Valentina Rivera
A LOCAL artist has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for her series, “What’s T Got to Do with It?”
The series, to be shot on Saipan, will tell the “often overlooked stories of transgender individuals around the world,” said its creator Valentina Rivera.
She said the series pilot has already been completed, and her goal is to film multiple episodes that shine a light on the “struggles and triumphs” facing trans individuals.
To that end, the Kickstarter campaign aims to raise $11,500. Of this amount, $6,000 will go to production; $3,500, post-production; $1,500, submission to film festivals around the world; and the remaining funds will be for marketing and promotion.
The Kickstarter campaign and further details can be found at http://kck.st/3MJKlCS
Rivera said she wants to create a project that is “whimsical and fascinating but also honest and real.”
She said while trans subjects are “starting to become mainstream,” creative projects around trans issues still feel like “caricatures.”
Her aim is to create a series “that can be reflective of so many other people out there in the world.”
“Each episode is a stepping stone level of transitioning,” Rivera said. “So for the pilot/Episode 1, it’s about finally deciding to be who one wants to be in life — who they truly are, and being public and accepting of all that comes with that,” she added.
Rivera said Season 1 will be “minimalist” and shot mostly on Saipan.
With enough funding, she could expand her shooting locations. She hopes to make it to Thailand for future seasons.
Ultimately, Rivera wants to promote acceptance.
“For this narrative series, I hope to highlight the difficult decisions one must make to be themselves in their truest way,” she said. “I want cis gendered people to peek into a world where it’s so completely foreign to them, to understand one’s life, and the process and decisions one has to make to live in their most honest way possible. To live and be happy. As I say in a line in the pilot, ‘I only have one life.’ I hope that this series will help people understand that, while also relaying to other trans people who want to live their lives, to be who they want to be. This series is a stepping stone to understand mental health, and the different ways that one goes through with transitioning.”
Follow the project on Instagram @whatstgottodowithit/.
