Freak Nature Puppets Documentary

“Their Freakiness Cracked Me Open” is a short observational documentary about a self-taught puppet collective called Freak Nature Puppets based in Los Angeles, California. Freak Nature Puppets was founded in 2022 by two artists and best friends, Aubrie and Deedee. Over the past three years, the collective has gained major momentum and four new members (Sater, Bobby, Mori, and Siena).

Now, half of the collective lives together as they create giant puppets out of foam and reclaimed materials, committed to their cheap, DIY ethos. With these puppets, they create comedic puppet shows with dream-like plots and elements of improv and clowning. They have performed on many stages across Los Angeles.

Through the creation of a puppet performance, this documentary will explore the power of humor to transform people’s perspectives, the joys and pains of creative collaboration, and the process of puppet making. In an era where so much art and community is digitally based, creating and collaborating in person can feel like a joyful, enlivening revolution.

We are Ben, Genevieve, and Zoe, three young filmmakers who are creating this documentary. Please consider contributing to our project today! Your support makes a big difference in whether or not we can complete this film. By contributing to our film—no matter the size—you are supporting independent art.

Our Story

In the summer of 2023, Ben and Genevieve, both 18 years old at the time, drove across the United States with an ambitious goal. Filled with drive and equipped with some smart planning skills, they filmed a documentary series about self-directed education and unschooling. As they traveled across the country, they bounced from school to school and person to person filming.

At the end of the first two weeks of their road trip, they stopped at Not Back to School Camp, a summer camp for unschoolers. There they met up with Zoe, a friend and creative collaborator, and attended a workshop about how to make giant puppets. A staffer, Aubrie, taught the workshop. Aubrie told them she was part of a puppet collective in Los Angeles that made these giant puppets and performed shows. Zoe made a shark head. Ben and Genevieve made a massive mouth.

The puppets that everyone created at camp were inspirational and joyful. The idea occurred to us there to feature this joyful creative work and collaboration in a short documentary—it would inspire more joy, laughter, and creativity.

We are independent filmmakers who are passionate about producing well-crafted documentaries, a passion that we gained from the act of creating documentaries itself. We can’t wait to translate our newly gained skills and experience into another impactful piece of nonfiction storytelling.

We are all interested in creative collaboration, puppet-making, and performance. These are things we’ve done ourselves! We love art, especially art that is raw, playful, and transformative. Freak Nature Puppets is all of this and more. We want to see more art like Freak Nature Puppets in the world. We hope that this documentary will inspire others to make more weird, beautiful, and raucous art.

Your Support Makes a Difference

Supporting independent media and art is more important than ever before. To tackle the multi faceted crises we face, we must invest in art that passionately explores what it is to be human. Puppets and theater are singularly transformative and playful forms of art. This documentary will emphasize the power of creativity, the power of humor to change people’s perspectives, and the process of creating puppets.

Imagine a world where young and independent artists can thrive and create freely. Where the people who can have the most impact have easy access to the resources they need to create transformative and impassioned work. What a vibrant and thriving culture that would be! You can help bring this vision to life by supporting our documentary.

Without your contribution, we will not be able to create this documentary. We have just a few months before production begins, and we need your help to make this project a reality. By supporting us before the end of May, you can be assured that you are helping bring this project to life.

We are on a mission to support and inspire creativity, play, and creative collaboration. Please join us by contributing now!

Who We Are

Ben Rehrman and Genevieve Shade spent the past two years creating a documentary series about self-directed education called Learning and Liberation. You can view the episodes here. After hundreds of hours of filming, Genevieve knows her way around a cinema camera, and Ben knows their way around a boom pole.

We are self-taught and passionate about producing well crafted documentaries. Our work has been featured at the Mattress Factory Museum, the All American High School Film Festival, The Sun Valley Junior Film Competition, The Saul Zaentz High School Film Festival, and more. Ben won two awards at the WHYY Youth Media Awards in 2023.

Zoe Jensen de Pedro is passionate about anarchist pedagogy and overhead projectors. Zoe has made documentary, experimental, and animated short films. Her films have been featured at the Experiments in Cinema film festival and she is a two time Scholastic award winner.

Ready to make an impact?

Your contribution goes directly toward the creation of this short documentary—and towards supporting independent artists. Your dollars will be transformed into a story that inspires and promotes creativity.

We are headed to Los Angeles to film for two weeks this summer, and we need to cover the costs of production. As three young filmmakers under 21, we don’t have much expendable income. With your help, we can have the resources we need to create this project. We will use the money we raise on production and travel costs, including but not limited to: flights, food, gear expenses, and insurance.

Thank you for considering supporting our project! It is because of people like you that young, independent artists can thrive, grow, and change the world one piece of work at a time.