Help Fund Kayan Cultural Documentary

Help us share the story of the Kayan community of Long Pilah, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo.

It is a story story of cultural traditions slipping away in the face of rapid modernization, and a story of two families coming together from opposite sides of the world.

We are a small, family-run production company out of Detroit, Michigan. Heading up this project are the four Sheufelt siblings, who have built careers for themselves in music, tv, and video production, photography, visual arts, and writing. While this is far from our first collaborative film project, it is our first foray into documentary filmmaking. It is an ambitious first film, but also a job we couldn't pass up, because the idea came from our cousin, Cameron Sheufelt, and his wife Rebecca, a member of the Kayan tribe.

The Kayan are one of several groups indigenous to Borneo whose lifestyles are quickly changing as modernization and the influence of the logging and palm oil industries reach deeper into remote regions of the island.

This December, we will be traveling to Long Pilah with all of our gear to document the traditional Kayan wedding ceremony of Cameron and Rebecca, which is happening in conjunction with the village's week-long holiday celebration.

We are working to secure grant funding to support a second, more in-depth round of filming the following summer, but for this first expedition, we need your help. While we have been in talks about this project for nearly a year, the distance and time difference have made for slow planning, and there have been few grant opportunities available that fit the timeline since we have solidified our plans for December. As a result, this first round of travel and filming will be almost entirely self-funded, so we're turning to our friends, family, and communities to help us get there. The funds we raise will go towards mitigating personal costs incurred from airfare, overland travel, lodging on the way to Long Pilah, and minor equipment upgrades.

Any contribution is greatly appreciated, both by our small collective of creatives and by Rebecca's community in Long Pilah, who are excited about the opportunity to share a glimpse of their lives and culture with the world beyond Malaysia.

To learn more, please visit kayanarchives.org. Soon we will have an online store up, as well as an email list so that we can spread the word about upcoming fundraising events.

Thank you for helping us make this film happen!