About this project
Adela Chacon Tax left home one day for work at the age of 27 and never came back. She was beaten to death by an ex-boyfriend on her way home from work. Her story is hauntingly familiar in Guatemala, where over 5000 women have been murdered since 2000. Since the murder, Adela's sister Rebeca, 33, pounds the pavement to assure that the killer, Ricardo, receives an appropriate sentence. She spins her wheels for two years, making the rounds to push incompetent police, indifferent investigators, and the victim-blaming community. She fears that her case may be closed and the killer released because of a series of setbacks. One such setback was that the judge who was initially going to take the case was accused of killing his own wife. As a result of Rebeca's struggle, she emerges as a community leader and encourages other women to speak out against violence.
I have been traveling to Guatemala for three years following this case and collaborating with local women's organizations who work with survivors, families of victims, and are leaders in social activism. Many people have asked me in the past, "Why Guatemala?" Guatemala, a country the size of Tennessee, has some of the highest incident rates per capita of violence against women in the world. But the fact that the global community is aware of these crime rates is in great measure due to the audacity and courage of the women--activists and otherwise--who have spoken out against the violence. The remnants of violence hangs low like a heavy cloud over this country who only 13 years ago ended their civil war. This violence marks women in a very specific and gendered way to this day, but thousands of women and their partners and allies have been educating, reaching out, and disrupting the silence so as to put pressure on their government to reverse these cycles of violence. JUSTICE FOR MY SISTER examines how women mobilize themselves on a grassroots level to demand their rights and counteract a culture of normalization of violence against women and impunity.
We currently have a preliminary rough cut of the film. My editor Michael Flores and I were invited to attend the Latino Producer's Academy, where we worked on the film with esteemed mentors in Santa Fe, New Mexico for 10 days. We are pumped now that we have returned from this filmmaker's bootcamp hosted by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).
As a result of our success at the Latino Producer's Academy, we've been selected to partake in NALIP's inaugural year of the Latino Artist Mentorship program. NALIP will assess our project status and construct a team of mentors that can meet our needs for an entire year!
Now that we've returned to Los Angeles, we will continue working on the cut. We will then return to Guatemala with a cinematographer to finish shooting the final scenes of the film. While the $5,000 we hope to raise here on Kickstarter is only a fraction of our overall budget, it will propel our work forward greatly.
Most importantly, support from the community will really help give us momentum, as it's an indication that our friends, fans, and the wider Kickstarter community truly wants to see that we finish our film. Help get us to the next stage of our process so that we can get the word out on this urgent human rights issue!
AND we have AMAZING prizes here on Kickstarter. My ultimate goal with my film is to promote international solidarity coalition-building and many of the prizes here are an articulation of that. Check out the many feminist books and publications, plus the amazing movies about human rights, directed by fellow women filmmakers. Big thanks to all the donors of this awesome cultural work!
**Please note that the prizes from Guatemala will be available upon the crew's return to the States in December 2010, just in time for the holidays!
If you'd rather receive a tax write-off for your contribution, please write a check to our fiscal sponsor:
"Women Make Movies" with the words "Justice for my Sister" in the memo and mail to:
ARTEVISTA FILMS
P.O. Box 91652
Pasadena, CA 91109
Thank you so much for your support.
Viva la mujer!
-Kimberly
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
157
Backers
$5,360
pledged of $5,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on October 12, 2010.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
You will be invited to fundraising parties, and receive exclusive updates about the film and screenings, in addition to my undying gratitude.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
All the above, plus you will receive a signed limited edition movie postcard, signed by the crew during our next shoot in Guatemala.
Pledge $15 or more Pledge $15 or more
All of the above, plus a limited, exclusive look at select scenes from the film BEFORE it's released via a private online screening room.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
All of the above, plus your very own digital download of the film once it's released.
Pledge $45 or more Pledge $45 or more
LIMITED BONUS DVD ROUND #1: You receive the $30 range package, plus a DVD of award-winning filmmaker Anayansi Prado's documentary about the Latinas who clean your homes and help raise your children, MAID IN AMERICA*. (*Item only available at this pledge level and $650 level.)
Pledge $45 or more Pledge $45 or more
LIMITED MAYAN LIBRO PACKAGE: You will receive the package for the $30 range, plus a copy of EL LIBRO DEL DESTINO,* a limited-print text published in Guatemala that explores the Mayan calendar and "horoscopes," known as nawales. Only available in Spanish. (*Item only available at this and $140 pledge level.)
Pledge $45 or more Pledge $45 or more
LIMITED BOOK OFFER: You will receive the $30 range package, plus a copy of the anthology TERRORIZING WOMEN: FEMINICIDE IN THE AMERICAS, autographed by the editors, Rosa-Linda Fregoso and Cynthia Bejarano. (*Item only available at $45, $160, and $650 pledge level.)
Pledge $45 or more Pledge $45 or more
LIMITED BONUS DVD ROUND #2: You will receive the $30 range package, plus an autographed DVD of award-winning filmmaker Pamela Yate's film about attempts to enforce international laws against war crimes and genocide, THE RECKONING: THE BATTLE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT*. (*Item only available at this pledge level and $650 level.)
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
All of the above, plus an autographed DVD of JUSTICE FOR MY SISTER once it's released.
Pledge $60 or more Pledge $60 or more
All the above, plus a unique necklace from Guatemala with a small glass pendant that contains a grain of rice with the word JUSTICIA on it.
Pledge $80 or more Pledge $80 or more
All of the above, plus an autographed limited edition JUSTICE FOR MY SISTER movie poster.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
All the above, plus a limited edition JUSTICE FOR MY SISTER "Paz en cada paso" tee shirt.
