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When life handed Paulette Leaphart cancer, she decided to make waves - and lemonade - by taking part in Beyoncé's powerful visual album, Lemonade. In 2014, Leaphart was a happy single mother living comfortably in Biloxi, Mississippi, with her four adopted and four biological children. Then one night, everything changed. "I suddenly woke from sleep and heard the voice of God telling me I have cancer," Leaphart, 49, tells People. Convinced that what she heard was a real message from a higher power, she immediately went to see her doctor for a mammogram. The mammogram came back negative and the doctor...

When life handed Paulette Leaphart cancer, she decided to make waves - and lemonade - by taking part in Beyoncé's powerful visual album, Lemonade. In 2014, Leaphart was a happy single mother living comfortably in Biloxi, Mississippi, with her four adopted and four biological children. Then one night, everything changed. "I suddenly woke from sleep and heard the voice of God telling me I have cancer," Leaphart, 49, tells People. Convinced that what she heard was a real message from a higher power, she immediately went to see her doctor for a mammogram. The mammogram came back negative and the doctor...

Filmmaker Emily MacKenzie is currently on Kickstarter with her documentary Scar Story, about Paulette Leaphart, who survived breast cancer following a double mastectomy, and who will be raising awareness by walking topless from Biloxi, Ms to Washington, D.C. MacKenzie, producer Sasha Solodukhina and their crew will be traveling along with her, and they are now in the final nine days of their campaign to raise production funds. Below, MacKenzie shares a letter she has written to her crew — and partly to herself — about the challenges that lie ahead. Consider donating here at Kickstarter. To my crew – I […]...

Filmmaker regularly offers crowdfunding filmmakers on our curated Kickstarter page the opportunity to write a guest essay about their campaign. Here’s Sasha Solodukhina on the struggles of funding a first-time work, How to Disappear Completely. To learn more about her 30-minute film, visit its Kickstarter page, where the campaign is in its final three days. Unlike Spike Lee, or Charlie Kaufman, or The Coolest Cooler, even unlike the potato salad – I am not yet a product. I have no brand to articulate me, or any kind of large body of work to stand behind. At this point, you have […]...

Filmmaker regularly offers crowdfunding filmmakers on our curated Kickstarter page the opportunity to write a guest essay about their campaign. Here’s Sasha Solodukhina on the struggles of funding a first-time work, How to Disappear Completely. To learn more about her 30-minute film, visit its Kickstarter page, where the campaign is in its final three days. Unlike Spike Lee, or Charlie Kaufman, or The Coolest Cooler, even unlike the potato salad – I am not yet a product. I have no brand to articulate me, or any kind of large body of work to stand behind. At this point, you have […]...