambiguous protagonist to be a woman of color, and embraces and addresses the complexities of marginalized identities and experiences in the gritty and often prejudiced narratives of the genre. Though it is set in the 1870s, it is a markedly contemporary story, and a refreshing revitalization of a genre that has long been on the decline.
“Our narrative moves beyond western cliches to re-examine our ideas about women and race in the American West,” writer-director Carly Miller and production designer Sonora Rowan say in their Indiegogo campaign. “It lends a voice to a compelling story in 2020 and beyond.”
“Rogue” is crowdfunding for actors and crew, costumes, production design, locations, and sound design, and will film this spring in north county San Diego. Miller was recently named Best Director at the Show Low Film Festival in Arizona for her work on “Service Road,” another short film produced by “Rogue’s” woman-founded and -led production company, Eagle and Child Productions. Following the completion of the “Rogue” short, a full-length, 95-page version will be pitched to investors.
Help make “Rogue” a reality by donating via Indiegogo
“Snapdragon” (Short) – Written and Directed by Laine Elliott
“Snapdragon” takes a long look at the interaction between mental health and LGBTQ+ identity. When 15-year-old Jo is put in an inpatient psychiatric ward after a suicide attempt, she is informed by Dr. O’Malley, the ward psychiatrist, that she will only be allowed to go home once she stops lying. Jo has no idea what she’s “lying” about — so she decides to find out. Through her interactions and relationships with her parents, O’Malley, other patients, and a sympathetic nurse, Jo comes to realize the harsh realities of the place that is meant to be helping her recover.
The short film is written and directed by Laine Elliott, who was inspired by their own experiences in a psychiatric unit when they were 15. Though the film dramatizes and diverges from their personal story, they seek to convey a consistent emotional truth and paint an honest picture of youth mental health care in the United States, and how psychiatric bias and the realities of LGBTQ+ youth intersect within the system.
“I thought that I was alone in this bizarre, traumatic experience,” Elliott says on the project’s Seed&Spark campaign page. “However, as I was doing research for this film, I found multiple accounts from queer and trans people about their experiences with mistreatment in psychiatric care. I was one of the lucky ones, and I feel compelled to share the story for not only myself but for others who have been harmed by the system.”
“Snapdragon” will be Elliott’s final film as a student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and as they say in the above campaign video, it will be the culmination of everything they have learned. The short’s crew is primarily composed of female, nonbinary, and LGBTQ+ filmmakers. It is crowdfunding for location costs, production design, transportation, and food and equipment. Elliott also aims to coordinate the public release of the film with an outreach organization that works to destigmatize issues around mental health.
Find out how to help “Snapdragon” by visiting its Seed&Spark campaign.
“Unapologetic” (Short) – Written and Directed by Britney Abrahams
The concept of self-love has become popular in recent years, but it has not always been inclusive of the specific issues of racism. Similarly, the conversation about racism and representation in media has often neglected to accurately tackle the effects of colorism, especially with regards to its disproportionate impact on women, and Black women especially.
With “Unapologetic,” writer-director Britney Abrahams abstractly explores the self-love journey of a Black teenage girl. Following a cruel prom prank, Phoebe dreams of having lighter skin, and even contemplates suicide. When she meets another young Black girl who is quite literally friends with her own self-hatred, she begins her first steps toward loving her dark skin.
“People talk a lot about self-love, but not many talk about what that journey looks like, nor the struggles to take that first step towards loving yourself,” Abrahams explains on her Seed&Spark campaign page. “So I set out to reveal to you what that road — or rollercoaster — can look like, with the intent to let dark-skinned women know that the problem is not you.” She further elaborates in her above campaign video that as a young girl, she never saw herself onscreen — and how that affected her self-worth. With “Unapologetic,” Abrahams seeks to present new perspectives on the Black experience, and empower Black women to walk boldly and confidently in their skin.
“Unapologetic” features an all-women cast and an all-Black production crew, and is crowdfunding for location fees, equipment rentals, production design, craft services, costumes, travel costs, marketing, and cast and crew labor. Production is intended to begin in April.
You can help fund “Unapologetic” by donating to its Seed&Spark campaign.
To be considered for Women and Hollywood’s biweekly crowdfunding feature, please write to waheditorialfellows@gmail.com. All formats (features, shorts, web series, etc.) are welcome. Projects must be by and/or about women.
