The last six months have been busy for filmmaker Bonnie Blue Edwards. She raised money through the Kickstarter crowdfunding site for her documentary Out in Alabama, filmed footage for the documentary and now is nearing post-production stages.
The film is a feature-length look at the communities in Alabama where rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals are embraced. The documentary aims to provide an intimate view of people who defy prejudice and spotlight continued hope and redemption in Alabama.
The next step is a fundraiser set for 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Nov. 1 at Avondale Brewery.
“The filming we did in June was really tremendous and beautiful…really incredible,” says Edwards.
She and a videographer went to various events in the Birmingham metro area, including the annual gay pride parade, a bingo night at Birmingham AIDS Outreach and a drag queen show. “We went to as many venues as we possibly could,” Edwards says.
They also filmed interviews with eight individuals and couples in Birmingham and Rainbow City.
Edwards, who lives in New York City, says she and her videographer will spend five more days in November filming in places that they didn’t have the time or money to do in June. Then the post-production stages will begin.
Edwards, a University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate who grew up in the Birmingham area, had been in planning stages for Out in Alabama for about six months when she came to Birmingham in the spring to get footage for a promo video for the Kickstarter campaign. The campaign successfully raised $25,000 for the documentary in May.
“We reached our goal. That was exciting. Those funds were used for all of our production,” she says. “Now we are still raising funds for post-production and marketing. We still have about $50,000 left to raise.”
Out in Alabama gained a lot of attention as the result of the Kickstarter campaign. “We were Moviemaker Magazine’s pick of the week and were in publications nationally as well as the UK,” Edwards says.
She says there have been no major stumbling blocks in the process. “My major problem is there is such an abundance of stories and the vibe of the [Birmingham] area is of people wanting to share their stories. My main challenge was in having enough time,” she says.
In fact, she is aware of so many stories that she is considering doing a second documentary later.
Edwards says she will enjoy the final days of filming and is “really happy to be getting closer and closer” to completion of her project.
The filmmaker is happy to have Academy Award-winner Cynthia Wade acting as a consultant on Out in Alabama. Wade is known for her Cinemax/LOGO short documentary Freeheld about a dying policewoman fighting to leave her pension to her female life partner. This film is now in production as a major motion picture starring Julianne Moore, Ellen Page and Steve Carell.
Work will move quickly on Out in Alabama. “I’ll have it completed — a final cut — by March of 2015,” Edwards says.
She expects to have the documentary in film festivals in 2016. “It depends on which festivals we get into. … Different festivals have different requirements,” she says. For example, the Sundance festival mandates that films cannot be shown elsewhere before being screened at Sundance.
“We will plan on screening it at festivals and then in communities throughout the South,” says Edwards, who also hopes to take the documentary on a college tour to show it to students.
Edwards is excited about the fundraiser, which is being organized by Mel Hammons, a popular Birmingham hairstylist.
The event will feature live music by local musicians the Heavy Hearts, the Matt Herren Band, Kat Delacruz and Eric & Garland. There will be a showing of sneak-peek footage as well as a chance to meet the Edwards and ask her questions. Tickets will be available at the door for $7.
“We have some supporters who are coming from Montgomery,” Edwards says. Plans also call for individuals who have been interviewed for the documentary to participate in the fundraiser.
Out in Alabama is fiscally sponsored by the International Documentary Association and donations are tax-deductible.
For more information and to see footage from the film, visit facebook.com/outinalabama.