Appeal for Donation for the HerStory Films Project

There is no shortage of fictional romantic stories featuring women in Malaysia, from theatrical releases to made-for-TV movies to romance novels, and if entertainment features in newspapers and Internet message boards are any indication, these have found great commercial appeal among women of all ages and background., but told from the perspective of others, and usually by men. However, how many of these stories actually about Malaysian women’s real-life experiences of love and desire?

The HerStory Films Project seeks to fill in the gap and give voice to provide a medium and platform for the voices of Malaysian women of all ages, ethnicities, backgrounds, beliefs and orientations, to share their stories of falling in—and out of—love. The project invites women to share their stories of love, sex and desire in written or audio form, and out of these stories, twenty will be selected for a screenplay workshop to be made into short films with the help of women filmmakers in the country, such as Bernice Chauly, Lina Tan, Mislina Mustaffa and others.

The selected storytellers will workshop their stories with Herstory organizers and women filmmakers—who may be the storytellers themselves—and out of the twenty, five or more will be selected for short films to be shown nation-wide.

The project is supported by a collective of filmmakers, writers, educators and media personalities who are keen on creating spaces for Malaysian women to come together and learn how to share their stories with others using film and the Internet: Mien Lor, an independent filmmaker and initiator of the HerStory Films Project; and a selection and advisory committee comprised of Bernice Chauly, Mislina Mustaffa, Angela M. Kuga Thas and Lina Tan.

Currently, the HerStory Films Project is completing the first phase of the project: the collection of stories. Thus far, it has gathered stories from a broad cross-section of Malaysian women, from city-based professionals to women from the estates, a number of whom come from marginalised backgrounds, who would otherwise never have the opportunity to share their lives before an audience. We are appealing to you for [donation/sponsorship/funding] for the upcoming phases of the HerStory Films Project. We are seeking the bare minimum of RM5,000/- for each short film, to a total of RM50,000/-. The making of a short film would usually cost up to RM10,000/- a film, including rental of equipment and payment for crew and casts. However, we hope to get support from friends in the arts community for a token fee, to cover for their meals and transport. Funding is also crucial for the screenings and workshops, where we would like to bring the films all around Malaysia and conduct story-telling workshops with the women in the places we go. We see HerStory Films Project as a catalyst to documenting oral herstory of women in Malaysia.

For more information on the HerStory Films Project, please visit our website at . Enclosed are the flyer and more detailed information of the project. To find out how to contribute to the project, please contact:

Kerina Francis Email: kerinafrancis@gmail.com Phone: 016-2021850

Sincerely,

Kerina Francis

HerStory Chief Fund-Raiser