Phoebe Brown's Fundraiser
Shuktara Documentary Film
Join us in advocating for the rights and visibility of people with disabilities in India and around the world.
Join me in supporting real change. Let’s support good in the world and human rights for people living with disabilities. Help us fund Shuktara.
Discover the story of a place that's more than just a home.
In a world where disability often means exclusion, Shuktara in Kolkata, India, is a place where young people with disabilities find a sense of belonging, love, and acceptance that transcends boundaries.
Shuktara (working title) is a documentary in advanced production unfolding over the 20th anniversary year of Shuktara: a lifetime home for children with physical and intellectual disabilities in Kolkata, India. The film reveals a complete cycle of possibility for the kids living in the home from new beginning, to taking wings, through end of life. Shuktara is a film that shows how unconditional love, acceptance and security can make a radical difference for children living with disabilities and the people caring for them.
View our fundraising trailer here: SHUKTARA TRAILER
The young people who have found their way to Shuktara have come through various channels: Sunil and Anna aged out of an institution for children and had nowhere to go as teens, Ratan was in a nursing home where the care was minimal and his treatment abusive, Sanjay and Raja had been living on the street or in the train station, Prity was abandoned at a temple.
Their stories reflect the broader need in India for support for children with disabilities in impoverished communities and rural areas.
Shuktara is not a film solely about the issues in India - it also addresses the broader worldwide problem of not seeing or recognizing how perfectly able people living with disabilities are: able to be creative, to be intelligent, to be loved and loving, and just to be.
We are currently fundraising for two critical needs for the film.
OUR FINAL SHOOT IN SEPTEMBER 2023 -
We are look to raise an additional $5,000.00 to pay for the remaining costs for our 2 week shoot in India in September that will capture some new and exciting work the shuktara team is doing in the rural villages and document a very important passing of the torch in the organization. We had a very exciting and fruitful fundraiser via Seed & Spark but closed 20% under our goal of $22,000.00. These funds will go toward paying the crew which has generously agreed to defer fee and cover any extra gear rental or travel costs needed. Any unspent production funds roll right into post-production costs!
HIRING A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR
We also seek to raise an additional $25,000 in post-production funds to turn our rough cut into a shining gem! We need to move the film into full post production in October so we can make critical festival deadlines by Spring 2024
We need to pay for sound mixing, color correction and a finishing editor.
It is thanks to generous supporters like you that the Shuktara documentary has come this far and we can’t get to the finish line without you. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of people with disabilities