We often have to make a choice between pushing back against the setbacks in our lives, or letting the current pull us under. To sink or swim, to fight or take flight — or to put it another way, to get busy living or get busy dying. This month’s crowdfunding picks remind us to get busy living, because time sure does fly by.
“Zana” tells the story of Lume, an Albanian woman who lost her child a decade earlier in the Kosovo War. She will do anything to have another baby — even if that means seeing her region’s most notorious traditional healer, who warns her that dark magic could be coming to claim both her and her unborn child.
The all-female western “Wolves Inside” features a grandmother and her granddaughter in West Texas at the tail end of the 19th century. They cross paths with a dangerous stranger who may become an ally as the three of them face off against the very real animals of the wild as well as those lurking inside themselves.
“Side Work” is a dark comedy series led by three women who make ends meet serving up cocktails in a Las Vegas bar. Together, they support each other in their struggles with romance, ambition, and the desire to leave behind their side hustle and achieve their dreams.
Heart-wrenching family drama “Rosa’s Esperanza” is a story about a mother and daughter separated for nearly a decade as a result of the daughter, Esperanza, being incarcerated. Her release prompts both women to confront what they’ve feared: that their experiences during their time apart have changed them both into people they don’t immediately recognize.
Here’s our latest round of women-created and women-centric crowdfunding picks.
“Zana” — Written and Directed by Antoneta Kastrati
From Kosovar writer and director Antoneta Kastrati comes a gripping war drama, “Zana.” The film follows an Albanian woman named Lume, who lives with her husband Ilir and his mother Remzije. Ten years ago, she lost her child in the Kosovo War and is desperate to have another, but is unable to get pregnant. Frustrated with a lack of progress from modern medicine, Lume decides to turn to traditional healers for help.
A local witch doctor instructs her to sacrifice an animal, which only brings up deep-seated traumas, but she doesn’t give up. Instead, the family sends her to Kosovo’s most renowned healer, and Lume becomes pregnant. However, as her pregnancy progresses, the traumas of Lume’s earlier life and a long-kept secret resurface and put her and her baby in danger.
To watch the teaser trailer for “Zana” and learn how you can support the project, check out the film’s campaign page on Indiegogo.
“Wolves Inside” (Short) — Written and Directed by Samantha Ireland
“Wolves Inside,” from writer and director Samantha Ireland, is a women-led western drama set in Texas in 1897. An elderly woman and her granddaughter cross paths with a mysterious stranger in search of revenge, and they’re forced to come together to confront the animals inside themselves as much as those that walk the paths beside them in the dark.
“This story explores the conscious choices people face while fighting with their animalistic compulsions in a brutal and unforgiving world, told through the eyes of women from different walks of life,” says Ireland, adding that the story was inspired by a childhood spent watching western films as well as the Native American parable “The Tale of Two Wolves.”
Check out the Seed&Spark page for “Wolves Inside” to learn how you can help fund the film’s production.
“Side Work” (Series) — Created by Kenzie Dalton, Haley Horowitz, and Shantell Yasmine Abeydeera
“Side Work” is a new television series helmed by a trio of talented actresses/writers about a group of unlikely friends who are “happily working unhappily, together” as waitresses in a Las Vegas cocktail bar with hopes of breaking out into new careers. These three women stand by each other as they search for meaning, fall in and out of love, and struggle to make it through a work night with as few incidents as possible.
“What makes ‘Side Work’ different than other shows is that the conflict and drama isn’t between women,” says co-creator Kenzie Dalton. “In fact, it’s the complete opposite,” adds her creative partner Haley Horowitz. “This is a total judgement-free zone.” These richly complex characters are always in each other’s corners through the many ups and downs of life on the job at a side hustle.
You can learn more about how you can help bring “Side Work” to life on Seed&Spark.
“Rosa’s Esperanza” (Short) —Co-Written and Directed by Amanda Reyes
“Rosa’s Esperanza” is a family drama from Mexican-American director Amanda Reyes that grapples with the long-term impact that incarceration has on families. Rosa’s daughter Esperanza is being released from prison after nearly a decade and Rosa is looking forward to seeing her daughter again when their reunion is unexpectedly taken over by a welcome home party put on by the duo’s extended family.
Rosa is at first disappointed and saddened to learn that her daughter has been changed so much by her experience, but in order to return to the closeness they once shared, she’s forced to acknowledge that she’s changed a lot in the last decade as well. Reyes, whose artistic focus is on social realism, tells a touching story about the enduring love between mother and daughter.
To learn how you can help bring “Rosa’s Esperanza” through the last stages of post-production and to a festival near you, visit the film’s Kickstarter campaign.
To be considered for Women and Hollywood’s biweekly crowdfunding feature, please write to womenandhollywoodinterns@gmail.com. All formats (features, shorts, web series, etc.) welcome. Projects must be by and/or about women.
