MASC

Seattle, Washington | Film Feature

Documentary, LGBTQ

Andy

1 Campaigns | California, United States

Green Light

This campaign raised $10,000 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.

111 supporters | followers

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A filmmaker reckons with his past while making a documentary exploring alternative versions of masculinity in the lives of various people. MASC does more than just challenge traditional masculinity, it reimagines it

About The Project

  • The Story
  • Wishlist
  • Updates
  • The Team
  • Community

Mission Statement

MASC is a self-reflexive film that gives space for people living outside of traditional masculinity to share their stories. The more we uplift these stories of anti-patriarchal masculinity. the more it becomes a viable way of being. The more it becomes viable, the less dangerous masculinity becomes.

The Story



I began making MASC in 2018. The initial conception was simple: I would interview various people who were living out different ways of being masculine in America, and then create a short documentary film (ten minutes max!) with the results. 

Obviously that didn't happen.


What followed has been much more exciting, terrifying, healing, and provocative. 




Over the years, the project grew and grew until suddenly I found myself with a feature film's worth of footage and stories. I met countless amazing people, with journeys that were tender, sensitive, funny, open, and moving. The project had taken on a life of its own, but as the footage was coming together I realized the film was demanding one more story be told.


When I started MASC I was adamant that I'd be a neutral observer, documenting from behind the camera. But as I conducted the interviews, I found myself provoked by the participants' answers and inspired by their lives. I began to realize that questions of masculinity and gender were far from resolved within myself. I began to realize that in order to accomplish my goal for the film, to have an open, honest conversation about masculinity, I'd need to open up a little myself. So I turned the camera on myself.




The end result is MASC. An engaging and self-reflexive documentary that follows the making of a film and, ultimately, its filmmaker as we grapple with the masculine identity in America. It’s a film inspired by the works of Marlon Riggs and Agnes Varda. 


It feels like we might, just might, be, at a moment where patriarchy is being widely interrogated and more people are finally starting to look for new ways of being masculine in the world. MASC arrives at this moment with complexity, humanism, and hope. There are so many people living out alternatives to masculinity, yet they are not documented. There are so many people reckoning with their past relationships with toxic masculinity, yet it is not documented.  


This film documents and explores both. 


Unfortunately MASC isn't done yet! That is where YOU come in! The film needs finishing funds to complete post-production and release it into the world by early 2024. Your contribution will go towards paying for its uh-mazing editor, sound editing/mixing, color correction, and score



How You Can Help!



FOLLOW


Follow our campaign and stay up-to-date on the latest MASC news! It's 100% free. 


Seed&Spark rewards campaigns for building audiences. The more followers MASC gets, the more we unlock products, services, and festival fee waivers courtesy of Seed&Spark!


PLEDGE


You can make a contribution to MASC by making a pledge. We have to collect 80% of our crowdfunding goal to keep our funds. You can choose an incentive or make a pledge to a specific wishlist item. You can choose any pledge and incentive amount that fits your budget. Every pledge, not matter how much, gets us one step closer to bringing MASC into the world.


SHARE


Please share the campaign via social media, email, or word of mouth! This helps MASC expand its network and raise broader awareness about the film. 


Here are some examples. Feel free to copy and paste!


Help filmmaker @andymotz finish his first feature MASC, a documentary exploring alternative masculinity in America today. Support him & his team today at seedandspark.com/fund/masc


I'm so excited to see MASC! A documentary exploring alternative masculinity in America today. Help @andymotz & crew as they finish this film at seedandspark.com/fund/masc


Have you seen the trailer for @andymotz new film MASC?! Check it out here and help him finish the film at seedandspark.com/fund/masc




Ultimately supporting MASC not only supports independent film, but a film that pushes for social change and a better world. Thank you so much for your time and support!


P.S. make sure to check out the trailer



 

Wishlist

Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.

Composer

Costs $4,000

Every great film has a great score! Help MASC have compelling and beautiful music.

Sound Editing & Mixing

Costs $4,000

One of the key's to an indie films success is how good the sound is. Help MASC sound top tier.

Colorist

Costs $2,000

Colorists make the colors and images pop and feel cohesive.

Cash Pledge

Costs $0

About This Team

Andy Motz (he/him)- Director/Producer

Andy Motz is an award winning filmmaker. Andy works within and blends together narrative, documentary, and experimental formats to explore pressing issues including HIV awareness, queer identity, and masculinity. His films have been screened at festivals around the world including Cinema Diverse: Palm Springs LGBTQ Festival, Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Festival, Global Peace Festival, and Paris Shorts Film Festival.


Cecilio Escobar (he/him) - Editor

Cecilio is a video artist, editor, and technician living and working in Toronto. His art is self-reflective performative documentary. He most recently co-edited the Sundance award-winning film Framing Agnes.



Brandon Morrissey (he/him) - Producer


Brandon Morrissey is an American screenwriter, producer, filmmaker and actor based in Los Angeles and Seattle.


His career began in NYC where he wrote, directed, and produced The Waystation in the Stars, a Brooklyn-meets-Broadway sci-fi musical featuring an amazing cast of Broadway and independant film actors, including the wonderful (not to mention 2022 Tony-nominated) L Morgan Lee. The film premiered at the Milwaukee Film Festival and streams on lndieFlix.


Brandon focuses on gripping, emotionally relatable stories that focus on queer voices, highlight surprising intersections, and speak truth to power. He was recently awarded the Seattle International Screenwriting Honors. His one-hour television pilot Detestable, inspired by he and his partner’s experiences as queer kids in the evangelical Christian college scene, was a semi-finalist at Cinequest, the Atlanta Film Festival, and a Top-3 Finalist in Showtime’s Pilot Competition at the Nantucket Film Festival with Tony Cox. He performed in Hal Hartley's feature film Ned Rifle (starring Aubrey Plaza and Parker Posey) which premiered at TIFF and was a Berlinale Panorama selection, and produced an episode of NYC's The Sonnet Projects and the horror short The Wolves.


Taylor Rae (he/him) - Producer


Taylor Rae is a freelance producer based out of Los Angeles. The majority of his work over the last 10+ years has been in the commercial space, working with clients such as Nike, Apple, Lululemon, Microsoft, Amazon and Vans. More recently, he has enjoyed the opportunity to dive into independent film with a select handful of short films and passion projects To view more of Taylor's work, please visit taylorrae.co.


Giselle Gonzalez (she/her) - Cinematographer

Giselle works in the television and film industry as a camera assistant and cinematographer. She has worked on a vast number of projects, most recently, including Insecure, Us , Glow, and Destroyer. She also loves coffee, dogs, and biking.


Hank Groat (he/him) - Cinematographer


Hank is a Seattle-based filmmaker and cinematographer specializing in documentary filmmaking.


Current Team

Supporters

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