I NEED SPACE Documentary
Austin, Texas | Film Feature
Documentary
This project will chronicle a rapidly changing scene that has gone mostly undocumented. Austin's queer nightlife scene holds a rich and unique significance as one of the main spaces for queers to gather in the middle of a state that is known for its conservative and anti-gay policies.
I NEED SPACE Documentary
Austin, Texas | Film Feature
Documentary
1 Campaigns | Texas, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $20,284 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
116 supporters | followers
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This project will chronicle a rapidly changing scene that has gone mostly undocumented. Austin's queer nightlife scene holds a rich and unique significance as one of the main spaces for queers to gather in the middle of a state that is known for its conservative and anti-gay policies.
In Partnership With
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WHY NOW
Apart from a few local newspaper articles, there is a lack of thorough documentation of the history of queer nightlife in Austin. Queer spaces and movements have come and gone, and the current generation of queer Austinites is left mostly unaware of the city’s history. This feature film is an urgent attempt to document Austin’s queer history as it is happening now. With popular queer spaces like 4th Street establishments under threat of closure due to the development of downtown high-rise apartments, many in Austin’s queer community are wondering if they are being pushed out of the city like other marginalized communities before them. Austin's landscape is constantly changing, and many today realize that in just a few years the current scene as we know it will no longer exist. It is crucial to document what is going on for future generations to look back on. Something we wish we could do with Austin's queer generations before us.
WHY I NEED SPACE
I NEED SPACE is for the benefit of Austin’s past, present, and future queer community. This film aims to preserve queer Austinite’s stories and experiences, to highlight the importance of brick-and-mortar spaces to connect in, and to provide a platform for Austin’s queer community to speak on issues that matter to them right now - trans rights, gay rights, racial justice, and reproductive justice, and more. As Austin’s tech industry booms and the culture of the city shifts, the queer stories, spaces, and history that have significantly influenced Austin’s reputation as a city built for all people are at risk of being lost.
CREATIVE PROCESS
This project entails filming day-in-the-life interviews, stylized performances, and crowd-sourced footage from prominent players in Austin’s queer scene. These important members of Austin’s queer nightlife community include drag queens, ballroom house members, musicians, performers, and activists. For day-in-the-life footage, a small crew will follow the protagonists throughout their daily lives as they prepare for events and performances. The audience will experience their world alongside them through intimate and conversational interviews. To capture stylized performances, the filmmakers will collaborate with each artist on the direction of each shoot, giving artists the creative power to tell their own stories.
TIMELINE
Flexibility is a fundamental component of this project. As the filmmakers aim to capture the authentic stories of Austin’s queer community, it is necessary to maintain a flexible schedule that allows for the production to respond in real time to important events held by and for Austin’s queer community. The filmmakers will prioritize building creative partnerships with the film’s protagonists in order to responsibly document their stories in a way that fosters trust and preserves the autonomy of everyone featured in the film. Because of the flexible nature of this project, the timeline included below may be adjusted as needed. So far, we have filmed 7 days of important nightlife events consisting of vogue balls, underground raves, and day in the life footage of the protagonists. We started filming this past May, on plan on continuing until June 2023. The edit will tentatively begin during the summer before completion in the fall.
So far, we've had an amazing group of local filmmakers volunteer their time to film these events with us. This campaign will significantly help us move the project forward in terms of letting us bring in and pay larger crews compared to the skeleton crews we'be been working with so far. These funds will be crucial for us to execute our stylized shoots, which will require larger scale production design compared to the verite filmmaking we have done so far.
INCENTIVES
Please be patient with us as we roll out the incentives throughout the campaign. We are a small team and will do our best to get them to you in a timely manner :)
Photos courtesy of @__scamlikely__
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
WE LOVE LIVABLE WAGES
Costs $15,000
Our main priority is being able to pay crew who come out to film with us <3
FEED ME
Costs $5,000
Feed the crew to keep em happy n healthy
Legal Fees
Costs $5,000
help us pls
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
IVY CHIU (they/them)
Born in Taiwan and raised in Texas, Ivy Chiu is a queer cinematographer versatile in scripted and unscripted filmmaking. They will be taking on co-director and director of photography roles for this project. Ivy has shot projects neck-deep in the Pacific on a remote atoll in French Polynesia, been detained by militias for drone work in Mongolia, and swam to Kalalau Valley while floating trash bags full of equipment to shore. They have contributed photography to documentaries like Oscar-nominated Boys State and camera operated on films such as Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 1/2 and Netflix Original Plus Minus. Their latest film Inbetween Girl premiered at SXSW '21, won the Visions Audience Award, and is now streaming on AppleTV and Amazon. In the spirit of keeping Austin indie, Ivy has also produced, EPed, and supported myriad shorts, features, documentaries, and music videos.
HANNAH VARNELL (she/her)
Hannah Varnell, the second co-director, is a self-taught director and photographer based in Austin, Texas.
-
She discovered filmmaking while drifting through Oceania during a few lost years after school. Disillusioned by US politics and nonprofit culture, she was convinced there was a less burnt out way to create empathy among strangers.
A strong energetic pull carried her to Austin, where she started directing while producing music videos for her dp portfolio. Once she had a vantage point, she could decode the visual symphonies from her daydreams and a creative voice emerged. Every project explores her own questions about gender expression and spirituality, celebrating introspection and the natural world. She is inspired by all of the humble leaders she’s met since moving to atx and is happy to be here.
