Billo Rani
New York City, New York | Film Short
Family, Animation
Billo Rani is an animated/live-action hybrid short film about a young South Asian Muslim girl and her talking unibrow. It is a father-daughter story, a story about celebrating aunties, a story about having the power to make your own decisions about your body hair.
Billo Rani
New York City, New York | Film Short
Family, Animation
1 Campaigns | New York, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $20,521 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
181 supporters | followers
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Billo Rani is an animated/live-action hybrid short film about a young South Asian Muslim girl and her talking unibrow. It is a father-daughter story, a story about celebrating aunties, a story about having the power to make your own decisions about your body hair.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Billo Rani is the story of a young girl whose unibrow comes to life in the form of two talking aunties. It is the story of a sweet father-daughter relationship, a celebration of aunties, and the power of imagination and autonomy.
With the help of the Tasveer Film Fund, Islamic Scholarship Fund, and the University of Pennsylvania Sachs Alumni Art Award, we finished production in October and need to raise at least $25,000 to get through post-production, this includes animation, editing, color grading, sound design, an original score, as well as festival fees to make sure the film gets seen by a wide audience!
Billo and Rani (Hafsa’s eyebrow aunties) will be animated, as will small moments throughout the film—making animation the lynchpin of the production. Hand drawn animation takes a lot of time and effort (Studio Ghibli's latest, The Boy and the Heron, famously took seven years to complete — averaging about 17 minutes a year). This is why animation is such a significant portion of the post-production budget. We're so excited to have Alexa Lim Haas, whose imaginative work has world premiered at Sundance Film Festival and has been awarded Grand Jury Prize at SXSW, as our animation director.
We're happy to share that Billo Rani will be showing at Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle in October (since we received funding from them, we will be guaranteed to show there). And we'll also be applying to other film festivals throughout the year!
The film begins in an Islamic Sunday School, when a teacher points out Hafsa’s unibrow — this actually happened to me when I was younger. It felt like such a huge moment, even though I doubt it registered for everyone else in the class. From a young age, even if I didn’t have the words to say it, I spent a lot of time not feeling “woman” enough because of my body hair and appearance. Thinking about the performance of gender and the expectations placed on us from a young age has become a part of my artistry.
As I grew up, and I noticed the ways that my body hair put in a box, aunties are too. I feel like they've gotten a terrible reputation! And as I step into my aunty era, I want to make sure aunties get a rebrand and this is a huge part of that. We have a variety of aunties, from totally accepting to pushy, to well meaning and rude. Aunties come in so many shapes and sizes and we shouldn't be limited by negative portrayals.
As in the previous short film I wrote, Passenger Seat, Billo Rani features a heartfelt but imperfect father-daughter relationship. I'm so drawn to making this kind of story because of the ways Muslim men have been vilified in the 20+ years since 9/11, it seems only right to show a different portrayal of Muslim men—but not one of their perfection either, just one of them being human and trying.
I've always dreamed of making movies but never knew how to accomplish that goal since I come from a working class family and I didn't really have working artists in my family). Even after taking film classes in college, it never occurred to me that being a filmmaker could enter my realm of possibility. But as I grew older, it hit me that I couldn't just ignore this itch to make movies. When I moved to New York, I finally found a community of people to work with. I am so grateful to have found amazing and talented collaborators who have been my teachers in this process, who have been patient and encouraging in making this project a reality.
This project is fun, funny, silly and heartwarming, adjectives that rarely get associated with Muslim and South Asian American stories. Billo Rani offers a fresh and absurd perspective on self-acceptance, diversity, aunties, father-daughter relationships and identity.
Why not now? White men have been directing films for over a century. I think other people deserve a shot to tell their stories!
Because you want to support stories about young Muslim women that are fun and exciting. Because you think we deserve silliness. Because you want to make dreams come true! Making movies is about community, and I'm nothing without mine. So thank you in advance!
Please follow us over on our Instagram (@billoranifilm) to stay updated!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Animation
Costs $15,000
Since the film is animation/live action, the animation by Alexa Lim Haas will be an essential part in bringing the eyebrow aunties to life.
