Music: Grimes Rosa

WHAT AM I DOING?

In addition to being your guide to the kickstarter page, I, Rachel Steele, am the writer/director of Hanna Watches A Porno, which is my second short film and contrasts the difference between porn and sex and intimacy by looking at the lives of twenty somethings in Willimasburg, Brooklyn.  We are shooting at the end of September and beginning of October. 

WHY DO I NEED YOUR HELP?

Because film, being the lovely collaborative art that is, is expensive.  To put it in perspective, Film Independent classifies independent feature films as anything made for under $15 million dollars.  That said, as an independent filmmaker working in New York, I've often worked on independent feature films with production budgets around $200,000.  Of course, even then, Hanna Watches a Porno is about 1/5 the length of a feature film, and our budget is much smaller than $40,000 (and includes post!), but it's still not easy, nor doable, to make this film without your help!  Here's a breakdown of our costs (it's actually more than our Kickstarter goal):

Camera and Lighting Department $1300

Crew: $700

Food:$500

Art Department: $500

Hair, Makeup, Wardrobe: $300

Locations: $300

Pre Production Costs: $300

Post Production: $750

Film Processing: $500

Transportation: $200

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THE PROJECT?

I make art to make sense of the world around me, and storytelling is my form.  I also want the story to resonate with other humans (and some cats).  The characters in Hanna Watches a Porno are also characters in a feature length script I've developed and am writing.  We aim to take Hanna Watches a Porno to the 2012 festival circuit, and then shoot the feature film, All Dressed Up in the summer of 2012.  Yet, I don't see this film as just a stepping stone.  I want to make the best film I can make, and I think it stands alone as its own work.

WHY ARE YOU A FEMINIST?

Quite simply put, I believe in gender equality, women's reproductive rights, and that we must fight for a world where 1 in 4 women are not sexually assaulted before they graduate from college.

Here's an online video I recently made about feminism!

WHAT MAKES THIS FILM FEMINIST?

Well, how long do you have?

For starters, often in film, women are relegated to plot devices, or portrayed as shrews, jealous girlfriends, or any number of one dimensional stereotypes.  The namesake of my film is a complex human being, like most of us, and does not exist simply to be the love interest in some action film or to play a uterus in a male driven comedy. There are not enough female directors (only 7% of the Directors Guild of America is female), and there are not enough strong female characters.  But you have the opportunity to help change that!  

Secondly, while female sexual empowerment is often taboo in our culture, women do  take their clothes off in films to be eye candy or simply to help sell tickets.  Hanna Watches a Porno features a twentysomething in a nuanced portrayal of a woman in charge of her own sexuality.

I also wanted an artistic space to look at one aspect of the role of porn in today's world, so yes, people in this film watch porn, talk about porn, talk about sex, have sex.  They also go roller skating.  Because feminists are human too.

CAN I SEE SOME MORE OF YOUR WORK?

Yes, but only because you asked so nicely. Watch The Intern and The Dumpster. 

WHAT DO THE TSHIRTS LOOK LIKE?

They look like awesomeness, which looks like this.

WHO ELSE IS WORKING ON THE FILM?

I have an incredible team working with me.  For starters, here is my DP's reel.

Cameron Shahrayray, who studies film at NYU, is my sound engineer and is helping me in post production.  He also worked on We Are SlutwalkNYC.  My creative producer has worked with Red Bucket Films (Daddy Long Legs, John's Gone) and numerous independent films including Martha Mary May Marlene, and my Assistant Director has her MFA in Film from American University.  I have an amazing up and coming cast of NYC based actors, with vast theater and UCB experience.

I am also editing the film and studied at The Edit Center under Bo Mehrad (The Punk Singer: The Kathleen Hanna Documentary), Aaron Yanes (Tyson), and Mollie Goldstein (Monogamy, Dog Sweat)

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I, YOUR FUNDER, SHOULD KNOW?

We are going to be having a rad fundraising party in October.  There will be live music, and we will be screening The Intern and The Dumpster, as well as selling good beer cheap and auctioning off whiskey from King's County Distillery.

Also, you should know that I love you.