Women are capable of anything, especially when it comes to fighting to tell their stories told. The following eclectic selection of projects is testament to the expansive talent and aptitude that comes from female filmmakers (and women in general), who will stop at nothing to confront and challenge their exclusion. Here, we see women working for themselves — driving projects that support female filmmakers by telling women’s stories through unique and beautiful compositions, creating support structures that help nurture the work of female filmmakers and building initiatives that confront gendered film genres.

Here are just a few women-centric projects to back this month.

The Bureau of Creative Works — Co-Founded by Erica Hampton

The Bureau of Creative Works is an independent organization that aspires to recognize and nurture the creative talent of low-budget filmmakers. It is a project that aims to ensure that filmmakers are supported and rewarded for the inspiring work that they produce. More than that, the organization serves to build a community that responds and communicates from the earliest stages of creative work, right through to the finish line and beyond. As an artist herself, Erica Hampton, the project director and co-founder of The Bureau, wanted to structure a better support system for indie filmmakers after experiencing first hand the trials and tribulations of working within the arts industry. Hampton has explained that the project’s “roster of filmmakers is 70% women, and we do intend on keeping it weighted in that direction.”

You can donate to The Bureau of Creative Works’ Kickstarter page until October 25.

Tangles and Knots — Directed by Renee Petropoulos

“Tangles and Knots” is a film project that subversively explores the complex, pseudo-incestuous relationship between a mother and her teenage daughter and the intricate web of emotions, difficulties and doubts that ensue from the blurring of certain boundaries between the two. Independent filmmaker and Columbia MFA student Renee Petropoulos describes the story as one that “explores themes of female sexuality, aging and the fluidity of family roles.” Comprised of an all-women film crew, the project focuses on the confusion that comes with sexual awakenings from female POV.

You can contribute to the funding of “Tangles and Knots” on the film’s crowdfunding page until November 12.

The Last Tattoo Artist (A Short Documentary Film) — Directed by Jill Damatac Futter

“The Last Tattoo Artist” is an insightful documentary set in the remote Cordillera Mountains in the Northern Philippines that tells the unique story of Apo Whang Od, a 95-year-old woman and the last tribal tattoo artist of her generation. Outlined as a documentary about “tradition, craft, and the passing of generations,” the film also serves as a valuable, visual essay on the compelling life of an elderly woman who practices a form of artistry that is often associated with — and appropriated by — Western culture. Director and MA candidate Jill Damatac Futter aims “to begin a path of exploring and creating stories found in the real world, whether it be about an artisan, or a political movement, or an environmental issue.” In so doing, she seeks to contextualize the often misconceived practice of tattoo artistry through the framework of art (and women’s) history and ancient tradition.

You can contribute to the funding of “The Last Tattoo Artist” on the film’s crowdfunding page until November 10.

Bugs: A Trilogy — Directed by Simone Kisiel and Written by Alexandra Grunberg

“Bugs: A Trilogy” is a women-driven, three-part trilogy in the style of the 1975 “Trilogy of Terror” that has women taking on active roles both behind the camera as well as in front. Simone Kisiel, a NYU-Tisch graduate, and Alexandra Grunberg, a New York City screenwriter, author and actress, have teamed up to create a project that challenges the preconceived notion that the horror genre is an all-men’s playing field. The fillmakers “strive to make women-positive films in realms where women have traditionally been excluded or marginalized, including comedy and horror.” This horror trilogy “shows women can be scary too, and women can be the leads in horror films without taking their shirts off.”

You can donate to the funding of “Bugs: A Trilogy” on the film’s crowdfunding page until November 22.