Help Kendra Bring Short Film Unbound to Life

Dear Wonderful People,

My name is Kendra, and I'm an LA-based filmmaker and cinephile. I've written a short film titled "Unbound," a dark comedy and social commentary that explores the experience of a young Black actress navigating the audition process. The film confronts harmful stereotypes and the fetishization of Black trauma, ultimately showcasing the protagonist's choice to reclaim her narrative by writing her own story.

My work as a Crisis Response Professional, supporting young people facing intimate partner violence, assault, and mental health crises, deeply inspired "Unbound." Witnessing the inequities in care for marginalized communities first hand led me to reflect on the critical importance of multi-dimensional representation and its profound influence on how society perceives and treats these communities.

I'm incredibly passionate about this project. "Unbound" is a darkly comedic commentary on the fetishization of Black trauma narratives and the damaging stereotypes and reductive roles often assigned to marginalized communities. In the vein of the film "American Fiction," I wrote this short to illustrate how comical and, in some cases, cringeworthy these reductive roles can feel to marginalized people. My aim is to communicate the importance of seeing each other as equals with rich internal and external stories. My goal as a writer and as someone who has spent five years as a crisis response professional is to lessen the world's dysfunction and promote greater compassion. "Unbound" is also a love letter to the marginalized people—whether BIPOC, Queer, Neurodivergent, or those with disabilities—who have broken barriers and paved the way for more diverse and representative stories.

As an LMU graduate of the School of Film and Television in Screenwriting, an assistant to the Head of Post-Production at Ryan Murphy Productions, a Women In Film (WIF) Writer Fellow and Half Initiative PA Intensive Alumni, I'm excited to embark on my debut as a Writer/Director/Producer and bring "Unbound" to life. Our film features a Black woman lead and a diverse, all-women crew. My goal as a filmmaker is to uplift marginalized communities and inspire greater empathy through the power of storytelling.

We're aiming to start production during the last two weekends of February. To achieve this, I've launched a GoFundMe page with a goal of $30,000. Any contribution would be immensely appreciated. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Kendra