Festival fees and travel
Costs $1,500
Once we finish the film, we want to make sure it is seen!
Contingency
Costs $1,000
Unexpected costs related to anything post-production: animation, sound, color, hard drives, etc.
Original score + additional music
Costs $2,500
Rianjali will develop an original score as well as buying the rights to existing music.
Sound design
Costs $2,500
Hiring a sound designer to do the final mix to make sure everything is sounding great for the big screen!
Color grading
Costs $1,500
Making sure all the colors of the film work together and make sense.
Editing
Costs $1,000
We need to do one last edit of the film once all the animation and music is in to make sure everything works cohesively.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Angbeen Saleem — Director/Co-Writer/Producer
Angbeen Saleem (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. She hails from the jawn that made jawn happen and played Othella once in an 8th grade English class. Her poetry has appeared in Best American Poetry 2021, Blood Orange Review, Pigeon Pages, The Margins, The Slowdown, underblong, and in other timelines of the multiverse. An installation of her poem “black and brown people on shark tank” is on display at Cherry Street Pier in Philadelphia. She is in post-production for directorial debut short film, “Billo Rani" and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with her dust mites.
Khaula Haider Malik — Executive Producer
Khaula Haider Malik is a filmmaker and programmer based in New York City.
She most recently co-produced Apple TV+'s GIRLS STATE, a sequel to the Sundance and Emmy award-winning BOYS STATE.
She is currently in post-production on her first feature doc which has been supported by DOCNYC and the Catapult/True False Rough Cut Retreat.
Khaula’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Sight & Sound, PBS and has worked with Netflix and HBO. She is a graduate of the MFA program at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, and a programmer for the True/False Film Festival.
Seika Paradeis — Producer
Raised in New York City and trained as a classical ballet dancer in her youth, Seika found her passion for filmmaking and working with interdisciplinary artists while studying at Hunter College, City University of New York. Seika’s tenure includes roles as an Associate Producer and Executive Producers Assistant at esteemed production companies like 1stAveMachine and Ummah Chroma Creative Partners. In 2022, she was awarded a grant from the Women of Color Short Film Incubator sponsored by NALIP & NETFLIX for her role as a producer of the short film, "Sunflower Girl." Currently, she freelances on a wide spectrum of projects that range from commercials, and branded and promotional content to scripted narratives and non-scripted documentaries. Working with the artist, Kenneth Tam, she recently produced a documentary for WLIW All Arts that delved into the lives of South Asian taxi drivers, exploring their relationship with debt. Her portfolio of documentary projects extends to projects that feature influential artists such as Kara Walker, Deana Lawson, Telfar Clemens, and André 3000. Some of her other projects include line producing or production managing on projects for cultural institutions like the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the International African American Museum, and Sesame Street.
Soraya Perry — Editor
Soraya Perry is an editor, musician, actor, and visual artist. She has been awarded music and art residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Worcester's Collective-A-Go-Go, and The Sitka Center For Art and Ecology. She has edited for Forbes, HBO, and Blumhouse Productions, and her short film The Crack: An Origin Myth was an official selection at In-Short Film Festival and the Feminist Border Arts Film Festival. She is currently performing in LBJ: The Play as part of Netflix Is a Joke’s 2024 lineup.
