Holding Back the Tide focuses on the queer environmental heroes quietly cleaning up the NYC harbor's water and protecting the city from flooding, as they have for centuries: oysters.
Holding Back the Tide focuses on the queer environmental heroes quietly cleaning up the NYC harbor's water and protecting the city from flooding, as they have for centuries: oysters.
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Story
Mission Statement
We believe reframing the story of New York oysters can help ensure the city's future. And community-oriented filmmaking is certainly how the oysters would do it! Approximately 1/3 of our team identifies as queer, dedicated to creating more possibilities of seeing ourselves in nature and onscreen.About The Project
We've crossed the 100% threshold and we are feeling ALL the feels. We never thought we'd get here with 18 days left of our campaign, but we did and it is incredible. Thank you for supporting us and this film through it all. We would not be here without you, so congratulations to you, as well!
We're launching a whole new set of goals to really help this film reach its full potential. If we reach these new marks, we'll be able to dedicate the additional funds towards:
$13,000 - Even more film festival submissions
$15,000 - Professional sound mixing
$20,000 - Archival image royalties, which would provide a richer and deeper historical context and relevance of the oyster to NYC.
Holding Back the Tide is a hybrid-documentary that dives into oyster culture, exploring the environmental, gastronomic and social history of the oyster. Wrapped up in a symbolic complexity, this creature is more than a mollusk. It's a sex symbol with the ability to swap genders at will, an organism that spends their life dutifully working to purify their home waters, and a controversial delicacy co-opted by the wealthy. Our film aims to decode the mythology surrounding these enigmatic creatures through a blend of traditional verite and experimental narrative scenes. We explore the oyster in the context of its profound relationship to New York City and the bevy of devoted allies, aiming to return the harbor to its former glory and the oyster to its rightful place.
We are a collective of young professional filmmakers, living and working in New York City. For over a year, we have dedicated our time and talents to this film as a means to stay creative during the pandemic and as a way to take charge of the work we make. We are passionate about telling stories that hold a mirror up to society, create dialogue, and challenge preordained cultural perceptions. We are fundraising because we don’t have the money to make this project come to life, and we want to be able to pay our actors! More below.
We are independent New York City filmmakers endeavoring to cultivate our careers and devise work on our own terms. Given the rapidly changing financial landscape that documentary inhabits, it is important to us to make a film that retains an independent and queer spirit. The pandemic has drastically affected work across the city, with specific impact on the independent film community. Without network, studio, or streaming support, we are completely left to rebuild and persevere on our own. That means all our production costs so far have been out-of-pocket. While this allows us the autonomy and creative power that we crave, we are hard-pressed to devise the work about which we are passionate. In the face of these odds, we banded together behind a singular idea from our incredible director, Emily Packer. The community we’ve created and cultivated is lasting, and we are grateful to have sewn together a network of enthusiasts who are passionate about oyster culture.
Furthermore, we are committed to supporting the oyster industry with this work. Through strengthened connections within our cultivated community, we not only move to empower ourselves, we curate sustainability for the oyster industry, directly benefiting the constituents, whom we engage.
Your pledges guarantee that we can honor and support the NYC Oyster community and the organizations leading efforts to restore these natural heroes to their native New York harbor.
Your direct support for this film goes towards all production costs.
This Includes:
- Payment for actors, insurance, location fees, logistics and transportation costs, equipment rental, props, and additional day-rate crew such as an on-site sound mixer.
These are our last hurdles in finishing active production. Many high-risk establishments in which we hope to film, such as restaurants, require proof of insurance and location fees.
We have put off filming these locations in hopes that the pandemic situation would clear, but as we move forward we have found that we need to continue filming safely, which requires us to hire covid-compliancy officers. - Your support also will allow us to access equipment that enables us to film underwater, which will lend the film a distinct style and the visual creativity that this story deserves.
- Of equal importance is the community built from your support, which tells other funders that there is a dedicated audience interested in seeing this project come to life. Even if we are 100% successful with this campaign, we still have over $50,000 more to raise, and that’s just to cover our expenses! If you consider yourself a part of that audience but you don’t have any cash to spare, you can always “follow” the project, which helps us quantify that support.
