Four Kickstarter Projects That Need Your Money More Than Charlie Kaufman

Last week Charlie Kaufman took to Kickstarter to crowdsource the funding required for his new film, a stop-motion animation called Anomalisa. Now, the merits of using Kickstarter extend far beyond just using it to rake in dosh - the page states that Kaufman specifically wants to make this film outside of the studio system - but still, you can't help but think that there might be better recipients of a few of your hard earned dollars than a pretty famous Oscar-winning screenwriter. Here's four Kickstarter film projects, just as desperate for your cash as Charlie is.

Starlet

Notable for going down the route of 'this-cute-little-dog-can't-hurt-our-efforts-to-get-money-out-of-you' in its promo video, Starlet nevertheless looks like a quality offering and therefore a worthy cause for those looking to contribute to something for similar reasons why they might get behind Kaufman's project. Like Anomalisa, there's little doubt that, with or without Kickstarter, Starlet will get finished but hey, if you're a fan of director Sean Baker or any of the stars then this offers you a way in to something that might have some quality. A successful SXSW showing and a 7.3 average on IMDb (though only off nineteen votes) attest that this might be something worth backing. It's also the only non-fiction film on the list and a cut above some of the more amateur narrative offerings on the site.


American Mugshot

An intriguing looking documentary piece which takes a simple subject (the titular mug shot) and weaves out a tale of culture and identity. There looks to be elements of personal interest and countrywide history inherent in the film and the effective promo piece sells the elegiac nature of the musing on lives lost to still pictures very well. An interesting looking documentary springing from an already intriguing subject matter.


Yankee Restraint

It's difficult to pinpoint quite what the selling point of this will be but the idea of looking at the US recession through the window of the effect it has on a single couple's life is a good one and the couple chosen unique. Craig and Phillip seem to be the type of people from whom infinitely watchable documentary footage can be captured and if director Harry Mavromichalis can weave this in to something which has a wider comment on the state of the economy then this could end up being very special.

Who Cares About Kelsey?

Another documentary which uses a single entity to look at a wider issue, Who Cares About Kelsey? looks at the treatment of children with special needs within the school system and how this treatment might help combat or hinder their development. The footage in the promo piece isn't particularly well edited (there seems to be little of Kelsey's bad times visible) but the story seems worth telling and, once again, Kelsey looks like a pleasant subject to spend time with.