One in a Crowd: Spiral

Michelle Cody-White, subject of the upcoming documentary Spiral

Like many artists, Austin's creative community is increasingly turning to crowdfunding platforms to cover developmental costs. For potential backers, it can be hard to navigate all the sites out there, so we scour the web for local projects. Remember, do your own due diligence before you back anything.

Who's raising the funds?

Local filmmaker Jennifer Hutchins for new mental health documentary Spiral.

What's the project?

In 2019, musician Randall White organized a screening of an early cut of a heart-wrenching documentary - at that point called A Fine Wife. It was assembled from footage of White and his wife, Michelle: first home movies, but over time it became White's record of what he thought was the collapse of his marriage. However, what he was unwittingly recording was his wife's undiagnosed bipolar disorder.

Everyone at that first screening saw the incredible potential of his self-assembled footage - including producer Jennifer Hutchins (Dr. Phil, That Animal Rescue Show). She told the Chronicle, "So many documentaries 'tell' a story but Randy's footage actually 'shows' the story."

The early footage has now been reshaped into Spiral, directed by Academy Award-winner Bill Guttentag ("You Don't Have to Die" and "Twin Towers"), with sound by another Oscar nominee, Steve Boeddeker.

Another big addition is actress Michelle Trachtenberg, who narrates extracts from Michelle's own diaries.

Target

$24,500 by Jan. 14

What will that pay for?

The film is currently in post-production, so the money will all go towards post-production costs, closed captioning fees, and festival and distribution costs.

What are the perks?

$6 gets your name onto the film's Wall of Wellness, but for $22 you get a deluxe download of the finished film. Like your media physical? $40 secures a DVD with filmmaker commentary. However, for something very unique, for $350 you'll receive a smorgasbord of perks, plus an original piece of thank-you art from Randall's daughter, Charlotte.

Back this project now at kickstarter.