LAUREN YAP (they/she)
Lauren Yap, the third co-director and producer, is a queer, first-generation Filipinx American. In the two years since graduating with a film degree, they were a subject and collaborator for Kapwa, a digital series supported by the Center for Asian American Media, and worked as an associate producer on a Discovery+ docuseries. They are currently a producer at Arts+Labor and SPTM, recently coordinating post-production for the Suzanne Vega film, Lover, Beloved as well as the Asleep at the Wheel featurette, How We Found Our Sound for their world premieres at SXSW 2022. They strive to use their talents to amplify queer and BIPOC voices that are typically underrepresented onscreen as well as in the media production industry.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
WHY NOW
Apart from a few local newspaper articles, there is a lack of thorough documentation of the history of queer nightlife in Austin. Queer spaces and movements have come and gone, and the current generation of queer Austinites is left mostly unaware of the city’s history. This feature film is an urgent attempt to document Austin’s queer history as it is happening now. With popular queer spaces like 4th Street establishments under threat of closure due to the development of downtown high-rise apartments, many in Austin’s queer community are wondering if they are being pushed out of the city like other marginalized communities before them. Austin's landscape is constantly changing, and many today realize that in just a few years the current scene as we know it will no longer exist. It is crucial to document what is going on for future generations to look back on. Something we wish we could do with Austin's queer generations before us.
WHY I NEED SPACE
I NEED SPACE is for the benefit of Austin’s past, present, and future queer community. This film aims to preserve queer Austinite’s stories and experiences, to highlight the importance of brick-and-mortar spaces to connect in, and to provide a platform for Austin’s queer community to speak on issues that matter to them right now - trans rights, gay rights, racial justice, and reproductive justice, and more. As Austin’s tech industry booms and the culture of the city shifts, the queer stories, spaces, and history that have significantly influenced Austin’s reputation as a city built for all people are at risk of being lost.
CREATIVE PROCESS
This project entails filming day-in-the-life interviews, stylized performances, and crowd-sourced footage from prominent players in Austin’s queer scene. These important members of Austin’s queer nightlife community include drag queens, ballroom house members, musicians, performers, and activists. For day-in-the-life footage, a small crew will follow the protagonists throughout their daily lives as they prepare for events and performances. The audience will experience their world alongside them through intimate and conversational interviews. To capture stylized performances, the filmmakers will collaborate with each artist on the direction of each shoot, giving artists the creative power to tell their own stories.
TIMELINE
Flexibility is a fundamental component of this project. As the filmmakers aim to capture the authentic stories of Austin’s queer community, it is necessary to maintain a flexible schedule that allows for the production to respond in real time to important events held by and for Austin’s queer community. The filmmakers will prioritize building creative partnerships with the film’s protagonists in order to responsibly document their stories in a way that fosters trust and preserves the autonomy of everyone featured in the film. Because of the flexible nature of this project, the timeline included below may be adjusted as needed. So far, we have filmed 7 days of important nightlife events consisting of vogue balls, underground raves, and day in the life footage of the protagonists. We started filming this past May, on plan on continuing until June 2023. The edit will tentatively begin during the summer before completion in the fall.
So far, we've had an amazing group of local filmmakers volunteer their time to film these events with us. This campaign will significantly help us move the project forward in terms of letting us bring in and pay larger crews compared to the skeleton crews we'be been working with so far. These funds will be crucial for us to execute our stylized shoots, which will require larger scale production design compared to the verite filmmaking we have done so far.
INCENTIVES
Please be patient with us as we roll out the incentives throughout the campaign. We are a small team and will do our best to get them to you in a timely manner :)
Photos courtesy of @__scamlikely__
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
WE LOVE LIVABLE WAGES
Costs $15,000
Our main priority is being able to pay crew who come out to film with us <3
FEED ME
Costs $5,000
Feed the crew to keep em happy n healthy
Legal Fees
Costs $5,000
help us pls
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
IVY CHIU (they/them)
Born in Taiwan and raised in Texas, Ivy Chiu is a queer cinematographer versatile in scripted and unscripted filmmaking. They will be taking on co-director and director of photography roles for this project. Ivy has shot projects neck-deep in the Pacific on a remote atoll in French Polynesia, been detained by militias for drone work in Mongolia, and swam to Kalalau Valley while floating trash bags full of equipment to shore. They have contributed photography to documentaries like Oscar-nominated Boys State and camera operated on films such as Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 1/2 and Netflix Original Plus Minus. Their latest film Inbetween Girl premiered at SXSW '21, won the Visions Audience Award, and is now streaming on AppleTV and Amazon. In the spirit of keeping Austin indie, Ivy has also produced, EPed, and supported myriad shorts, features, documentaries, and music videos.
HANNAH VARNELL (she/her)
Hannah Varnell, the second co-director, is a self-taught director and photographer based in Austin, Texas.
-
She discovered filmmaking while drifting through Oceania during a few lost years after school. Disillusioned by US politics and nonprofit culture, she was convinced there was a less burnt out way to create empathy among strangers.
A strong energetic pull carried her to Austin, where she started directing while producing music videos for her dp portfolio. Once she had a vantage point, she could decode the visual symphonies from her daydreams and a creative voice emerged. Every project explores her own questions about gender expression and spirituality, celebrating introspection and the natural world. She is inspired by all of the humble leaders she’s met since moving to atx and is happy to be here.
LAUREN YAP (they/she)
Lauren Yap, the third co-director and producer, is a queer, first-generation Filipinx American. In the two years since graduating with a film degree, they were a subject and collaborator for Kapwa, a digital series supported by the Center for Asian American Media, and worked as an associate producer on a Discovery+ docuseries. They are currently a producer at Arts+Labor and SPTM, recently coordinating post-production for the Suzanne Vega film, Lover, Beloved as well as the Asleep at the Wheel featurette, How We Found Our Sound for their world premieres at SXSW 2022. They strive to use their talents to amplify queer and BIPOC voices that are typically underrepresented onscreen as well as in the media production industry.