CHATSWORTH, Calif.—The makers of documentary Staying Power: The Business and Value of the Adult Entertainment Industry were recently notified that they would not be allowed to utilize popular fundraising platform KickStarter.com to seek financial aid for their project.
After submitting Staying Power to KickStarter, director Brandon Longwood received the following reply in an email:
Thank you for taking the time to submit your project. Unfortunately, this isn’t the right fit for Kickstarter. We receive many projects daily and review them all with great care and appreciation. We have determined that your project does not meet the Kickstarter Guidelines.
Visitors to KickStarter.com are able to view thousands of projects in various states of production and opt to donate money to support their completion. The site does have a list of prohibited items, including pornographic material, but Staying Power, while dealing with pornography as a subject matter, is a non-pornographic feature intended to educate audiences.
“I have all the respect in the world for KickStarter.com,” Longwood said. “It was disappointing to find out Staying Power will not be one of the site’s featured projects. I truly hope the decision was uninfluenced by the very biases and stigmas surrounding sex and pornography examined in Staying Power. Perhaps our documentary was too hot for KickStarter.com, but we have an important story to tell, and will find other ways to do so.”
Longwood and his production team have turned to an alternate fundraising site named IndieGoGo.com. Interested investors may visit IndieGoGo.com/stayingpower to support the project, and follow its progression through twitter.com/stayingpowerdoc and facebook.com/stayingpower.
For further information, visit www.StayingPowerMovie.com.
