NEW YORK—Aotra Films launched a Kickstarter campaign today for “Haunted,” the anticipated collaboration with queer author Carmen Maria Machado. Currently in the casting phase, “Haunted” tells the story of a team of documentary filmmakers investigating a ghost haunting and determined to record the unquiet spirit—or debunk its existence.
With a goal of $20K to support producing the short movie, the creators aim to build a community to engage and interact with as the project develops. “Backer” reward levels include an early access digital download to “Haunted,” an opportunity to add your voice to the film’s sound design, an exclusive poster designed by trans, Bronx-based artist ggggrimes (Theodoor Grimes) as well as a limited edition chapbook featuring Machado's in-process script.
“Stretch Goal” rewards will include alternate versions of the “Haunted” poster designed by Martha Hipley and WithaPencilinHand, a "Making of Haunted" behind-the-scenes mini-doc, and a backer-only launch party for the film (hosted in New York City).
This marks the first project in AORTA films’ groundbreaking Induction Series, which invites brilliant thinkers, makers, and doers from adjacent fields into the queer porn underground. As honored guest collaborators, Inductees are asked to bring their unique and compelling understandings of sex, pleasure, identity, and embodiment to the project.
Machado, known for her memoir In the Dream House and short stories Her Body and Other Parties, is welcomed as the inaugural featured artist in the series. For “Haunted,” Aorta Films will adapt Machado’s script to create a collection of media, as well as extended pornographic cuts for each of the sex scenes.
The Induction Series is a platform for conversations around queer cinema’s history of entanglement with censorship, stigma, culture, and sexual liberation. Aorta’s creative director Mahx Capacity describes the program’s intent: “We hope to expand the cultural understanding of what pornography can be, not just for queer people, but for everyone. In partnering with visionary artists, we’re engaging in intentional conversations around porn’s formal, artistic, and cultural capabilities—both internally within our creative process and externally with the public.”
The Kickstarter campaign will run until 11:59 p.m. EST on Nov. 9. For more information, click here.