Alexa Lim Haas — Animator
Alexa Lim Haas (they/she) is a Filipino-Irish American artist from New York City. Alexa was selected by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film." Alexa’s films, GLOVE (2016), AGUA VIVA (2018) and ODE TO OCEAN (2020) each world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. GLOVE and AGUA VIVA were awarded Grand Jury Prizes at SXSW. Alexa’s work has been exhibited at film festivals worldwide and at MoMA, BAM, The Brooklyn Museum, and The New York Times. Alexa has directed animations for Planned Parenthood, Beach House, HBO’s RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS, and the Netflix documentary MUCHO MUCHO AMOR. She is the screenwriter for RACHEL IN LOVE currently in development with Department of Motion Pictures and Park Pictures. Alexa is currently developing their first feature film to write and direct called SAINT MALO about a Filipino-Irish witch from Little Manila Queens who accidentally goes blind after casting a fertility spell. Alexa received her BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Jason Velez — Cinematographer
Jason Velez is a cinematographer based in the United States. Jason’s interest in photography started as a 16 year old when his father gave him an old Yashica 35mm still camera. Jason’s first introduction to motion picture filmmaking was while in college where he was able to experiment with Super 8mm, 16mm and Super 16mm formats under the teaching of Argentinian Avant Garde filmmaker Leondro Katz. Since 1998, Jason has been a contributor on over 60 feature films and nearly 2 dozen television projects. In 2002, Jason met the artist, writer, director Erika Goyzueta and began a lasting partnership and marriage. The two of them have three children and together have embarked on backpacking trips around the world. After spending the last 26 plus years primarily making studio and independent films within the United States, Jason is now looking forward to contributing to filmmaking beyond the borders of the United States. He believes the worlds most powerful story tellers exists in every culture and he is inspired to help bring those words to life with cinema.
Lizzie Donelan — Costume Designer
Lizzie Donelan is a Brooklyn-based costume designer for film, TV, and theatre. She designed A24’s feature “Janet Planet” directed by Annie Baker starring Julianne Nicholson. Her work includes the feature films “The Adults” (starring Michael Cera, dir: Dustin Guy Defa, a Universal Pictures release), “Funny Face” (dir: Tim Sutton) and “Come Find Me” (dir: Daniel Poliner). Her work has premiered at festivals including Sundance, the Berlin Film Festival, and Telluride.
As an assistant, she has worked with designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb most notably on the James Bond film “No Time to Die”, “Obi-Wan Kenobi as well as others. She has worked in both assistant and associate designer roles for several Broadway productions including “Macbeth”, “Finding Neverland”, and “Waitress”.
Lizzie has a MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University a BA in Theatre and Dance at James Madison University.
When not designing, Lizzie is an avid painter and pastry enthusiast.
Rianjali — Composer
An award winning, NYC born, L.A. based singer-songwriter/composer who found her pinch me moment when she was asked to work alongside A.R. Rahman 7 years ago, Rianjali has collaborated and performed with internationally acclaimed artists like U2, Bishop Briggs, Shawn Mendes, worked with A.R.R. on projects including Award-Winning Netflix original documentary Daughters of Destiny, Amazon Prime’s Harmony, Le Musk (A.R Rahman’s VR film) and penned songs for films such as Blinded by the Light and Love Sonia (Amazon Prime). She was Oscar shortlisted in 2017 and featured on Broadway World as a notable female songwriter to watch. Rianjali recently composed for Seeing God (Best Documentary SAFFA), Saltwater - (Wisconsin Film Festival, CSAFF, Culver City Film Festival), Sifter (Tasveer Film Festival, CSAFF, Top Shorts Film Festival) and is slated to compose for feature documentary in 2024 about the first professional South Asian basketball team. She continues to surround herself with all things film and music, making her mark in a space she never saw herself in.
Mehula Singh — Production Designer
After pursuing an undergraduate degree in product design in India, Mehula found herself drawn into the world of film production while collaborating with friends from the film department in her school. This encounter led her to explore the art department, where she began her journey as a prop shopper for ad commercials before delving into set dressing, and construction coordination for Bollywood films.
With the onset of the pandemic, Mehula took the opportunity to further her education, completing her MFA in design for stage and film at NYU in 2023. She is now based in New York and continues to collaborate with like minded people to breathe life into captivating narratives,She likes to add a sense of humor to her design and is drawn to surrealism and absurdity.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Mehula finds solace in cooking and indulging in go karting whenever time permits. She shares her life with three beloved dogs who are in Mumbai and looks forward to a work-life balance that allows her to reunite with them annually.
