‘Hair Love’ and 10 Years of Kickstarter-Funded Oscar Nominees — Kickstarter

Every yr for the final decade, at the very least one Kickstarter-funded movie has been nominated for an Oscar. Two of these movies, Inocente and Interval. Finish of Sentence, have taken residence awards. This yr, all of us at Kickstarter are rooting for Hair Love, an animated brief movie by Matthew Cherry about an African-American father making an attempt to do his daughter’s hair for the primary time.

Matthew had already used Kickstarter twice to assist fund his function movies. In 2017 he returned to Kickstarter and launched a marketing campaign for Hair Love that raised $284,058, a Kickstarter document for an animated brief. His 4,981 backers have been from as far afield as Japan and New Zealand. Final August, Hair Love premiered nationally in entrance of screenings of Offended Birds 2. It’s not typically an animated brief will get intensive press write-ups, however his movie has been coated by The New York Occasions, The Washington Put up, NPR, Teen Vogue, and so many different locations. Matthew additionally turned the story right into a kids’s e book, which turned a New York Occasions bestseller.

Hair Love fantastically dismantles dangerous narratives about race by means of characters that we’re not used to seeing on the display. Kickstarter is a means for individuals to say that they need tales like this to be instructed, significantly as so many voices and tales proceed to be neglected by Hollywood.

On the finish of his marketing campaign, Matthew expressed his gratitude to his backers:

We’re so humbled by the outpouring of affection for this challenge. It has really been one of many craziest journeys I’ve ever been part of in my life and all of us are so grateful to every considered one of you for deeming this challenge worthy of your assist.

And the sensation was mutual, with backers excitedly following the Hair Love journey to the Oscars:

That is essentially the most unimaginable information! I feel all of us small donors are simply as proud as anybody else to be part of this challenge. My coronary heart swells👏🏽👏🏽💜💜

I’m so pleased with you, Matt! You envisioned a dream and also you made it occur. Thanks for envisioning one thing that has made little ladies, together with mine, love their hair. ☺️

Better of luck to you and your staff! It doesn’t matter what occurs on Oscar evening you have got already gained in our hearts and minds! Thanks for #HairLove endlessly and all the time!

The Hair Love staff is in excellent firm on the crimson carpet, as backers on Kickstarter have performed an important function in funding 16 movies which have obtained nods from the Academy. Right here’s the entire listing of Kickstarter-funded movies which were nominated for Academy Awards:

2020: Hair Love, Nominated for Finest Animated Brief

2019: Interval. Finish of Sentence, Wins Finest Documentary Brief 

2018: Loving Vincent, Nominated for Finest Animated Function 

2017: Joe’s Violin, Nominated for Finest Documentary; Pear Cider and Cigarettes, Nominated for Finest Animated Brief 

2016: World of Tomorrow, Nominated for Finest Animated Brief; Anomalisa, Nominated for Finest Animated Function; Racing Extinction, “Manta Ray” Nominated for Finest Unique Music 

2015: Discovering Vivian Maier, Nominated for Finest Documentary Function 

2014: The Sq., Nominated for Finest Documentary Function 

2013: Inocente, Wins Finest Documentary Brief; Kings Level, Nominated for Finest Documentary Brief; Buzkashi Boys, Nominated for Finest Reside Motion Brief 

2012: Incident in New Baghdad, Nominated for Finest Documentary Brief; The Barber of Birmingham, Nominated for Finest Documentary Brief 

2011: Solar Come Up, Nominated for Finest Documentary Brief