Kickstart Your Weekend With Politics and Film

Thanks to our shared fame as the capital of Texas and the live music capital of the world, Austin has a wealth of creative types and political junkies. These three crowdfunding projects will hit home for one or the other – or both.

Year at Danger

A soldier is told he'll be shipping out to Iraq three days after his honeymoon. Austinite Steve Metze packed a camera and documented the year that followed. The film is done and edited, but they need money to pay for music rights in order to get distribution. It's two-thirds of the way there, with $9,596 raised so far and five days to go, but $15,000 is the magic number.

Small Medium at Large

Tim Edwards' graduate thesis film investigates the traditional Hawaiian belief in the afterlife through the narrative of 10-year-old Basil and his missing mom. Or, in the more heartbreaking words of the protagonist: "This is the story of how my mom died – and how I brought my dad back to life." Check out Edwards' pitch, including his interesting perspective on paradise and his transition from scientist to storyteller, in the video below. There are only a few days left before the campaign ends on May 19, and there's plenty of room for donations.

Walkable Urban Design Tool

Ever been somewhere in town and thought of a way to redesign the sidewalks and streets to make a more walkable city? This tool would allow you to submit your ideas via your smartphone, effectively crowdfunding city planning and helping citizens feel like a part of the solution. The pilot program is supposed to happen in Austin, but there's still a large chunk of funding that needs to be raised before that can happen.

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Kickstart Your Weekend is a series intended to showcase Texas film and tech projects that are crowdfunding their way to a goal, be it distribution, a prototype, or production costs. If you have a project that we should know about, email us at [email protected].