Official Partnership:
And subjects we’re working with:
Fiscal Sponsorship:
Incentives
$5
WAVE
We'll give you a shout out on social media!$10
Poetry night tips!
Suggested donation for the poetry reading on instagram live 6/26!
$25
BIVALVE
We'll make you a personalized video haiku! You'll get to see some of our footage, arranged in a little video poem just for you.+ social media shoutout
$50
SHELL
A hand-decorated oyster shell, perfect for use as a jewelry or soap dish. They say if you hold a shell to your ear you hear the ocean... in this case you'll also get an early digital download of our original soundtrack!+ video haiku + social shoutout
$75
LOW TIDE
A pair of unique fish-shaped pins that were used as props in the film!+ shell + video haiku + social shoutout
Claimed: 0 of 1
$100
RAW
We'll mail you a limited-edition "Holding Back the Tide" oyster knife!
+ soundtrack + video haiku + social shoutout
$150
HIGH TIDE - shucking class!
Learn how to shuck from the real Mothershucker himself! Just 2 spots available for a late-summer shucking class taught by Moody Harney which we'll be filming for the documentary. + oyster knife + soundtrack + social shoutout
Claimed: 0 of 2
$250
MIDDEN
Now's your chance to make it big in Hollywood -- we will add your name to the credits of our film! And, you'll get early exclusive access to the finished film!Digital streaming of the film + oyster knife + soundtrack + social shoutout
$1,000
HARBOR
All this talk of oysters is making me hungry....We will ship you two dozen oysters along with the oyster knife for a date night in.Don't know how to shuck? We will videocall and teach you. Ask us anything about the bivalves or the movie, this is your private Q&A!
+ your name in the credits + digital streaming of the film + oyster knife + shell + soundtrack + social shoutout
$5,000
DEEP DIVE
Want to see these crazy creatures for yourself? We will take you on a field trip to Long Island for a private tour of an oyster farm and a visit to the Long Island Maritime Museum.* + your name in the credits + digital streaming of the film + oyster knife + shell + soundtrack + social shoutout
*Must be in NYC or willing to travel here on your own!
Claimed: 0 of 4
$10,000
PEARL
Become an executive producer! We will give you a credit in the film and welcome your feedback on early cuts. + Long Island field trip *or* 2 dozen oysters sent to you + your name in the credits + digital streaming of the film + oyster knife + shell + soundtrack + social shoutout
- Payment for actors, insurance, location fees, logistics and transportation costs, equipment rental, props, and additional day-rate crew such as an on-site sound mixer.
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$5
WAVE
We'll give you a shout out on social media!$10
Poetry night tips!
Suggested donation for the poetry reading on instagram live 6/26!
$25
BIVALVE
We'll make you a personalized video haiku! You'll get to see some of our footage, arranged in a little video poem just for you.+ social media shoutout
$50
SHELL
A hand-decorated oyster shell, perfect for use as a jewelry or soap dish. They say if you hold a shell to your ear you hear the ocean... in this case you'll also get an early digital download of our original soundtrack!+ video haiku + social shoutout
$75
LOW TIDE
A pair of unique fish-shaped pins that were used as props in the film!+ shell + video haiku + social shoutout
Claimed: 0 of 1
$100
RAW
We'll mail you a limited-edition "Holding Back the Tide" oyster knife!
+ soundtrack + video haiku + social shoutout
$150
HIGH TIDE - shucking class!
Learn how to shuck from the real Mothershucker himself! Just 2 spots available for a late-summer shucking class taught by Moody Harney which we'll be filming for the documentary. + oyster knife + soundtrack + social shoutout
Claimed: 0 of 2
$250
MIDDEN
Now's your chance to make it big in Hollywood -- we will add your name to the credits of our film! And, you'll get early exclusive access to the finished film!Digital streaming of the film + oyster knife + soundtrack + social shoutout
$1,000
HARBOR
All this talk of oysters is making me hungry....We will ship you two dozen oysters along with the oyster knife for a date night in.Don't know how to shuck? We will videocall and teach you. Ask us anything about the bivalves or the movie, this is your private Q&A!
