Nicole: A Documentary

Hello! I’m Derek, the producer and host of HODCast (the official podcast for the brilliant and popular Humans of Dublin FB page). 

Over the last year, and 31 episodes, I’ve spent time with some amazing Humans of Dublin, but this campaign centres around the powerful story of one guest in particular: her name is Nicole, and we met her way back in Episode 3  .

We're making a very special documentary about the life-changing decision she's made, and we need your support!

When you meet Nicole, you notice 2 things before anything else: first, her impressive head of blonde dreadlocks, and second, her larger than life laugh. Of course, the piercings and tattoos come into focus pretty quickly after that too, but what’s not obvious is that Nicole wasn’t always Nicole.

In fact, Nicole was born in a male body, and she only started living her life as a transgender woman when she came to live in Dublin a few years ago.

So, if you haven’t already heard it, do go and listen to that episode, but I have an exciting update that’s come about since then. Nicole is booked in very soon to go to London and complete the surgery to finally give her a body that matches her identity… and we’ve started the ball rolling on a documentary to follow her on this journey.

Over the next few months, with your help, we'll tell the story of how a little boy in a rural Danish town learned to make sense of and accept the thoughts racing around his head, and to take the massive decisions that led to Nicole returning to that town in a woman’s body and a very different life ahead of her.

Take a look below for a short snippet of what we have so far!

PLEASE try to help in any way you can, whether that’s donating a few quid, or sharing the link with your friends.

Thanks for reading this far and I really look forward to sharing Nicole’s story with you in the months to come.

Take care!
Derek
 


What do we need funding for?
We’re using our own equipment, paying for our own petrol etc. and doing this for free. So, all the funding will go towards the following:

-  Travel to, and around London and (very low budget!) accommodation to document Nicole’s experience of the operation and the early stages of this new chapter in her life story.

-  The same for Denmark, where Nicole will need to recuperate for a number of months after the operation, and we can explore the setting for her early life and the places that mattered to her as she came to grips with her situation.

-  To be honest, that’ll be expensive enough for the 2 of us, but any remaining funds, or over-funding, will be spent on polishing off the movie to an even higher standard and promoting it like crazy so we can have a positive impact on as many people as possible.

 
Why do I keep saying “we”? Who am I working with?
In a very pleasing twist of fate, Jamie Carney, from HODCast Ep. 10 is a film-school graduate and has generously agreed to do the filming without cost. What a sound human of Dublin! I’ve seen a few of his short documentaries (which were really professional and authentic) and one of them was even shortlisted recently for a national award.  The footage we have so far looks great (check back soon).

 
When will the finished documentary be released?
There’ll be a couple of months’ recovery and healing time for Nicole, so we’ll be meeting with her a few times over that period to see how she’s progressing on her life-changing journey. Add to that a fair bit of editing, and we’ll be ready to release the film into the wild in Autumn this year. We won’t be dragging our heels though – we can’t wait to share it.

 
What will you get in return for your support?
I’m hoping you’ll support this campaign so we can bring more understanding and compassion into the world through this documentary. But we’d also like to express our heartfelt thanks with a couple of little bonuses. So, according to what you’re willing and able to donate, here’s what you can expect:

€1 up to €25:
Online access to the documentary before it’s released to the public AND your name will be included in the credits at the end of the documentary as a record of your absolute soundness for all time!

€25 up to €99:
All the above, AND early access to a full-length podcast version of the documentary, including exclusive bits that won’t be in the final cut of the documentary.

€100 or more:
All the above, AND free attendance at our closed-door screening of the documentary, where you’ll see it before anyone else.

€200 or more:
All the above, AND I’ll meet you anywhere in Dublin to buy you a pint (or a swanky coffee if you prefer!) and we can talk about the podcast, the documentary, or anything else you'd like.

More than €500?! 
Ah here, that’s crazy talk!  Maybe you’re a company with a good heart – is that it?  Well then, for this level of donation I’ll happily treat you as sponsor for 4 episodes of HODCast and record a unique audio ad to play before and after those episodes.  Not a company? Just a generous individual? Well then, maybe there’s a charity you’d prefer I promote? We’ll work something out :-)

Want to know more about HODCast?
HODCast has one big aim: to talk to real, interesting people and learn about their life experiences, their beliefs and their take on what it means to be human.

In turn, this helps me and the show’s listeners to understand life from other people’s perspective and to make better, more meaningful connections with the people all around us.

Find out more about HODCast
Subscribe on iTunes
Listen and follow on Soundcloud

Thanks so much for reading this far! Please be a part in making this documentary and donate and/or share the link with your friends :-)