About this project
Farm and Red Moon, co-directed by Audrey Kali and David Tamés,is the first documentary to provide an unflinching examination of the personal quandaries and political quagmire surrounding the killing of animals to become our food. Its through line is the poignant tale of Audrey Kali, a university professor and passionate vegan, who while investigating humane slaughter of farm animals, becomes a conflicted omnivore.
Coming to terms with slaughter and meat consumption takes her on encounters with consumers, farmers, animal scientists, philosophers, religious leaders, and activists. Informal interviews and observational footage of these encounters is peppered with animated scenes in which Audrey recounts childhood and young adult experiences with animals to paint a picture that engages viewers in a profound dialogue on what it really means to understand where your food comes from.
We currently have our first rough cut and are are now raising funds to cover the cost of completing the film which includes: animation, final editing, sound mixing, color grading, music scoring, and festival entry fees. With your generous support we'll be able to release a film that will serve as a catalyst for discussion and debate around a very important and timely topic.
HOW WILL $30,000 MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
We’re at a critical point in the filmmaking process, the funds you help us raise will enable us to complete the animation, bring on an editor to complete a fine cut (story editing finished) of the film, along with completing our sound mix and color grading by the end of Spring 2016. With a finished film, we can take advantage of interest from film festival and broadcasters who want to see our story. With your support, we’ll be assured we can complete the film, share it with audiences, and contribute to the important conversation about what it really means to understand where our food comes from.
WHO ARE THE FILMMAKERS?
David Tamés (co-director and co-producer) has worked on a wide-range of independent film and new media projects and serves on the board of directors of Filmmakers Collaborative. He is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University where he teaches video production and interactive media courses. His previous documentary films include the award-winning Smile Boston Project, about artist Bren Bataclan’s free art project; Remembering John Marshall, about the late filmmaker who created the most extensive ethnographic film record in history; and The David Hamilton Smith Story, about the co-inventor of the HibTITER vaccine which eliminated spinal meningitis.
Audrey Kali (co-director and co-producer) is an Associate Professor of Communication Arts at Framingham State University where she teaches Argumentation and Advocacy, Persuasion and Social Influence, and Organizational Communication. Her past documentaries include The Plastic Arsenal, which investigates the implications of children playing with war toys, and Partitions, which examines how New England farmers imagine humane farming. This film became the launching pad for Farm & Red Moon. Audrey speaks and writes about her research on the cultural aspects of humane animal slaughter; is a reviewer for the Journal of Critical Animal Studies; and is a scholar-member of the Animals and Society Institute.
Kara Nasdor-Jones is an animator and digital designer whose work has won nine awards and has screened in dozens of festivals throughout the world, has been broadcast on PBS, and was used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the National Center on Family Homelessness. She cares about what’s going on socially and politically in the world and helping non-profits with outreach and funding through digital media. She is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Risks and challenges
After five years of production which has taken us to New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Colorado, Georgia, Washington, D.C., and Oman, we have arrived at a rough cut of the film and need your help to finish. The development and production of the film was supported through numerous grants and generous individual donations. Now it’s time to bring the cows home. Audrey has an extensive academic background in the subject matter of the film and David has significant experience directing, editing, and producing documentaries, and spent several years working in post-production of feature-length projects. Due to the fact the film is currently in a rough cut state, the risks of not completing the film at this point are relatively low and if the Kickstarter campaign is successful, we are confident that we'll be able to complete the film and enter it in film festivals.
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Funding period
- (29 days)