+ your name in the credits + digital streaming of the film + oyster knife + shell + soundtrack + social shoutout
$5,000
DEEP DIVE
Want to see these crazy creatures for yourself? We will take you on a field trip to Long Island for a private tour of an oyster farm and a visit to the Long Island Maritime Museum.* + your name in the credits + digital streaming of the film + oyster knife + shell + soundtrack + social shoutout
*Must be in NYC or willing to travel here on your own!
Claimed: 0 of 4
$10,000
PEARL
Become an executive producer! We will give you a credit in the film and welcome your feedback on early cuts. + Long Island field trip *or* 2 dozen oysters sent to you + your name in the credits + digital streaming of the film + oyster knife + shell + soundtrack + social shoutout
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
The structure of our team is a unique element of our process. Our team of collaborators have expanded the groundswell of ideas and we encourage creative ownership as a collective rather than contractors under a top-down directive. This film is being made with the understanding that doing away with an auteur model, and opting instead for community-oriented filmmaking with shared creative power, is certainly how the oysters would do it. We come from various backgrounds in the film world and are committed to skill-sharing, team-building, and creating the type of process of which we want to be a part. We've been meeting weekly, sharing inspiration, researching, and shooting samples for over a year now. Oh, and we love oysters.
Emily Packer
Director
Emily Packer is an experimental filmmaker with an interest in border culture and geography. She was a fellow in the 2019 Collaborative Studio at UnionDocs in Brooklyn, and is a proud alumna of the anomalous Hampshire College. Her work has been screened across the country, including at Anthology Film Archives, BlackStar Film Festival, DOCNYC, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and others including a three-day border art event that she organized in San Diego-Tijuana called “Arte on the Line”. In addition to her independent work, Emily is a freelance editor, producer, and serves on programming committees for film festivals in New York City. Emily collects voicemails for future use; consider yourself notified.
Lindsey PhillipsEditor
Lindsey Phillips is a documentary filmmaker and editor based in Brooklyn, New York. In her work, she celebrates unique traditions and idiosyncrasies of place, culture, and communities, finding the humor and humanity in complex places. She is known for directing and editing "The Exceptionally Extraordinary Emporium," a film about the significance of costuming in New Orleans, and “My Name Is Marc, And You Can Count On It,” about Cleveland’s late-night commercial cult icon Marc Brown. Her award-winning films have screened at numerous festivals across the country, have appeared on PBS's Reel South, and her work has been featured on The New Yorker, Time Studios, Vox, and CNN’s Great Big Story.
John MartyDirector of Photography
John Marty is an experimental filmmaker who uses analog and digital mediums as a lens to explore anthropological stories. His work is influenced by the use of ethnographic research methods in the process of story-telling, as well as filmmakers such as Les Blank, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, and Chick Strand. He received a Bachelors of Arts from Hampshire College in the spring of 2016 and worked the following year as the Alumni Intern for the College’s Film/Photo/Video Program. Based in New York City, he works as a videographer and editor on music videos, documentaries, and narrative films. His work has been seen in festival circuits throughout the United States. His first feature film followed generations of truffle hunters and chefs throughout Italy in order to understand the cultural and economic mystery behind the clandestine world of truffles. When he is not working, John can be found fermenting and propagating plants.
Liz BeesonExecutive Producer
Liz Beeson is a photographer, writer and digital producer whose work focuses on story and discovery. Her work has appeared in Curbed New Orleans, GoNOLA.com, goINVADE, neutrons/protons, Damesly.com, Harness Magazine, The Today Show, and Thrillist. During her time in New Orleans, Liz produced and served as the production manager for an original series called “Sunken City,” hailed by the press as 'the New Portlandia' and featured on Indiewire's list of web series that could be 'the Next Broad City.' Liz is heavily involved in women’s rights and currently serves on the boards for the New York Women’s Foundation and Girls On the Run. In addition to this work, Liz also produces/edits/and co-hosts “On the Virge,” a podcast about your first time. Liz is a culture enthusiastic and believes that artistic expression creates better communities and she is excited to explore ways in which the arts can address today’s societal issues.