Sam Beneitone — Sound Designer
As a child Sam used cassette/VHS tapes to begin playing with sound and video. Later on Sam studied film at NYU Tisch, formalizing his craft and meeting new collaborators. Since then Sam has been full-time in freelance sound for film. He works on location and in post, continuing to learn about storytelling through sound and picture.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Billo Rani is the story of a young girl whose unibrow comes to life in the form of two talking aunties. It is the story of a sweet father-daughter relationship, a celebration of aunties, and the power of imagination and autonomy.
With the help of the Tasveer Film Fund, Islamic Scholarship Fund, and the University of Pennsylvania Sachs Alumni Art Award, we finished production in October and need to raise at least $25,000 to get through post-production, this includes animation, editing, color grading, sound design, an original score, as well as festival fees to make sure the film gets seen by a wide audience!
Billo and Rani (Hafsa’s eyebrow aunties) will be animated, as will small moments throughout the film—making animation the lynchpin of the production. Hand drawn animation takes a lot of time and effort (Studio Ghibli's latest, The Boy and the Heron, famously took seven years to complete — averaging about 17 minutes a year). This is why animation is such a significant portion of the post-production budget. We're so excited to have Alexa Lim Haas, whose imaginative work has world premiered at Sundance Film Festival and has been awarded Grand Jury Prize at SXSW, as our animation director.
We're happy to share that Billo Rani will be showing at Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle in October (since we received funding from them, we will be guaranteed to show there). And we'll also be applying to other film festivals throughout the year!
The film begins in an Islamic Sunday School, when a teacher points out Hafsa’s unibrow — this actually happened to me when I was younger. It felt like such a huge moment, even though I doubt it registered for everyone else in the class. From a young age, even if I didn’t have the words to say it, I spent a lot of time not feeling “woman” enough because of my body hair and appearance. Thinking about the performance of gender and the expectations placed on us from a young age has become a part of my artistry.
As I grew up, and I noticed the ways that my body hair put in a box, aunties are too. I feel like they've gotten a terrible reputation! And as I step into my aunty era, I want to make sure aunties get a rebrand and this is a huge part of that. We have a variety of aunties, from totally accepting to pushy, to well meaning and rude. Aunties come in so many shapes and sizes and we shouldn't be limited by negative portrayals.
As in the previous short film I wrote, Passenger Seat, Billo Rani features a heartfelt but imperfect father-daughter relationship. I'm so drawn to making this kind of story because of the ways Muslim men have been vilified in the 20+ years since 9/11, it seems only right to show a different portrayal of Muslim men—but not one of their perfection either, just one of them being human and trying.
I've always dreamed of making movies but never knew how to accomplish that goal since I come from a working class family and I didn't really have working artists in my family). Even after taking film classes in college, it never occurred to me that being a filmmaker could enter my realm of possibility. But as I grew older, it hit me that I couldn't just ignore this itch to make movies. When I moved to New York, I finally found a community of people to work with. I am so grateful to have found amazing and talented collaborators who have been my teachers in this process, who have been patient and encouraging in making this project a reality.
This project is fun, funny, silly and heartwarming, adjectives that rarely get associated with Muslim and South Asian American stories. Billo Rani offers a fresh and absurd perspective on self-acceptance, diversity, aunties, father-daughter relationships and identity.
Why not now? White men have been directing films for over a century. I think other people deserve a shot to tell their stories!
Because you want to support stories about young Muslim women that are fun and exciting. Because you think we deserve silliness. Because you want to make dreams come true! Making movies is about community, and I'm nothing without mine. So thank you in advance!
Please follow us over on our Instagram (@billoranifilm) to stay updated!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Animation
Costs $15,000
Since the film is animation/live action, the animation by Alexa Lim Haas will be an essential part in bringing the eyebrow aunties to life.
Festival fees and travel
Costs $1,500
Once we finish the film, we want to make sure it is seen!
Contingency
Costs $1,000
Unexpected costs related to anything post-production: animation, sound, color, hard drives, etc.
