When you take in the news today, what do you notice? Stories about women experiencing sexual assault, online harassment, body shaming, criticism for being too loud or not enough. Our culture is steeped in sexism and misogyny, and even women in the most respected of positions are targeted. Just days ago Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, recently elected to the United States House of Representatives, was shamed by a man for wearing professional attire deemed inappropriate based on reports of her financial means.
Being a woman in this world means you are constantly in fear of being scrutinized from every angle. As we have seen with the #MeToo movement, even intimately personal stories about survivors are critiqued and mocked. Women like Dr. Christine Blasey Ford have forgone their own personal safety to rehash painful experiences in order stand up for what is right. Being confronted with theses stories in the news every day is difficult, and hearing about how poorly they are received by our larger society is just as damaging.
The latests round of crowdfunding picks all address the narrative that surrounds women’s trauma, taking the reins on how they want to tell these stories. In “An Uncomfortable Woman” we see how comedy and dark humor are expert tools for capturing the stress of being a woman in today’s world. Tess Paras’ “The Patients” explores the complex relationships of immigrant families, and is a story about how the people around us process our trauma. And in “To Hell with Reno” a woman seeks justice against her abuser, making her escape and taking back her life.
Here are Women and Hollywood’s latest women-created and women-centric crowdfunding picks.
“An Uncomfortable Woman” (Short) – Directed by Meghan Ross; Written by Meghan Ross and Sam Stepp
Born out of a binge-watch of Lifetime movies, this short film was inspired by the way women’s pain is portrayed on-screen. Often these types of TV movies capitalize on harrowing experiences, bringing a woman’s worst fears to life for entertainment value. “An Uncomfortable Woman” aims to parody this type of plot, while still speaking to the very real fears women in the world face today. It follows Dylan, a woman in her 30s, whose mother has passed away, and who was forced to move back home after her engagement ended. Despite these tragic life events, Dylan still feels that something even worse might be coming at any moment.
Set up as a dark comedy, director Meghan Ross describes the film as one that extracts humor from truly horrible life moments. “An Uncomfortable Woman” acutely hones in on the anxieties women are subjected to as they move through a patriarchal society. One of the reasons the film is being made, as cited on its Indiegogo campaign, is to “show how a woman’s discomfort is justified, whether it’s clearly visible to others or not.”
The project is also focused on telling a story that doesn’t just emulate the same narrative we see time and time again. Instead of the classic trope of a white lead with a woman of color sidekick, this story is about the woman of color, with her white friend as support, instead. In an interview with Betty Fest, Ross explains why this commitment to diversity extends beyond just on-screen representation, saying, “Another priority on this project was to have a crew that reflects the inclusiveness of the cast. And for me, that extends to booking women in roles that are often exclusively filled by men on set. I’ve witnessed this gender inequality in previous work experiences in the TV industry, as well as in the comedy scene with show lineups. I may not be a rich and powerful TV/film executive, but I can still implement the kind of change I’d like to see, even on a smaller level.”
Support “An Uncomfortable Woman” by donating on Indiegogo.
“The Patients” (Short) – Written and Directed by Tess Paras
In the last year the #MeToo movement has carved out a space for survivors to tell their stories in public spaces. It has allowed many to find community and discover they are not alone. “The Patients” offers a window into how we talk about these events in private spaces, with those who are closest to us.
“The Patients” is set in a hospital emergency room where Regina, a young woman in her 30s, finds herself after an incident of abuse perpetrated by her boyfriend. It just so happens that this is the same ER where her father works. It becomes a true family affair when Regina’s older siblings arrive, attempting to help and support however they can. Regina rejects them, and instead seeks out the one person who is not there, her mother. As Regina’s mother struggles to come to terms with what happened to her daughter, Regina turns to a different avenue to try and communicate with her family.
Drawing on her own experiences as a sexual assault survivor, writer-director and star Tess Paras is depicting a different version of the #MeToo conversation, one that we do not hear very often. With the focus on a Filipino-American family, “The Patients” digs into how different communities deal with trauma, and explores the intersection of the rise of these tough conversations in the modern hashtag age and more traditional family values and immigrant culture. In her video for the campaign Paras underlines that these types of events are about more than one moment. “The movie isn’t about rape,” she says. “It answers the question ‘What are we supposed to do afterwards? I know from personal experience that stories of survival don’t just happen. No one just overcomes. There’s a lot of work to do in the middle. ‘The Patients’ is about the stuff in the middle.”
Learn more about “The Patients” and donate to its campaign on Seed&Spark.
“To Hell with Reno” (Short) – Written and Directed by Kimberly Hunt
“To Hell with Reno” is about a woman referred to as “The Duchess,” a dancer in Nevada. Working at a strip club, she is trapped in an abusive relationships with the club’s manager. Within this difficult world, she also finds out she is pregnant, and she wants desperately to have a different life, one in which she is free. In the film’s Kickstarter video, writer-director Kimberly Hunt vividly sets up how the film begins, inspiring chills: “In the opening shot she’s running through a vast desert… She’s taking off, she’s got wind in her hair and she’s fearless, right? Because she has nothing to lose. She’s literally barefoot, sprinting for her life.”
But “To Hell with Reno” is about more than just The Duchess and her escape. It’s about how women rebel against a male-dominated world, and fight for their own power in situations where they have very little. Even within this small slice of life, in a Reno strip club, Hunt portrays the characters and their circumstances with empathy, they are fully realized women, much more than how they are seen through the male gaze that comes with their profession.
Help make “To Hell with Reno” a reality by supporting it on Kickstarter.
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.
