Hello!

My name is Callie Lyons, a filmmaker, dancer, and founder of UPCYCLED FILMS (LLC). This project has been in an ideation incubator since June 2024 and since then, I've pitched this company to more people than I can even recall, or count, that I could explain it, and all of my big plans for the future, backwards in my sleep.

But before I break down what exactly I'm doing, I should, first, explain who I am for those who aren't quite familiar.

I was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia. I grew up dancing and then went on to study both Dance and Business Marketing at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. From there, I was pretty keen on the fact that I wanted to teach dance in the university system but knew a bachelors degree would not be sufficient to be competitive in academia. Although I was quite young to be exploring an MFA, as it is more common for artists to go out and establish their careers before embarking on a masters program, I was adamant about completing those studies as soon as I could so I would not have to suddenly halt my career in order to return to school.

And so I was off to New York University Tisch School of the Arts graduate program in Dance. Ironically, this is where my love of film really developed. While in the program, I focused on studying Dance and New Media and explored what it meant to have the camera act as a device to enhance movement. During this time, I had my first real experience with producing as I brought forward a collaborative opportunity to create a short film for former First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Campaign.

Fast forward, I graduate and I'm now splitting my time dancing professionally, working in production, and continuing to explore the short film form for dance. I was pulled in what felt like opposing worlds. One day I would be nervously driving grip trucks full of equipment through Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens and the next day, I was in a 6 hour rehearsal prepping for a show or on a tour abroad. It was certainly a mix bag of a life at that time.

But that draw to film never wavered and, shockingly, took precedent of what I thought would be a longterm career as a professional dancer. I was simply immersed in movies. I wasn't diving into Marvel films, or the more conventional movies that are more commonly frequented, but I was reveling in independent and world cinema. I attended every arthouse film screening I could possibly go to. I became deeply fascinated by images and experimented with photography, as a form of praxis, to help develop my filmic language.

How did I get here? I never had a propensity to fully encompass myself in this medium outside of how it could act as an anchor to the dance works I was creating. My whole life, since I was 3, was about dance. Dance classes, dance workshops, dance competitions, extra ballet classes to enhance my technique, and so on. I did everything to set myself up for the life of a dancer but the whispers of my intuition and instincts were telling me a different story. My heart was gravitating towards film.

So this is where my more daring adventures really started to take form. To spare you all of the boring details, I found myself at The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts graduate program. I was back in Los Angeles, once again. The last time I was living in L.A., I was in the midst of finishing up my college studies while simultaneously attempting to forge a path, as a dancer within, commercials and music videos. To say my life was completely different the second go round is quite the understatement.

Jump cut a year and a half later and I decide to leave the program. Not for any obscenely negative reasons or that I wasn't able to keep up with the demands of my classes, but for the exact opposite reason. I felt complete in what I had learned. I wanted to create on my own terms. I wanted the technical skills but I also didn't want my creative signature to become stifled by bureaucracy and institutional red tape. By that time, I had already assistant directed a feature film and I was in pre-production for my first narrative, although experimental, short film that I made, in my hometown of Augusta, fully self produced and to add an extra kicker, shot on 16mm film. Everything I did for that project is everything I would have done for my thesis to graduate but without the creative restraints. I no longer cared about the accolades of [another] MFA. I only cared that I knew everything needed to make a film from top to bottom.

And then 2020 happened and I was feeling unclear about my purpose for the very first time in my life. I've always been that person who was self assured about my path, even if it weaved around like a slithering snake. I always knew what my next step would be but not this time. So I took a bit of a step back from creating and got myself in the non arts related work force. It was a strange few years but I promised myself I wouldn't let myself become jaded by the drastic shift in direction. And I didn't.

It's now June 2024 and in the middle of making breakfast, an idea dropped into my head as though some unknown force gifted me this project from some unseen place. I thought to myself: "what if I created a company that shares films from around the world that have never been seen by a larger or international audience? Films that are just sitting on a hard drive or in a storage unit or in the possession of a filmmakers descendants as they have transitioned out of this life but maybe, hoping, one day, it will see the light of day?"

That is how Upcycled Films came to be, a name inspired by the process of reinvigorating and repurposing old materials and products into something that melds into contemporary form.

So to be more specific, Upcycled Films will be an online, film programming platform that restores and revives old and lost short films from around the globe. The solution is to highlight films from the Global South, Indigenous peoples worldwide, historically under-resourced communities, and films, overall, that have a potent, visual language made before 2010 and that have not been viewed by an international audience. The intention is to provide more access to the international creative landscape, from unheard voices, that have an affinity towards unconventional film structure.

Upcycled Films is a unique service rooted in honoring the past. Our goal is to make visible those who have been pushed to the margins, historically and systematically, and provide them with the infrastructure to support their artistry. We are dedicated to giving opportunities to those filmmakers who may have struggled to have their works presented or lacked the connections to have them distributed widely.

The work of the archivist is vital and I am adamant about contributing to this necessary collection. I'm quite ecstatic to bring this into life, however, this can only be achieved through the generosity of the global community.

WHY INVEST IN US?

At Upcycled Films, we envision the future through the lens of preservation and restoring of the old and utilizing the innovations and advancements of technology to make unseen and unheard stories available to people across the globe. It is our mission to allocate more dollars to remembrance and the restoration of stories so they can continue to be safeguarded and accessible for centuries to come.

At this stage of the process, I am currently looking to raise at least $150,000 to help with the following, initial expenses:

I'm incredibly conscientious and sensitive to the state of the world economy and understand the precarious and fickle nature of this time, however, any offering goes a long way. The goal is to raise beyond the $150,000 threshold by the end of 2026 as this is the base of what's needed to proceed.

I am truly grateful that you have engaged my story.

Please do share this fundraising campaign with your friends and loved ones.

If you have any further questions for me, please do not hesitate to reach out. I'm not hard to find and I'm quick to respond.

Many blessings!

www.upcycledfilms.com