Pledge $110 or more Pledge $110 or more
LIMITED BONUS DVD ROUND #3: You will receive the $100 range package, plus an autographed DVD of award-winning filmmaker Pamela Yate's 1983 classic documentary film about war and social revolution in Guatemala, WHEN THE MOUNTAINS TREMBLE*. (*Item only available at this pledge level and $650 level.)
Pledge $110 or more Pledge $110 or more
LIMITED BONUS DVD ROUND #4: You will receive the $100 range package, plus an autographed DVD of the Emmy-award winning documentary by Almudena Carracedo, MADE IN LA,* about three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops that embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. (*Item only available at this pledge level and $650 level.)
Pledge $125 or more Pledge $125 or more
All the above, plus a coin purse hand-made from used huipils from Todos Santos, Guatemala.
Pledge $135 or more Pledge $135 or more
LIMITED JUSTICE LIBRO PACKAGE #1: You will receive the $125 range package, plus the limited-print text book "Rompiendo el Silencio: Justicia para las mujeres víctimas de violencia sexual durante el conflicto armado en Guatemala."* Only available in Spanish. (*Item only available at this and $600 pledge level.)
Pledge $135 or more Pledge $135 or more
LIMITED JUSTICE LIBRO PACKAGE #2: You will receive the $125 range package, plus the limited-print text book "Por ser mujer" by Kristen Svendsen,* about the causes of violence against women in Guatemala. Only available in Spanish. (*Item only available at this and $600 pledge level.)
Pledge $140 or more Pledge $140 or more
EXCLUSIVE MAYAN LIBRO PACKAGE: You will receive the package for the $125 range, plus a copy of EL LIBRO DEL DESTINO,* a limited-print text published in Guatemala that explores the Mayan calendar and "horoscopes," known as nawales. Only available in Spanish. (*Item only available at this pledge level.)
Pledge $160 or more Pledge $160 or more
SPECIAL BOOK OFFER: You will receive the $125 range package, plus a copy of the anthology TERRORIZING WOMEN: FEMINICIDE IN THE AMERICAS, autographed by the editors, Rosa-Linda Fregoso and Cynthia Bejarano. (*Item only available at $45, $160, and $750 pledge level.)
Pledge $160 or more Pledge $160 or more
SPA PACKAGE: You will receive the $125 range package, plus an exclusive spa gift package from our friends at Lather in Pasadena, at an estimated $50 value. (Yummy, one-of-a-kind organic soaps and creams.)
Pledge $170 or more Pledge $170 or more
EXCLUSIVE DINING: You will receive the $125 range package, plus dinner for two at Malbec, an exquisite Argentine restaurant in Pasadena ($60 gift certificate).
Pledge $200 or more Pledge $200 or more
You will receive the basic premium package ($125 range), plus you will receive a limited-edition autographed CD of our soundtrack once it is complied and composed and a limited-print issue of the Guatemalan underground feminist publication "La Cuerda."
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
VIP PACKAGE: You will receive the $200 range package, plus your name will be in the rolling credits of the film and you will receive Guatemalan chocolate, Guatemalan coffee, and an exclusive Mayan glyph-calendar mug, all in a hand woven purse from Guatemala.
Pledge $600 or more Pledge $600 or more
LIMITED JUSTICE LIBRO PACKAGE PLUS: You will receive the VIP package ($500 range), plus the limited-print text books "Rompiendo el Silencio,"* plus "Por ser mujer" by Kristen Svendsen,* PLUS the latest Boletines from Grupo Guatemalteco de Mujeres AND 4 extra issues of the Guatemalan underground feminist publication "La Cuerda." Only available in Spanish. (*Items only available at this and $135 pledge level.)
Pledge $650 or more Pledge $650 or more
EXCLUSIVE BONUS DVD AND BOOK PACKAGE: You will receive the VIP package ($500 range), plus one of each of the four bonus DVDs listed above: Pamela Yate's WHEN THE MOUNTAIN TREMBLES and THE RECKONING: THE BATTLE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT, Anayansi Prado's MAID IN AMERICA and Almudena Carracedo’s MADE IN LA., PLUS the anthology TERRORIZING WOMEN: FEMINICIDE IN THE AMERICAS, autographed by the editors, Rosa-Linda Fregoso and Cynthia Bejarano.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
VIP BONUS PACKAGE: You will receive the VIP package ($500 range), plus a framed customized drawing from one of the children in the film, 6 solid-color Guatemalan handcrafted scarves (perfect for gifts), and a 6-piece set of Guatemalan handcrafted table mats and a table runner.
Pledge $1,200 or more Pledge $1,200 or more
LIMITED TO ONE BID: You will receive the VIP Bonus package ($1000 range), plus a handcrafted cream-color Guatemalan crochet hammock.
Pledge $2,000 or more Pledge $2,000 or more
You will receive the VIP Bonus package ($1000 range), plus a catered dinner and screening with the filmmaker at your home or other venue of your choice.
Pledge $3,000 or more Pledge $3,000 or more
You will receive the VIP Bonus package ($1000 range), plus two tickets to the premiere of the film and dinner with the director at the festival (travel not included).
Pledge $5,000 or more Pledge $5,000 or more
LIMITED TO KICKSTARTER: You will receive the $2000 range package, plus an associate producer title for JUSTICE FOR MY SISTER.
Project By
Connected as Kimberly Nuvem Bautista (1345 friends)
I am a Los Angeles-based Colombian-Irish-American feminist filmmaker. I am committed to making social change films with compelling, character-driven stories that open a space for transnational coalition-building and solidarity.
