“I was in a holding pattern waiting for funding and for someone to give me the green light for quite some time until I decided to go to my own community for funding. I launched the first kickstarter campaign, dipped into my own savings, credit cards, and had some other investors that came on board as well. It was truly a labor of love. People believed in the project and pitched in to make it happen.

After principal photography, it took two years in post-production to gather the resources in order to complete IN THE MORNING. I knew that it would not be easy, as our film doesn’t fit within the narrow lens in which most films about Black lives are viewed, but I refused to give up. Given our current socio-political climate, I know that expanding our narrative and telling our stories matters tremendously.

The challenges in the dominant landscape of traditional film distribution are staggering, from the financial inequities, to the deeply segregated, exclusionary practices that determine whose voice gets to be heard. Unsatisfied with the offers before me, I began to research emerging distribution platforms to find the best way to connect IN THE MORNING with its audience. I decided once again to side step the gatekeepers, and return to my community for the green light, launching a second Kickstarter campaign to support the costs of an independent distribution model.

Our Kickstarter campaigns were about leveling the playing field, creating access, demystifying the process; also empowering myself and other filmmakers like me, by demonstrating what is possible with community. More than anything else, I want us to see ourselves.” ~ Nefertite Nguvu