As a transgender-lead team, we are dedicated to making films that create space for self-representation of marginalized, vulnerable communities. Our mission is to put faces to the trans athletes the public loves to argue about, replacing politics with stories of real people living real lives.

Meet Attacknid, Ebenezer Bruise, and Link 182

Attacknid (they/them), is a 12-year-old nonbinary skater and junior coach for Salem, Oregon’s recreational youth league, the Cherry Blossoms. Last year they skated with their home team, but this year they made it onto the charter team and will be competing on a national level for the first time.

Teammates Link #182 (they/them) and Ebenezer Bruise (they/them) of Portland’s Rose City Rollers are established transmasculine derby players for one of the USA's most famous derby leagues. Their team, the High Rollers, just won a tough victory at their season opener and are excited to keep the momentum going this season, maybe even win championships!

We're going to bring their game to your screen.

We’ll watch Link and Bruise and the changes they undergo as they quest for victory this season. Meanwhile, Attacknid will make friendships with their team while managing the nerves and pressure that come with national competition. We will follow Link, Bruise, and Attacknid’s derby lives from MVP awards to penalty box visits and the joys and struggles of grassroots athletics. We will also interview other derby players and experts to learn about the history of queer representation in this special sport and how other athletic programs can follow it's example.

Why we're making this film:

As transgender individuals gain more visibility in society, there have been efforts to prevent them from participating in certain aspects of everyday life, including athletics. Several states in the US have passed laws prohibiting transgender individuals from competing on teams that align with their gender identity. Some of these laws also allow individuals to sue transgender athletes, their school districts, and higher education institutions if they believe they have been harmed by the participation of a trans athlete. At present, there are over a dozen such bills being proposed or currently in effect across the country. These laws often misuse Title IX and rely on false scientific claims to justify their belief that transgender athletes have an unfair advantage. Those who hold anti-trans views are using sports as a literal playing field to further their agenda of social exclusion.

While sports may seem like a minor issue compared to other forms of discrimination against the transgender community, it is these smaller issues that contribute to a larger push to exclude trans individuals from society. This push can lead to the passage of more harmful legislation. Several US states have already passed laws that prohibit the teaching of transgender-related topics in schools, such as identity, history, and health. Other proposed laws put transgender individuals at risk of losing access to essential aspects of life such as employment, education, affirming healthcare, housing, and legal protections against discrimination and violence.

A film humanizing trans athletes has the potential to change how society thinks about us.

This can help the vulnerable trans community at a time when so much is at stake. We seek to use roller derby as an entertainment landscape to normalize the role of trans people in sports - and therefore in society as a whole. Whether or not someone supports transgender rights often depends on whether or not they have gotten to know any transgender people. Our audience will have the opportunity to do just that. 

We are Sosha Belle and Vivian Veidt, and together we are Chiral Filmworks. We are coming out of the successful completion of our first feature documentary, "Distance: Sex Work in the Pandemic," which you can learn all about here: seedandspark.com/fund/distance-doc . 

Our Filmmaking Plan

Project Stage and Timeline

The film is currently in early production, during which we are filming exposition, interviews with skaters, and b-roll relating to their non-derby life. The production timeline will be based upon the roller derby season from January to July, during which we will be filming practices, bouts, and other league activities and making assembly edits. Competition heats up in March-June, during which time there will be a significant number of filming days and after which we will wrap. Starting in July 2023 we will film exit interviews and begin post-production editing, and the film should be completed in September of 2023. 

Distribution Plan

We have several different avenues of distribution we will be pursuing, begining with several requested "pop-up" screenings for derby leauges and their fans. We will also have Portland screenings at the Hollywood and Laurelhurst theaters, and we are planning on a festival run. We will specifically be prioritizing LGBTQ-focused film festivals. We also are looking at sports film festivals that are currently in need of diverse representation. Our tour of the festival circuit will be a chance to pick up a commercial distributor; we could also begin submitting through aggregators for streaming service distribution. Options under consideration include the ESPN streaming service through Disney Plus, Curiosity Stream, Frameline, Hulu, and Netflix.

Stretch Goals

If we are able to exceed our goal, we are hoping to travel the US beyond the Pacific Northwest to interview even more trans skaters with a larger variety of different experiences. We would also love to take our skaters to Rollercon in Las Vegas and film their experiences interacting on a national stage. There is a lot of neat historical footage of derby that we would love to licence for educational segments. Lastly, every film is better with a great soundtrack. If this crowdfund really kicks butt, a big dream of ours is to hire a transgender composer to create an original score for the film.

Your Pledge is Tax Deductable!

"Pack is Here" is a fiscally sponsored project of the International Documentary Association (IDA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions in support of "Pack is Here" are payable to IDA and are tax-deductible, minus the value of any goods or services received, as allowed by law. If you would like to deduct your entire donation, simply decline all incentives at checkout.

Other Ways You Can Help

We are currently in need of representation of transfeminine/trans women skaters. If you are one or know somebody who might want to participate, please reach out to us at [email protected]. Another super easy way to help is to follow and share our project on social media so that we can reach as many potential supporters as possible.

Thank you for joining our team of supporters. We couldn't do this without you!