Original score + additional music
Costs $2,500
Rianjali will develop an original score as well as buying the rights to existing music.
Sound design
Costs $2,500
Hiring a sound designer to do the final mix to make sure everything is sounding great for the big screen!
Color grading
Costs $1,500
Making sure all the colors of the film work together and make sense.
Editing
Costs $1,000
We need to do one last edit of the film once all the animation and music is in to make sure everything works cohesively.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Angbeen Saleem — Director/Co-Writer/Producer
Angbeen Saleem (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. She hails from the jawn that made jawn happen and played Othella once in an 8th grade English class. Her poetry has appeared in Best American Poetry 2021, Blood Orange Review, Pigeon Pages, The Margins, The Slowdown, underblong, and in other timelines of the multiverse. An installation of her poem “black and brown people on shark tank” is on display at Cherry Street Pier in Philadelphia. She is in post-production for directorial debut short film, “Billo Rani" and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with her dust mites.
Khaula Haider Malik — Executive Producer
Khaula Haider Malik is a filmmaker and programmer based in New York City.
She most recently co-produced Apple TV+'s GIRLS STATE, a sequel to the Sundance and Emmy award-winning BOYS STATE.
She is currently in post-production on her first feature doc which has been supported by DOCNYC and the Catapult/True False Rough Cut Retreat.
Khaula’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Sight & Sound, PBS and has worked with Netflix and HBO. She is a graduate of the MFA program at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, and a programmer for the True/False Film Festival.
Seika Paradeis — Producer
Raised in New York City and trained as a classical ballet dancer in her youth, Seika found her passion for filmmaking and working with interdisciplinary artists while studying at Hunter College, City University of New York. Seika’s tenure includes roles as an Associate Producer and Executive Producers Assistant at esteemed production companies like 1stAveMachine and Ummah Chroma Creative Partners. In 2022, she was awarded a grant from the Women of Color Short Film Incubator sponsored by NALIP & NETFLIX for her role as a producer of the short film, "Sunflower Girl." Currently, she freelances on a wide spectrum of projects that range from commercials, and branded and promotional content to scripted narratives and non-scripted documentaries. Working with the artist, Kenneth Tam, she recently produced a documentary for WLIW All Arts that delved into the lives of South Asian taxi drivers, exploring their relationship with debt. Her portfolio of documentary projects extends to projects that feature influential artists such as Kara Walker, Deana Lawson, Telfar Clemens, and André 3000. Some of her other projects include line producing or production managing on projects for cultural institutions like the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the International African American Museum, and Sesame Street.
Soraya Perry — Editor
Soraya Perry is an editor, musician, actor, and visual artist. She has been awarded music and art residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Worcester's Collective-A-Go-Go, and The Sitka Center For Art and Ecology. She has edited for Forbes, HBO, and Blumhouse Productions, and her short film The Crack: An Origin Myth was an official selection at In-Short Film Festival and the Feminist Border Arts Film Festival. She is currently performing in LBJ: The Play as part of Netflix Is a Joke’s 2024 lineup.
Alexa Lim Haas — Animator
Alexa Lim Haas (they/she) is a Filipino-Irish American artist from New York City. Alexa was selected by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film." Alexa’s films, GLOVE (2016), AGUA VIVA (2018) and ODE TO OCEAN (2020) each world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. GLOVE and AGUA VIVA were awarded Grand Jury Prizes at SXSW. Alexa’s work has been exhibited at film festivals worldwide and at MoMA, BAM, The Brooklyn Museum, and The New York Times. Alexa has directed animations for Planned Parenthood, Beach House, HBO’s RANDOM ACTS OF FLYNESS, and the Netflix documentary MUCHO MUCHO AMOR. She is the screenwriter for RACHEL IN LOVE currently in development with Department of Motion Pictures and Park Pictures. Alexa is currently developing their first feature film to write and direct called SAINT MALO about a Filipino-Irish witch from Little Manila Queens who accidentally goes blind after casting a fertility spell. Alexa received her BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Jason Velez — Cinematographer
Jason Velez is a cinematographer based in the United States. Jason’s interest in photography started as a 16 year old when his father gave him an old Yashica 35mm still camera. Jason’s first introduction to motion picture filmmaking was while in college where he was able to experiment with Super 8mm, 16mm and Super 16mm formats under the teaching of Argentinian Avant Garde filmmaker Leondro Katz. Since 1998, Jason has been a contributor on over 60 feature films and nearly 2 dozen television projects. In 2002, Jason met the artist, writer, director Erika Goyzueta and began a lasting partnership and marriage. The two of them have three children and together have embarked on backpacking trips around the world. After spending the last 26 plus years primarily making studio and independent films within the United States, Jason is now looking forward to contributing to filmmaking beyond the borders of the United States. He believes the worlds most powerful story tellers exists in every culture and he is inspired to help bring those words to life with cinema.
