Weird and Wonderful is a feature length documentary that tells the story of the rise and fight of the disability rights movement from the late 1960′s until today. Why did people with disabilities rise up and start complaining about their lot. Who were the leaders of this rights movement and how did they get this message out? Disability rights is possibly the last minority revolt following on from the women’s movement, the civil rights movement in the US, the indigenous rights movements in countries like Australia and the gay right movement. Unlike other rights movements it’s one that any of us can join at any time by virtue of accident or illness, and yet so far this story has barely be seen as worthy of attention… certainly never in Australia.
Filmmaker Sarah Barton has been working on this documentary for more than 4 years and is now in the editing phase. She and her team are currently seeking Crowdfunding through Pozible and invite you to pledge a donation between now and March 15th 2013.
As a filmmaker, Weird and Wonderful is really important to Sarah as she has been making documentaries about disability and disability rights for nearly 20 years and wanted to make a film that draws on the knowledge she’s accumulated over the years and showcases many of the amazing people and stories she’s come across. She also really wanted this film to be part of a meaningful discourse about disability and to signal a move on from stories that focus solely on “inspirational heroes” and “tragic victims”. She hopes you’ll want to be a part of this exciting and important documentary by supporting this crowd funding campaign.
Crowdfunding is “the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organisations.” It’s the best way to mobilise support for great creative projects, that otherwise cannot attract the funding from traditional sources and therefore transforms them from ideas into realities.
Pozible is a crowdfunding platform and community for anyone’s creative projects and ideas. Developed for artists, musicians, filmmakers, journalists, designers, entrepreneurs, inventors, event organisers, software developers and all creative-minded people, to help them make great things pozzible.
Watch the “Weird and Wonderful” documentary teaser and then go to the Pozible Website (see link below the YouTube Video) to see how you can share in this worthwhile project.
Click Here to See “Weird and Wonderful” on the Pozible Website
The names of activists are not famous yet they are people who have literally changed the world we live in: Bob Kafka, Colin Barnes, Johnny Crescendo, Lesley Hall, Kitty Cone, Zona Roberts, Mike Letch, and many more have changed our schools, buildings, buses, footpaths, offices, workplaces, houses and most of all they have changed our perceptions when it comes to what is possible with a disability.
These stories come from the UK, America and Australia and are woven together to tell a compelling cultural and political story from the earliest murmurings of protest from those segregated in institutions through a series of extraordinary battles that disabled people fought to be seen, heard and participate in society.
Research for this film began in 2008 and filming took place in the UK, Switzerland and America in 2010 followed by further filming in Australia through 2011 and 2012. Archives from across the world have been collected and the filmmakers are currently creating an assembly edit. So far this project has attracted a total of $125,000 from Film Victoria, the City of Melbourne, Screen Australia, A Churchill Fellowship, the Victorian Department of Human Services and Yooralla. The money so far has paid for research and filming in Australia, the UK, Switzerland and USA.
Interviews have been recorded, much archival footage has been uncovered, and the assembly edit is well underway. The next step is that the Pozible crowd funding dollars will be used to pay editor Rob Murphy to create a fine cut. From there we will be seeking completion funding to pay for archival rights and final grading and sound mixing. The money for the edit is a crucial stage in getting this project into shape so the structure, style and tone of the film can be fully appreciated.