In her deeply personal book “The Cancer Journals,” Audre Lorde wrote about the value of speaking up. “My silences had not protected me,” she revealed. “Your silence will not protect you.” In fighting breast cancer, Lorde upended the stigma associated with the disease by writing honestly and openly about her experience. Ultimately, she highlighted how universally important it is to speak out about our own experiences, especially those that bear the weight of stigma.
Our latest round of crowdfunding picks feature women filmmakers who are spotlighting stigmatized issues that have personally impacted them. Each one is using her voice to spark a larger conversation.
First, Grace Philips’ short, “Dorris, 85,” mines the filmmaker’s own experience caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease to explore the meaning of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis with nuance, compassion, and respect. Then, Sarah Moshman’s documentary film, “Angelina,” tackles postpartum depression from the perspective of comedian Angelina Spicer, who relays her story of navigating motherhood and a stay in a psychiatric hospital concurrently. Finally, Michelle Barrera-Chavez and Alexis Talbot’s short, “Things We Do For Love,” seeks to challenge the dominant narrative surrounding eating disorders.
Here are Women and Hollywood’s latest women-created and women-centric crowdfunding picks.
“Dorris, 85” (Short) – Written and Directed by Grace Philips
An estimated 5.7 million Americans of all ages live with Alzheimer’s disease right now. The Alzheimer’s Association identifies stigma as a major obstacle to well-being and quality of life for those with Alzheimer’s and their families. Grace Philips, who has grandparents on both sides of her family affected by the disease, wants to change that.
On the the crowdfunding page for the short film “Dorris, 85,” the production team describes their filmmaking vision as “a nuanced look at how Alzheimer’s can affect a loved one and their closest relationships.” Indeed, the Alzheimer’s Association acknowledges that an Alzheimer’s diagnosis often impacts one’s relationships, whether it be because of one’s symptoms or even simply because of the stigma surrounding those symptoms.
With portrayals of Alzheimer’s often reduced to flattened tragedies, Philips wants to “make sure [Alzheimer’s patients’] stories are respectfully told,” and her filmmaking team plans to partner with Alzheimer’s organization to do so. Ultimately, through its intimate and realistic perspective, “Dorris, 85” intends to “explore the subtleties of loving someone who may or may not know they love you back.”
Told with visual beauty and narrative delicacy, “Dorris, 85” depicts an “intimate snapshot” of an evening at home with the intention of exploring the experience of “watching someone you love turn into a stranger,” Philips says. Shot in high contrast black and white, Philips hopes to convey the challenges that come with living with Azheimer’s: feelings of “bleakness, being lost, or trapped.” Ultimately, Philips wants us not just to sympathize with the experience of a loved one with Alzheimer’s, but empathize: “I want people to feel how Dorris feels.”
Support “Dorris, 85” on Seed&Spark.
“Angelina” (Documentary) – Directed by Sarah Moshman
One in five women will experience a maternal mental health disorder like postpartum depression. But when comedian Angelina Spicer first became a mother, she never expected to experience a depressive episode herself. Postpartum depression, she assumed, was “a white girl disease.”
But in the weeks and months after giving birth, Spicer soon realized something was wrong. “I felt so overwhelmed that I would eat dinner in my car,” she says in the crowdfunding video for the documentary and comedy special “Angelina.” Social media only exacerbated her unhappiness, with friends constantly posting curated versions of their lives and sharing the joys of motherhood without any of the challenges. Eventually, her postpartum depression and anxiety led her to a psychiatric hospital.
Now, Spicer is telling her story to end the silence around postpartum depression. In “Angelina,” directed by Sarah Moshman, Spicer hopes to make other women who share her experience feel less alone. “Because we don’t talk about this as women [and] as mothers,” Spicer says, “you think you’re the only one.” She’s even given her mission a name; Spicer wants to lead what she calls a Postpartum Revolution.
A unique blend of stand-up and documentary film, “Angelina” promises to be an entertaining showcase for the outspoken Spicer. As the film’s crowdfunding page describes, Spicer’s one-hour comedy set will “serve as the backbone to the documentary, while interviews, animation, and comedy sketches” will accompany her fiery takes and intimate revelations surrounding maternal mental illness.
Support “Angelina” on Kickstarter.
“Things We Do For Love” (Short) – Directed by Michelle Barrera-Chavez; Written by Alexis Talbot
At least 30 million Americans of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder. Even more shocking is that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Yet countless people struggling with eating disorders, like anorexia and bulimia, live undiagnosed and untreated. Director Michelle Barrera-Chavez and writer and cinematographer Alexis Talbot think the media has something to do with that. “We believe that these people go unnoticed because of how our media depicts eating disorders,” they share in the promotional video for their upcoming short film, “Things We Do For Love.”
“Things We Do For Love” aims to upend the dominant cultural narrative about who can have an eating disorder and what an eating disorder can look like. The film’s protagonist, Alison, is an introverted teenager who closely tracks everything she eats until this obsessive behavior begins to control her life. The film follows her day-to-day life as she secretly deals with her disorder. Meanwhile, she strikes up an unexpected friendship with a mysterious girl and deals with her distracted mom, who is preparing for weight loss surgery. Alison’s story not only lets viewers into the experience of having an eating disorder, but also sheds light on the ways in which those who suffer from eating disorders may be unaware that they have one.
While depictions of eating disorders tend to be restricted to young, thin, affluent white women, the filmmakers behind “Things We Do For Love” want the public to understand that “any person of any race, gender, or body type can suffer from an eating disorder.” Additionally, disordered eating can take many forms beyond anorexia or bulimia, and learning to recognize signs of eating disorders is a crucial step to treating them. Through its original narrative, “Things We Do For Love” intends to change the way we talk about eating disorders.
Support “Things We Do For Love” on Indiegogo.
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.
