Help us share Moorea's Story of Joy

Christine Fugate is organizing this fundraiser.

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Moorea Howson was born with Williams Syndrome, an incurable rare genetic condition that causes cardiovascular issues, developmental delays, and learning challenges. She has had over nine heart procedures and countless surgeries. Yet, she continues to embrace life with excitement, gratitude and hope. She has competed in Special Olympics, studied EMT training in high school, and was chosen Homecoming Queen by her peers.

"The movie is about hope, acceptance and loving each other, whether we have a disability or not."

-Moorea

QUEEN MOOREA

Now, Moorea and her family want to share their story of hope, joy and love. For the past six years, their friend Christine Fugate has followed Moorea's life for a documentary film, Queen Moorea. The film shows Moorea sharing secrets with Arianna, a BFF who lives with Arthrogryposis and Ocular Motor Apraxia. Moorea's friend, Jordan, lives with ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder. All three are working hard to create a life for themselves in a world that views them only as disabled.

HELP MOOREA TELL HER STORY

The documentary, Queen Moorea, is almost complete and ready to screen in film festivals and around the country, but we need to raise money for the post production, the most expensive part of making a film. By making a donation, you will be helping us finish the film, pay the artists helping us, and help share this message of hope, love and joy. Moorea's passion to tell her own story has fueled us this far, and we ask that you help make her dream a reality.

By donating, you will

Bring Queen Moorea to big and little screens across the country
Allow the film to be used for fundraising for genetic research and cures
Be a part of Team Moorea who have given their time and talent to the film

Moorea and our team are so grateful for your help. Each person will be thanked on our website!

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

Christine Fugate met Moorea when she was going through treatment for cancer. They became instant friends and in the words of Moorea, "We are both survivors." When Christine watched Moorea win Homecoming Queen in 2016, she decided to start filming Moorea and all those she touches with her joyful spirit. The Howson family also agreed to be a part of the story. Robert Howson says, "We did the film to give hope to other families."

Christine is an award-winning producer and director whose work has screened in theaters and broadcast on channels around the world. She has produced pilots and programming for networks including Discovery, VH1, Disney, A&E, Sundance, Travel Channel, PBS and HBO. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Documentary and Narrative Film at Chapman University. Queen of Hearts has been her passion project for the past six years.

WHO IS TEAM MOOREA?

Team Moorea is headed up by Christine Fugate who has worked with a diverse group of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ artists and artists with disabilities. We are blessed to have so many wonderful people devote their time to this project. The project has been funded for the past six years by a generous retired school teacher, a grant from Chapman, and Christine's credit cards. But we are maxed out and need your help right away so we can get the film out in 2022 to film festivals and distributors. We will do the festival circuit, community outreach screenings and meet with streaming services who have already expressed an interest in the film.

FUNDING NEEDED RIGHT AWAY

$18,000: Film Completion

There are important national festivals that, if the film is finished, we will be able to screen. We can not do that without completing the following areas. All of our vendors have reduced their prices, but we still must pay these labor intensive jobs to complete the film. This funding will go straight to the following vendors:

Music

Write and record music for the film in a recording studio - COMPLETE

Sound Design and Mix

Editing out background noise, clean up dialogue and mix on a mixing stage - COMPLETE

Animation - COMPLETE

Create the titles, text and animation that identifies each location and person in the film

Color Grading - COMPLETE

Color Editor goes through the movie frame by frame with specialized program to adjust the color for both mood, consistency and smoothing out the footage shot over six years with three camera.

Closed Captioning - COMPLETE

Captions must be created and embedded in the film to make the film accessible to all.

Conforming - COMPLETE

The editor takes all of the elements and merges them together and outputs the final film for screening and distribution.

$5,000: Artistic Completion

Enable Christine and the team to submit the film to every top film festival in the world, as well as cover legal fees, E&O insurance, and marketing materials.

$3,000 Impact and Outreach

Collaborate with professionals to support an expanded outreach plan dedicated to raising awareness of growing up with a disability and finding a career that works for everyone. Team Moorea is dreaming large and will hire the best public relations team we can for a continued strategy plan.

LINKS

www.williamsyndrome.org

www.queenmoorea.com