Read more about the article Support “Frame by Frame” on Kickstarter

Support “Frame by Frame” on Kickstarter

For filmmaker and multimedia journalist Mo Scarpelli, Frame by Frame is an opportunity to give a voice to those relegated to silence. Developed with filmmaker Alexandria Bombach, the character-driven feature-length documentary follows the story of four Afghan photographers to explore the country's recent revolution in local photojournalism. You can help complete their project on Kickstarter. Background In 1996, the Taliban banned photography in Afghanistan. Since the regime was removed from Kabul in 2001, photography has become an outlet for Afghans determined to show the hidden stories of their country. "The need for local journalism in Afghanistan couldn't be more important than it is right now," says Scarpelli. "To build democracy and independence, to hold those in power accountable, to drive social and political change. This is going to be an incredible story of what that means." The Film The film chronicles Afghan photojournalists seizing a unique opportunity to build democracy in a…

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Read more about the article Kick-start ‘Upstate Girls’

Kick-start ‘Upstate Girls’

For nearly a decade, photographer Brenda Ann Kenneally has followed the lives of a group of young women living in Upstate New York. The stories of the women of Troy, NY are an intimate and powerful look at the cycle of class separation and economic inequality facing many Americans today. Working in collaboration with students at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and the Visual Studies Workshop (VSW), Kenneally has been building a multi-platform documentary titled Upstate Girls to tell these stories. The project has now reached a point where its contributors’ hard work and good intentions need financial support. You can help them complete their work on Kickstarter. Background According to the 2010 census approximately 20% of the households in Troy are headed by single females. Their jobs have evolved from the factory work of the industrial revolution that earned Troy the name “Collar City” to the post industrial service sector…

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Read more about the article Help Complete “A Photographic Memory” on Kickstarter

Help Complete “A Photographic Memory” on Kickstarter

For A Photographic Memory, filmmaker Rachel Seed creates a posthumous mother-daughter collaboration that examines the careers of some of the most influential photographers in history. Seed’s mother, filmmaker and journalist Sheila Turner-Seed, passed away when Seed was just 18 months old. But she left behind a treasure trove of rare interviews with the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Cornell Capa, Lisette Model, William Albert Allard, and others. A Photographic Memory, weaves together outtakes of this rare footage with follow-up interviews, reconnecting the women through their shared passion for photography. You can help bring this piece of history to completion on Kickstarter. Background In the early 70’s, Shelia Turner-Seed interviewed photographic icons for an award-winning collaboration with the International Center of Photography (ICP) entitled Images of Man. The raw interviews for the project sat in ICP offices, like a time capsule, since her sudden death in 1979. Thanks to a generous donation…

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Read more about the article Support “Common Ground: The Book” on Kickstarter

Support “Common Ground: The Book” on Kickstarter

The American family farm gives way to a subdivision - a critical cultural shift across the U.S. Common Ground is a 14-year document of this transition, through the Cagwins and the Grabenhofers, two families who love the same plot of land. See the project at http://mediastorm.com/publication/common-ground In 2008, MediaStorm had the privilege of working with Chicago Tribune photographer Scott Strazzante on Common Ground, bringing to life his documentation of the disappearance of the American family farm, and the grave cultural and environmental impact of the resulting suburban sprawl. In over 14 years of looking and listening, Scott set judgment aside as he explored the evolution of one plot of Illinois farmland, and the people who live their lives there. Now Scott hopes to give this personal project permanence in book form. And he needs your support to do it. Background Common Ground started as just another daily assignment for a suburban Chicago…

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Bring it to the table

Support ‘Bring it to the Table’ on Kickstarter

Talking Eyes Media (TEM), a non-profit organization with a long history of producing powerful media for pressing issues, needs your support for their Bring it to the Table Kickstarter campaign. What is Bring it to the Table? It's a video and web project that brings citizens together around issues that normally tear us apart. The Problem Somewhere along the line, politics replaced sex as the one thing in America we don't discuss in mixed company – even amongst friends and family. Democracy is founded on robust dialogue, and if we can't have conversations across party lines, democracy doesn't work. The Solution Bring it to the Table is a participatory online platform, community engagement campaign, and a series of webisodes aimed at bridging political divides and elevating the national conversation. The project is for those who are tired of hyper-partisanship and want to steer political discourse back into the hands of the American…

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