Lizzie Donelan — Costume Designer
Lizzie Donelan is a Brooklyn-based costume designer for film, TV, and theatre. She designed A24’s feature “Janet Planet” directed by Annie Baker starring Julianne Nicholson. Her work includes the feature films “The Adults” (starring Michael Cera, dir: Dustin Guy Defa, a Universal Pictures release), “Funny Face” (dir: Tim Sutton) and “Come Find Me” (dir: Daniel Poliner). Her work has premiered at festivals including Sundance, the Berlin Film Festival, and Telluride.
As an assistant, she has worked with designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb most notably on the James Bond film “No Time to Die”, “Obi-Wan Kenobi as well as others. She has worked in both assistant and associate designer roles for several Broadway productions including “Macbeth”, “Finding Neverland”, and “Waitress”.
Lizzie has a MFA in Costume Design from Carnegie Mellon University a BA in Theatre and Dance at James Madison University.
When not designing, Lizzie is an avid painter and pastry enthusiast.
Rianjali — Composer
An award winning, NYC born, L.A. based singer-songwriter/composer who found her pinch me moment when she was asked to work alongside A.R. Rahman 7 years ago, Rianjali has collaborated and performed with internationally acclaimed artists like U2, Bishop Briggs, Shawn Mendes, worked with A.R.R. on projects including Award-Winning Netflix original documentary Daughters of Destiny, Amazon Prime’s Harmony, Le Musk (A.R Rahman’s VR film) and penned songs for films such as Blinded by the Light and Love Sonia (Amazon Prime). She was Oscar shortlisted in 2017 and featured on Broadway World as a notable female songwriter to watch. Rianjali recently composed for Seeing God (Best Documentary SAFFA), Saltwater - (Wisconsin Film Festival, CSAFF, Culver City Film Festival), Sifter (Tasveer Film Festival, CSAFF, Top Shorts Film Festival) and is slated to compose for feature documentary in 2024 about the first professional South Asian basketball team. She continues to surround herself with all things film and music, making her mark in a space she never saw herself in.
Mehula Singh — Production Designer
After pursuing an undergraduate degree in product design in India, Mehula found herself drawn into the world of film production while collaborating with friends from the film department in her school. This encounter led her to explore the art department, where she began her journey as a prop shopper for ad commercials before delving into set dressing, and construction coordination for Bollywood films.
With the onset of the pandemic, Mehula took the opportunity to further her education, completing her MFA in design for stage and film at NYU in 2023. She is now based in New York and continues to collaborate with like minded people to breathe life into captivating narratives,She likes to add a sense of humor to her design and is drawn to surrealism and absurdity.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Mehula finds solace in cooking and indulging in go karting whenever time permits. She shares her life with three beloved dogs who are in Mumbai and looks forward to a work-life balance that allows her to reunite with them annually.
Sam Beneitone — Sound Designer
As a child Sam used cassette/VHS tapes to begin playing with sound and video. Later on Sam studied film at NYU Tisch, formalizing his craft and meeting new collaborators. Since then Sam has been full-time in freelance sound for film. He works on location and in post, continuing to learn about storytelling through sound and picture.