AUSTIN, Texas—Cocks Not Glocks, a college- and university-based protest movement that started in 2015 at the University of Texas-Austin, is looking to spears its message through a documentary feature.
Cocks Not Glocks, a hard-hitting documentary focusing on a graphic but effective protest against the open carry laws in Texas and other states, has begun a Kickstarter campaign to secure funds for completion of the film project, producer David Bukstein announced today.
The documentary follows Jessica Jin, Ana López and Rossie Zander as they protest the campus carry law. They fight this by mounting the largest ever dildo-based protest in history, garnering international attention, support and anger from all sides of the political spectrum. Their goal was simple: illustrate the absurdity that anyone can bring a gun to school, but brandishing sex toys are still a class C misdemeanor. During and after the protest, the women endure a wave of sexism, misogyny, death threats and racism. Over time the internet vitriol takes an emotional toll, but through the tight bonds of sisterhood and shared experience, these young activists find their voice and the will to take on the patriarchy.
Audra Webbe, 23, is directing Cocks Not Glocks: A Documentary, her first feature-length film. Having filmed the protest during her senior year at the University of Texas, Webbe felt compelled to tell a story that explores and affirms the complex inner lives of young women today. Beyond the doc, she is currently writing a feminist thriller feature script, and is collaborating on a musical with her artist friend Ellyn Puckett, in association with the Los Angeles-based disco band Capyac.
“I've always wanted to tell stories about women and I'm so proud that my first feature effort does exactly that. Growing up, I was always on the honor roll, and never got in trouble and I'm so proud that this project breaks so many rules.” Webbe says. “In the last three years I’ve been working on the film, it’s only become more relevant with #MeToo Movement and the Parkland school shooting. Our documentary is in a way a confluence of these two cultural movements and provides an alternative way to access the activism that’s present in today’s current social and cultural climate.”
As of August 1, 2016, students with concealed carry licenses were permitted to take loaded handguns into public university classrooms in Texas. The minimum requirement to obtain a license for any of these activities is 4 hours of instruction. Dozens of states across the nation are battling similar legislation.
Some women students on campus discovered that, according to Texas laws, it is illegal to openly brandish a harmless dildo in public. In contrast, loaded guns (concealed or otherwise) capable of inflicting instant death are often legally welcomed and encouraged. In response to the law, these students organized what was hailed as one of the “largest anti-gun rallies in Texas history,” starting the first day of classes, Aug. 26, 2016. The event was satirically named “Campus (Dildo) Carry” to mock the new “Campus Carry” law.
The Kickstarter for the film opened May 1 and will run until May 30. With all principal photography completed, the documentary is now entering post-production. All contributions go toward the completion of the film and submission to festivals.
For more on the movie, visit CocksNotGlocksDoc.com. To donate to the Kickstarter, visit here.
