Womb Envy
Oakland, California | Film Short
LGBTQ, Drama
Motherhood isn’t just about having children. It’s about creating life—after loss, through love, against all odds. This film invites you to believe in new beginnings.
Green Light
This campaign raised $16,070 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
119 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Motherhood isn’t just about having children. It’s about creating life—after loss, through love, against all odds. This film invites you to believe in new beginnings.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
I'm Song Hà. I'm a trans woman who thought I could never have kids. And so I wrote this film to answer this question: What if I really could give birth? In the process of writing the film, I somehow healed my relationship with my mother. Or at least, the healing is under way.
WOMB ENVY is a short narrative film about Mara, a trans woman on the verge of making history. Tomorrow, she will undergo a groundbreaking womb transplant—the first of its kind—bringing her closer to the dream of becoming a mother. For Mara, it is not just a medical milestone, but an act of reclamation: of her body, her future, and her place within her family’s story.
On the eve of the surgery, Mara returns to visit her estranged mother, Mua, a Vietnamese refugee living in a nursing home. What begins as an ordinary act of care unfolds into a fraught reckoning with her mother's absence in her life. Before Mara can embrace the life she longs for, she must confront the woman who never truly accepted her as a daughter.
This film is my baby. Womb Envy isn’t speculative fiction—it’s a reclamation. It asserts that trans women are, and always have been, powerful life-givers. It also reminds us that all people are creators. We create through our bodies, our choices, our care, our dreams.
My work on this film alongside my collaborators has shown me that we are all more expansive than society allows us to be. All of us can write a new story of who we are. There are no limits.
This film isn’t just about one surgery, one family, or one identity. It’s about the universal longing to be seen and to bring something meaningful into the world.
The script is complete, the core creative team is assembled, and we’ve begun securing partnerships with AAPI Women Lead and QTViet Cafe to amplify the film’s reach. This campaign will raise just over $15,000 to cover production costs — from locations to equipment to paying our trans and refugee cast and crew.
With your support, we will film by the end of this year and begin post-production immediately after. Once complete, Womb Envy will be submitted to top film festivals, screened in community spaces, and released digitally for all supporters. Backers will be the first to receive exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes content, and early access to the finished film.
Your part in this story matters.
- Pledge: Every contribution, no matter the size, moves us closer to production.
- Follow: Hit the “Follow” button on this campaign so you get updates and help our visibility.
- Share: Let your networks know why Womb Envy matters.
We want to share utmost gratitude to our Executive Producers: Tourmaline, Kris Sugatan, Connie Wun, Gabrielle Nguyen, and Chella Man. And to our organizational sponsors QTVietCafe, Azn Americana, and AAPI Women Lead. Thank you to Danielle Venne for the original music for the pitch video!
If you'd like to connect with us, email [email protected]
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast
Costs $1,800
Intentional, fair pay for trans and BIPOC actors whose emotional depth and cultural labor anchor this story.
Crew
Costs $4,750
Equitable compensation for our trans, queer, and BIPOC crew across cinematography, lighting, sound, art, and production support.
Production Design
Costs $980
Creating layered spaces—temples, oceans, kitchens, care homes—that hold memory, ritual, and rebirth.
Equipment Rentals
Costs $3,500
Camera, lighting, grip, and sound rentals that shape the film’s visual and emotional language.
Locations & Permits
Costs $1,400
Covering fees for culturally and emotionally essential locations like the temple, nursing home, and oceanfront.
Production Insurance
Costs $1,000
Coverage to protect everyone and everything on set.
Accessibility
Costs $950
Captions, Vietnamese-English subtitles.
Outreach & Impact
Costs $1,300
Community screenings, film festival submissions, and trans-led distribution strategies.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
We’re a team of trans, queer, and BIPOC creatives who believe storytelling can be a portal for healing, reclamation, and reimagining what’s possible.