Josh MargolisArchival Producer/Scriptwriter
Josh Margolis is a Brooklyn based archival producer with a keen interest in art and visual culture. He is best known for his work on Abstract: The Art of Design (Netflix), American Experience: Norman Borlaug (PBS), Rebuilding Paradise (Nat Geo), and The Fourth Estate (Showtime). Josh graduated from Ithaca College in 2017 with a Bachelors of Science in Media Production. In 2015 he co-produced a documentary short following a community of Syrian refugees who had recently resettled in Detroit. The film was selected as an Editor’s Pick by The Atlantic magazine, won Best in Show at Docs Without Borders Film Festival, and had played at numerous other festivals. Outside of work Josh can most often be found wandering around the MET, Brooklyn Museum, or any of the other “pay what you wish” art institutions in the city grumbling quietly to himself about corporate manipulation of copyright laws.
Trey TetreaultNarrative Supervisor/Producer
Trey is a director, producer, writer, and actor originally from Richmond, VA. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 2014 with a BA in Theatre Arts and Cinema. Since then, Trey has been actively pursuing a career in the theater and film industries. He has produced, directed, written, and acted in a wide variety of projects ranging from Saturday Night Live to his own fully produced web series, I’m Fine (YouTube). He continues to explore new opportunities and seeks to educate himself in all areas of production. Apart from this project, he is currently developing another series for YouTube and directing a short film with his production company, Holding For A Plane Productions, and writing a full-length play to be produced in early 2021.
Julia LewisProducer
Julia Lewis has worked as an archival producer and associate producer for film and tv. On shows for Discovery Channel, PBS, Starz and Netflix, Julia has worked on series about the world's deadliest viruses (Invisible Killers), serial killer Ted Bundy (Conversations with a Killer: the Ted Bundy Tapes) and the criminal justice system (Wrong Man). She recently wrapped up archival producing an independent documentary film on the history of Youngstown Ohio for director Karla Murthy. She is currently working for Academy Award winning director Ross Kauffman on a feature film about a potential cure for cancer.
Lesley Steele
Assistant Camera/Producer
Lesley Steele is a documentary editor and filmmaker with a background in production and digital design. Originally a New York City native, she obtained a BFA in Design Technology from Parsons The New School for Design and Masters in Directing from The School of Visual Arts. Inspired by experimental Avant-Garde cinema, Steele’s visual language and story mechanisms reflect the juxtaposition of 16mm, Super-8 and analog tape to explore and conceive new meaning in the moving image and frame.
In 2018 Lesley was selected to participate in UnionDoc's Documentary CoLab where she and nine other filmmakers directed, edited and produced a body of short documentary films in 2019. In 2020 she was one of Sundance's Art of Editing Fellows. Currently, Steele is directing her first feature-length investigative documentary exploring the case of a severely mentally ill inmate “spree killer” on death row in Nebraska in 2020.
Ben Still
Assistant Camera/Producer
Ben Still is a founding editor of the collage journal ctrl + v and a 2019 UnionDocs fellow. He makes music videos and documentaries. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in The Offing, Landfill, Salamander Magazine, and elsewhere. He received his PhD in Social Psychology at New York University.
While you're here, meet our actors!
Dragonfly
DRAGONFLY is Robin LaVerne Wilson is Miss Justice Jester: Conceptual. Artist. Performer. Storyteller.
Katharine Nedder
Katharine Nedder is an NYU Tisch graduate who has worked nationally performing in TYA and Shakespeare productions; she is stoked to be a part of Holding Back the Tide.
TL Thompson
TL Thompson recently read The Slave Market by Sasha Turner in "Four Hundred Souls" audio book available at Penguin Randomhouse.
Thomas Annunziata
Thomas Annunziata was born and raised in New York all his life and can’t wait to put even more passion into this already infectious passion project.
Hannah Lennon
Hannah is an enigma, you should be so lucky.
Hannah Rego
Hannah Rego is a poet from Louisville, Kentucky.
Aasia Tayor-Patterson
Aasia Tayor-Patterson is a black transgender artist, activist, and new actress originating from Detroit MI, now making her home in the big apple!
Meghan Dolbey
Meghan Dolbey (she/her/hers) is a film and theatre actor, producer, writer, performer, and activist.
Avery Nusbaum
If they suddenly transformed into a quiche lorraine, baked and imported from Paris, they'd be ten times less delicious than they are right now. Avery Nusbaum is a native New Yorker with a new love of Oysters.
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