Dear Endeavor Foundation,
We are currently seeking philanthropic support for an independent documentary film All You Hear Is Noise which focuses on the topic of intellectual disability rights and inclusion through the narrative lens of a team of athletes from the U.S. who traveled halfway around the world to compete in the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi.
The project ultimate goal is to amplify the underrepresented experience of people with intellectual disabilities into mainstream media and entertainment to facilitate awareness of, and subvert, structures of ableism that still permeate our society.
We have completed an initial cut of the film and secured approximately $100K to date. We are raising an additional $250-300K (range based on variable costs) to support the expense of integrating a broader socio-historical storyline to the film- and to prepare it for distribution on commercial and educational platforms.
Thus far our funding has come from personal investment by the creative team and individual philanthropic gifts in the range of $5-10K. To raise the next $250-300K we are approaching private foundations seeking funds in the range of $25-100K.
Below is more background about the film, need/impact, and budget. The materials are set up for self exploration, but we’re available to walk through them together via phone/zoom if you'd prefer.
Thank you for your consideration,
Ned Castle and Matt Day, Co-Directors
Note: All contributions are tax deductible thanks to fiscal sponsorship by the Vermont Folklife Center.
The Story.
All You Hear is Noise weaves together an intimate tale of personal and athletic pursuit against the backdrop of the disability rights movement.
Watch a short trailer a.k.a. “sizzle reel” that introduces the story, style, and tone of the documentary—mixing verite and historical footage to weave together the personal and societal journey.
Closed Captioning can be turned on by clicking the CC logo in the player options bar.
The Background.
Principal photography for the film was undertaken between January – December 2019, and a ‘fine cut’ of the film was submitted to 2020 film festivals and pitched to the major commercial distribution platforms (i.e. Netflix, Apple+, HBO, Amazon, etc). The existing cut of the film was accepted to a prominent regional festival—and was pitched to commercial streaming platforms in collaboration with SpringHill Company—but in the end the production team made the decision to withhold release, address consistent feedback, and re-pitch the revised film at the end of 2021.
The current cut of the film focuses on the personal/athletic journey of three Special Olympic Athletes—whereas the augmented storyline will draw in historical and societal perspectives on the fight for intellectual disability rights. The revisions will broaden the scope of the film, and drive deeper investment into the characters of the film, the significance of their journey, and to challenge the audiences existing views on ableism.
A message from Kate Bove.
Kate Bove has been an advisor on the film since the beginning. She is an advocate and she has competed in two World Games competitions. We met with Kate in the early stages of the film-making process to discuss the idea of making a documentary about the Special Olympics World Games. In this clip Kate is responding to a question about the potential impact of the documentary.
Closed Captioning can be turned on by clicking the CC logo in the player options bar.
Need, Impact, Distribution.
Need. There is a general consensus that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) face structural barriers to employment, healthcare, and housing and suffer the emotional repercussions of stigma and misperceptions. These cultural narratives are perpetuated by underrepresentation and inaccurate portrayals of I/DD in the media. A USC study found that, in 2016, only 2.7 percent of all speaking or named characters in film were shown to have a disability.
Impact. Recently, the Ford Foundation report, A Roadmap for Inclusion: Changing the Face of Disability in Media, explored the issue of inadequate media representation of the one-in-four Americans who live with disabilities. All You Hear Is Noise makes strides toward the report’s “Ideal World” scenario of “full inclusion” in media, via (1) more on-screen representation; (2) people with disabilities comprising about 25 percent of the characters in media; and (3) stories that are not centered solely on their disabilities and do not perpetuate harmful stereotypes.
Distribution. We anticipate the film will premiere at a high-profile festival in 2022, followed by a wide reaching festival run, limited theatrical release, and U.S. and international broadcasts as well as SVOD and TVOD streaming.
The film will be paired with curriculum resources and made available to schools, universities, churches, community centers, and disability advocacy organizations across the U.S.
Funded Activities.
The revisions to the storyline will be accomplished primarily through the incorporation of archival materials, along with additional documentation and interviews with the film’s subjects and others. Specific activities related to secured and prospective funding include:
Seeking ($250-300K)
Additional filming and interviews with the film’s subjects and other key stakeholders.
Archival footage research and acquisition.
Re-editing of the existing film to incorporate new archival and main subject storylines.
Development of a social impact campaign for the film.
Submission of revised film to distribution platforms, festivals, and educational marketplace.
Secured (100K)
All filming, production, editing to date.
Convening an Advisory Group comprised largely of people from the I/DD community.
Nothing about us, without us.
‘Nothing about us, without us’ is the rally cry of the disability rights and self advocacy movements, and in that spirit, we have to date empowered our subjects in the creative process and built collaborative partnerships with organizational stakeholders and advocates—e.g. Special Olympics, Respectability.org.
As we move into this re-edit phase, and begin addressing more complex societal issues, our Advisory Group has been an invaluable resource for helping us navigate these storylines.
If you are interested in partnering with us, please contact Ned at nedcastle@gmail.com or (802) 310-0163.