Dear Cindy and Michael,
REVISED 02/22/21: My co-director, Matt Day, and I are currently conducting a second round of philanthropic fundraising in support of our independent documentary film, now titled: All You Hear Is Noise. The film 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 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi.
Our ultimate goal is to bring the underrepresented experience of people with intellectual disabilities into mainstream media/entertainment to facilitate awareness of, and subvert, structures of ableism that still permeate our society.
We’ve committed $80K of our own funds to date and have completed a preliminary 90-minute cut of the film. We are raising an additional $75K in two phases: Phase I $15K, Phase II $60K. These funds will allow us to integrate a broader socio-historical storyline throughout the film and prepare it for distribution on commercial and educational platforms.
Phase I funds will be used to keep the film production moving forward as we pursue Phase II $60K fundraising through a mix of private philanthropy, grant opportunities and a crowdfunding campaign (if needed) slated to run in May/June 2021.
I’m excited to report that we reached our Phase I $15K goal ahead of schedule this month thanks to two donors that gave above our requested amounts in an attempt to jump start us into Phase II!
For Phase II, we are still seeking private philanthropic contributions in the ballpark of $2.5-5K, that said, we are of course accepting support at any level.
Below is more background about the film, need/impact, and budget- if this overlaps with your philanthropic priorities I’d love to speak with you further.
Thank you for your consideration,
- Ned
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 civil 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 received serious consideration from several commercial platforms—but in the end, was not purchased, and the production team made the decision to withhold release, address consistent feedback, and re-pitch the revised film in 2021.
The existing 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 civil 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 disabilities (ID) 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 ID 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. Distribution to the education market alone would bring an invaluable teaching tool, along with curriculum supports, into classrooms across the county, and the world. Additionally, if the film is successful on commercial streaming platforms, the potential rippling impact on the worldview of a general audience is exciting to imagine.
Funded Activities
The revisions to the storyline will be accomplished primarily through the incorporation of archival materials—along with some additional interviews with the film’s subjects and others. Specific activities related to Phase I and Phase II, include:
Phase I ($15K)
Building an Advisory Group comprised largely of people with intellectual disability.
Research on the history of Special Olympics and the disability civil rights movement.
Archival footage research and acquisition.
FUNDING SECURED!
Phase II ($60K)
Additional filming and interviews with the film’s subject and others.
Re-edit of the existing film with input from Advisory Group.
Submission of revised film to distribution platforms, festivals, and educational marketplace.
FUNDRAISING IN PROCESS
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 next phase, addressing more complex societal issues, our Advisory Group of 10-12 consultants will be an invaluable resource for helping us navigate these storylines.
If you are interested in partnering with us in Phase II, please contact Ned at nedcastle@gmail.com or (802) 310-0163.