Seeking Truth Through Self-Acceptance: Crowdfunding Picks

Documentary filmmakers are constantly on a journey – a journey to find the next compelling story and remarkable characters, a journey to find the truth in humanity, and, perhaps the most frustrating of all, a journey to fund their cinematic endeavors. The very elements of storytelling that make documentaries unique are what make the process unpredictable and sometimes uncomfortably risky.

The filmmakers who lay it all on the line for their stories rarely avoid risk, and they passionately chase uncomfortable topics, even when that creative commitment makes it difficult to secure the essential financial support that all filmmakers need. Mental health, women’s health, and sexuality are all topics that remain underexplored in traditional cinema, though we find ourselves in perhaps a more open-minded period than ever before in modern history. This month’s crowdfunding projects offer insight into the lives of people who want to be seen, to be healthy, and to be loved unconditionally.

“Coming Around” follows Eman, a queer Muslim based in New York, who struggles to come out to her mother. The project seeks to “convey the beauty and complexity of [Eman’s] intersectional identity,” according to the Seed&Spark project page. Its exploration of the love between a mother and daughter follows a continued trend of women seeking deeper understandings of themselves through the relationships of the women in their families.

That curiosity regarding women’s history, legacy, and pain within their own family is an undercurrent of “Before They’re 23,” as creative producer Jeanine B. Frost details how her grandmother died by suicide in 1970 due to the pain and stigma she experienced while suffering with undiagnosed endometriosis.

“Trust Me?!,” written by Anne Chataigné with director and long-time friend Melanie Cura Daball, will take an experimental and comedic approach to the re-telling of Chataigné’s bipolar disorder diagnosis.

These films showcase compassionate, empowered women who have decided to embrace their identities and their overall health needs with pride, even when it’s terrifying and comes at great personal risk.

Here are Women and Hollywood’s latest crowdfunding picks.

“Coming Around” (Documentary) – Directed by Sandra Itäinen

Eman acknowledges that her devout Muslim mother tries to understand Eman’s lifestyle, though it’s clear that the “long process” she describes is taking its toll. She details how those in her life haven’t met women she’s dated, but who still know her intimately in ways she “can’t replicate with anyone else.” And even though she feels like her mother doesn’t truly recognize her, it appears she cannot simply stop loving her mother any more than she can stop being herself.

According to “Coming Around’s” crowdfunding page, the filmmakers’ goal is to explore the “unseen intricacies” of coming out. And as director Sandra Itäinen reiterates, at the end of the day, this story is about family.

Eman’s lively day-to-day existence in New York doesn’t seem to stop or slow down, despite her misgivings. The fact that the documentary team has followed Eman for more than six years is a testament to their commitment to telling her story with immense care and consideration.

Learn more about “Coming Around” and donate on Seed&Spark.

“Trust Me?!” (Short Documentary) – Directed by Melanie Cura Daball; Written by Melanie Cura Daball and Anne Chataigné

In what the creative team calls a “genre-bending short documentary,” the filmmakers aim to use humor along with compassion to take a deep dive into the still very illusive and thorny topic of mental health. The story begins when a young woman’s family betrays her in order to force her to seek medical attention for her extreme behavior. Once she’s diagnosed with bipolar disorder, she must then begin the process of trusting herself and others again – all while fighting both internal and external stigmas about her condition.

Co-writer Anne Chataigné and co-writer/director Melanie Cura Daball’s long-time friendship is evident in their pitch as they tag-team about their creative and tonal goals for the film on their crowdfunding page. They plan to use animation and cinematic recreations to tell Chataigné’s story about living with bipolar disorder.

Though they’ve received partial funding from the British Film Institute, they hope to raise additional funds for the entire production, which will challenge audiences to “imagine a world where we make space for ordinary madness.”

Learn more about “Trust Me?!” and donate on Kickstarter.

“Before They’re 23” (Documentary) – Directed by Lindsay Taylor Jackson

Director Lindsay Taylor Jackson spent two decades of her life either waiting for an official endometriosis diagnosis or enduring various surgeries, only to recently undergo a total hysterectomy. With creative producer Jeanine B. Frost, Jackson will interview medical experts, politicians, and endometriosis patients as the filmmakers begin principal photography for this feature documentary. Between Jackson’s recent personal experience with endometriosis and Frost’s grandmother’s suffering in an era when women’s pain wasn’t taken as seriously, the focus on both mental and physical health is sadly still quite timely. Even today, the concerns of many women and non-binary patients are disregarded when they dare to seek guidance from health professionals.

Jackson and Frost are driven by “an urgent need for attention to endometriosis, both within medical and societal spheres,” according to their crowdfunding page. They wish to give individuals with endometriosis a voice and resources for healing as they “discover what ‘quality of life’ means to each of them.”

Their intended use of animation will further illuminate the stark reality this condition creates for one in 10 people born with uteruses around the world.

Learn more about “Before They’re 23” and donate on Seed&Spark.

To be considered for Women and Hollywood’s biweekly crowdfunding feature, please write to wandhcrowdfunding@gmail.com. All formats (features, shorts, web series, etc.) welcome. Projects must be by and/or about women.