Help These Young Brazilian Filmmakers Make A Student Film!

A word from the fundraiser:

Hello! I've started this GoFundMe campaign to help my friend Arthur make this student film!

Unfortunately, GoFundMe is not available in Brazil, so I'll be acting as an intermediary! The rest will be in Arthur's own words.

Milagres Desajustados or A Chicken’s Miracle in English, is a student film project for graduation in Cinema and Audiovisual Studies for the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF).

A Chicken’s Miracle tells the story of Laura, a young and Black Brazilian girl who is also the only person in her family to pursue higher education. As a med student, Laura struggles with her ambition to become a teacher instead of a doctor, while at the same time supporting her brother Elias, an addict and trouble maker. We follow the siblings as they live day to day, going to the small church of their neighborhood and finding ways to navigate their community, unaware of the tragedy that will soon strike their family.

When people think of Brazil, they think of Rio de Janeiro – of the beautiful beaches and the never-ending bohemian way of life. However, the real heart of Rio is within the smaller communities beyond of the capitol axis. There is a world of untold stories to be found in these humble but beautiful lives, from the smallest gestures of faith to the greatest acts of bravery.

As a native to these small towns myself, I feel I have a responsibility to tell tales of this place, marginalized by our country and struggling still with what little is thrown our way. We do not want to be forgotten, our voices aim towards film making! The power to help us is within your hands!

Brazil is a third world country, poverty-stricken and dominated by elitism – a difficult environment for a Black marginalized film maker to begin a career. I will be honest with you, creating quality art is expensive in my country; from the cameras we need, to the costs of food, to our film crew. Prices here are roughly five times what you would find in countries like the US.

So allow me to be direct – if a bit desperate – but if 80 people (yes, just that!) donate $25 (yup! just that!) we will have already covered 85% of our budget expenses. $2,000 USD is roughly R$10,000 (Brazilian Real), covering most of our needs to obtain equipment, fund the art department and much more! In many countries, $25 might buy you a t-shirt, or a decent lunch, but here it has the power to give a voice to a marginalized community and help us find our place in the world of cinema!

A Chicken’s Miracle will be filmed entirely in the neighborhood I grew up in – the small town of Mesquita in Rio de Janeiro – with help from my neighbors, family friends, the church’s pastor, the owners of the local market, and even a chicken that lives in the community! This film is a true community effort, much in the spirit of Spike Lee’s work, where everyone involved gets to contribute to the art in their own way!

Some of our inspirations include:

Where do things stand right now?

We already have a full cast of young, up and coming actors, as well as a steadily growing film crew, ready to bring this story to life in June of this year!

You heard right! We have roughly two months to fund our film (an unfortunate result of our university schedule) and we are eager to graduate this semester! This is a race against the clock, folks!

Will I receive credit for my donation?

By helping us, you’ll earn a spot in the credits of our movie! Our donation tiers are:

Where can I watch the film when it's done?

After circulating through some film festivals and private film circuits, this short film will be available for free on YouTube, and we will include subtitles in both English and Spanish!

Thanks again for your attention and we hope we can count on your support!