One in a Crowd

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 here's a quick guide to some noteworthy campaigns. Remember, do your own due diligence before you back anything.

Who's raising the funds? Other Worlds Austin Festival Director Bears Fonté is looking for finishing funds for the follow-up to festival favorites "Prenatal," "Roadside Assistance," and "The Procedure."

What's the project? "Conversion Therapist," an LGBTQ horror starring transgender actress Evalyn Jake. Fonté filmed the short last fall, and is now working on visual effects, score, sound, and color correction.

Target: $20,000 by June 24.

What are the perks? $25 gets digital access to the finished short once it premieres, while higher pledges include custom Angel of Retribution T-shirts and dog tags. Head on over to Kickstarter to get this film over the finishing line.

Also Fundraising Now:

Black Austin Film Society is the new nonprofit founded by Anjanee Winstead. The current funding push is to buy equipment, including lights, mics, and cameras for members to work on their films, plus establish a $500 scholarship for RTF students. The goal is $5,000 by June 19 via Indiegogo.

Shakespeare at Winedale: A Feature Documentary will chronicle UT's famous Camp Shakespeare program. The filmmakers (The Secret Life of Lance Letscher producer Kristi Frazier and cinematographer Jason Gamble Harter splitting directing duties) need funds to cover two weeks of location shooting. They already have hundreds of hours of interviews, including staff and alumni. The project already hit its $30,000 target, but is still raising funds through June 12 via Kickstarter.