River Mamma - help US tell the story of many...

++++++++ UPDATE++++++++ (April 2024) WE HAVE COMPLETED RIVER MAMMA AND EXCITED TO HAVE OUR FIRST CAST | CREW SCREENING. WE STILL NEED FUNDS FOR OUR FESTIVAL AND MARKETING CAMPAIGN, SO A GIFT OF SMALL DONATIONS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THIS JOURNEY WITH US..!

++++++ UPDATE++++(March 2024) COMPLETED SHOOTING, MUSIC & EDITING, ONTO THE FINISH LINE.

...IT CONTINUES TO BE A GREAT HONOR MAKING THIS FILM... JOIN US!

River Mamma centers on the moving story of a transgender parent who is faced with a gut-wrenching decision after the violent death of her lover.

In 2020, the Human Rights Campaign reported a distressing statistic: 44 transgender or gender non-conforming individuals were fatally shot or killed through violent means, with a significant portion being Black or Latinx trans women. This sobering reality highlights the dire consequences of prejudice and discrimination.

"River Mamma" serves as a poignant narrative reflecting on the pervasive ignorance used as cultural tools to deprive individuals like Jackson/Jacqueline of their fundamental rights and the love they hold for their children. In Jamaica, where legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals are virtually non-existent and subject to punishment, Jackson/Jacqueline grapples with the impending transition to a female identity amidst the turmoil of losing contact with her son, Michael. Facing hostility from her fundamentalist father and navigating the dangers of the gullies, Jackson/Jacqueline confronts the harsh realities of existence.

As a storyteller, intimately familiar with the pressures of conforming to cultural norms within a religious upbringing, I draw from personal experiences of familial rejection due to my own choices. Through this narrative, director, Arun Vir aims to explore the complexities of asserting one's identity while navigating the responsibilities of parenthood.

My collaboration with Stefhen Bryan, a fellow Jamaican and producer, adds depth to this narrative. Stefhen's upbringing in a conservative religious commune, coupled with witnessing the horrific public burning of two gay men in Kingston, spurred his own journey of questioning his mother's beliefs. Together, we aim to shed light on the struggles faced by individuals grappling with identity and acceptance within culturally oppressive environments.

River Mamma shows the strength and resilience of transgender individuals, and what it takes to preserve self, and love, at all costs.

To that end, we're inviting you to help us shift attitudes and make the change we desperately need in our world.

Your donations enable us to pay for hard production costs to COMPLETE River Mamma and get it to a screen near you!

OUR PITCH TRAILER, CHECK IT OUT:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/txfktkrffe4lsc4/River%20Mamma%20Crowdfunding.%20FINAL.mp4?dl=0

++++++ UPDATE++++(July 2023) AN INCREDIBLE CAST OF ACTORS HAS BLESSED THIS STORY. PLEASE WELCOME JERIS DUPREE, OSCAR JORDAN, SHAMAR PHILIPPE, URE EGBUHO AND THAREN TODD, JR. WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU.

+++++UPDATE++++ (April 2023) WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE WE HAVE RAISED AN ADDITIONAL $15K FROM A PRIVATE DONOR.

+++++BREAKING NEWS++++ (AUGUST 2022) RIVER MAMMA ADVANCES TO THE SCREENCRAFT SEMI-FINALIST ROUND

+++++BREAKING NEWS++++ (MAY 2023) CINEMATOGRAPHER, JOSH HARRISON (THE TERMINAL LIST, NOCTURNE, ATYPICAL) HAS JOINED RIVER MAMMA.

TEAM RIVER MAMMA

Arun Vir - writer, director, producer

Crisscrossing London, New York, and Los Angeles, award-winning filmmaker Vir began her journey as Reader for Nickelodeon and Nuyorican Poets Cafe in NYC. Her screenplay, The Last Weekend, earned her Recipient of the Directing for Women program in Los Angeles, where she transitioned and made her directorial debut. The Last Weekend starring Suzanne Douglas, took "Best Short" at the Pan African Film Festival and was "Nominated" by the African Movie Academy Awards. During this period, a single mother, Arun worked multiple jobs, forging a career as a narrative and digital content producer while writing her stories. In 2016, her screenplay Suburban Turban was voted Nicholl Finalist by the Academy Nicholl. She has written and directed several shorts, including RESET - a story exploring recovery and addiction through the eyes of a mixed-race teen. Arun is a Humanitas New Voices Finalist and Universal Writers on the Verge Semi-Finalist.

Stefhen Bryan - playwright, producer

Stefhen is the author of the critically acclaimed ‘Black Passenger Yellow Cabs: A Memoir of Exile and Excess in Japan’ (link), the novel ‘Only Begotten’ (link), and most recently, the solo play ‘Doodu Boy’ (link), in which he also stars. Doodu Boy has been translated to Japanese for performances in Japan. In his novel ‘Only Begotten,’ Bryan’s tumultuous childhood in Kingston, Jamaica, laid the foundation for his screenplay. ‘Birdsucker Lane’ explores Stefhen's experiences (at age four) of being exposed to Christian cult fundamentalism at a commune led by Bishop Ira Brown. During his teens, Stefhen witnessed the beating to death of gay men on two separate occasions, which became the seed for Birdsucker Lane.

Joshua Harrison - cinematographer

Josh brings over 25 years of award-winning filmmaking experience, known for The Terminal List, Nocturne, Atypical, Angie Tribeca. We are thrilled to have Josh on board.

Robert Sturdevant - associate producer

I have worked above the line on 6 short films since the start of 2022 as a cinematographer, director, and producer. My most recent and proudest work as producer/director is Pickup Lie, which won departmental distinction at Occidental College and is currently on its festival run.