Documentary filmmaker Mary Elizabeth Boylan has launched an IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign to fund the completion of her latest project, BEing KINDred. The filmmaker is attempting to raise $200,000.00 via the online platform, and the campaign will run for a month. The funds will be used for filming additional interviews, post production expenses, marketing and film festival submissions.
The film tackles the struggle for worldwide equality for the transgender community. With a 41% suicide rate, Boylan and the subjects of her film want to change not only how the how the transgender community sees themselves, but how society relates to them as well. Boylan has been speaking with, hearing and recording stories for the film since October of 2015. She visited the Southern Comfort Conference (SCC), the nation's largest transgender conference, where she collected 75% of the film's content. She has accumulated nearly 50 hours of footage for the project. She hopes BEing KINDred will help to promote understanding, appreciation and love.
"This is a profoundly personal project for me," shares Boylan. "I have watched one of my dearest friends lose her loved ones just for BECOMING her true self, but have met and shot the stories of so many amazing people who've have been through hell for trying to do the same. It is important for the world to learn we are all human beings, who deserve to be loved for who we truly are."
Initially a short film, Boylan expanded the project's scope after hearing so many heartfelt, and often heartbreaking, stories of families turning their backs on their loved ones who are transgender, the struggles of being treated with humanity and respect by society at large, and the feelings of loss and worthlessness created by these reactions. BEing KINDred features transgender subjects, social activists and community allies; from transgender icon and activist Maria Roman to GLAAD board member, NY Times best-selling author Jennifer Finney Boylan (yes, they are cousins); the stars of the short film Vessels, Hope Smith and Diamond Cruz, and international transgender activist Solena Sulin.
"To share ones story among other individuals living in their authenticity is one of the ways of changing the world around us," continues Roman, who recently spoke about tras issues at the Whitehouse.
"I'm so glad to be a part of BEing KINDred because trans lives need visibility," says Smith. "I'm so happy that I can show people who I am and how I live because so many people don't understand. I'm a human being just like anybody else."
"This is about human rights," adds Smith's cast mate Diamond Cruz. "All I want is equality everywhere I go. I want the same opportunities for all the transgender community."
BEing KINDred is a documentary which could make a difference for the transgender community and how they are viewed and portrayed. Boylan's Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign includes donor perks, including from DVDs of the finished film, tickets to the Los Angeles premier, and production credits at higher levels. The campaign will last for 40 days. All donation amounts are appreciated. For those who are unable to donate, visiting, liking and sharing the film's social media sites is also a huge help.
.png)