Our collaborators span across film, sound, ritual, and narrative strategy — each bringing deep intention and lived experience to the project. From our cinematographer to our sound designer, this team is grounded in care and trust. We've worked across independent film, community-centered media, and movement spaces — and now we're coming together to tell a story that is both deeply personal and powerfully collective.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
I'm Song Hà. I'm a trans woman who thought I could never have kids. And so I wrote this film to answer this question: What if I really could give birth? In the process of writing the film, I somehow healed my relationship with my mother. Or at least, the healing is under way.
WOMB ENVY is a short narrative film about Mara, a trans woman on the verge of making history. Tomorrow, she will undergo a groundbreaking womb transplant—the first of its kind—bringing her closer to the dream of becoming a mother. For Mara, it is not just a medical milestone, but an act of reclamation: of her body, her future, and her place within her family’s story.
On the eve of the surgery, Mara returns to visit her estranged mother, Mua, a Vietnamese refugee living in a nursing home. What begins as an ordinary act of care unfolds into a fraught reckoning with her mother's absence in her life. Before Mara can embrace the life she longs for, she must confront the woman who never truly accepted her as a daughter.
This film is my baby. Womb Envy isn’t speculative fiction—it’s a reclamation. It asserts that trans women are, and always have been, powerful life-givers. It also reminds us that all people are creators. We create through our bodies, our choices, our care, our dreams.
My work on this film alongside my collaborators has shown me that we are all more expansive than society allows us to be. All of us can write a new story of who we are. There are no limits.
This film isn’t just about one surgery, one family, or one identity. It’s about the universal longing to be seen and to bring something meaningful into the world.
The script is complete, the core creative team is assembled, and we’ve begun securing partnerships with AAPI Women Lead and QTViet Cafe to amplify the film’s reach. This campaign will raise just over $15,000 to cover production costs — from locations to equipment to paying our trans and refugee cast and crew.
With your support, we will film by the end of this year and begin post-production immediately after. Once complete, Womb Envy will be submitted to top film festivals, screened in community spaces, and released digitally for all supporters. Backers will be the first to receive exclusive updates, behind-the-scenes content, and early access to the finished film.
Your part in this story matters.
- Pledge: Every contribution, no matter the size, moves us closer to production.
- Follow: Hit the “Follow” button on this campaign so you get updates and help our visibility.
- Share: Let your networks know why Womb Envy matters.
We want to share utmost gratitude to our Executive Producers: Tourmaline, Kris Sugatan, Connie Wun, Gabrielle Nguyen, and Chella Man. And to our organizational sponsors QTVietCafe, Azn Americana, and AAPI Women Lead. Thank you to Danielle Venne for the original music for the pitch video!
If you'd like to connect with us, email [email protected]
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Cast
Costs $1,800
Intentional, fair pay for trans and BIPOC actors whose emotional depth and cultural labor anchor this story.
Crew
Costs $4,750
Equitable compensation for our trans, queer, and BIPOC crew across cinematography, lighting, sound, art, and production support.
Production Design
Costs $980
Creating layered spaces—temples, oceans, kitchens, care homes—that hold memory, ritual, and rebirth.
Equipment Rentals
Costs $3,500
Camera, lighting, grip, and sound rentals that shape the film’s visual and emotional language.
Locations & Permits
Costs $1,400
Covering fees for culturally and emotionally essential locations like the temple, nursing home, and oceanfront.
Production Insurance
Costs $1,000
Coverage to protect everyone and everything on set.
Accessibility
Costs $950
Captions, Vietnamese-English subtitles.
Outreach & Impact
Costs $1,300
Community screenings, film festival submissions, and trans-led distribution strategies.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
We’re a team of trans, queer, and BIPOC creatives who believe storytelling can be a portal for healing, reclamation, and reimagining what’s possible.
Our collaborators span across film, sound, ritual, and narrative strategy — each bringing deep intention and lived experience to the project. From our cinematographer to our sound designer, this team is grounded in care and trust. We've worked across independent film, community-centered media, and movement spaces — and now we're coming together to tell a story that is both deeply personal and powerfully collective.