Mariel Hemingway Crowdfunding Anti-Monsanto Film: Will You Help?

Movies have always been a great way to mix education and entertainment. In many ways they can do more to raise widespread awareness for a topic than any documentary or news story. Think of how much the film “Philadelphia” did for AIDS awareness, the way “Dead Man Walking” tackled the death penalty, or how “Milk” educated a new generation about the efforts of Harvey Milk.
I’ve been fed up with what Monsanto is doing and how they’ve been treating farmers for a long time. I also believe that we need to know as much as possible about the foods we eat and whether or not they contain GMOs. If you follow health news at all, you’ve probably heard quite a bit about Congress and the Monsanto or GMO rider in the last few weeks. These stories are slowly creeping into the mainstream news, but it’s not happening fast enough.
I want to make a difference by creating a film that pulls at people’s heart strings … that is how people will be inspired to do something in their own lives. We are emotional beings and when we are moved we take in information better. I believe we are more likely to make changes in our food choices if we know what is going on. It is that simple. It is about having knowledge so that we can all stand up and say “I have a right to know what I am eating and whether or not it is good for me.” At the same time we don’t want to be told what to do or given facts and figures in a monotonous way… we like stories, we like transformations and that is what we are going to create with our little movie.
And of course it must be entertaining, so we plan on mixing plenty of humor, excitement and even some tragedy in with the facts about Monsanto. This will not be a boring lecture film, it will be an engaging story about a group of ambitious young kids who set out to make a difference, and find out just how hard that can be.
The story begins with Jamie, our main character, attending an anti-Monsanto rally in an effort to impress his ex-girlfriend. While at the rally, he learns about Monsanto and soon becomes very involved in protesting against the company. It’s no longer about winning his ex-girlfriend back, it’s about doing the right thing. Along the way, he teams up with several like-minded young people and they work together to raise awareness about Monsanto. When their initial protests don’t work, they perform a series of attention grabbing stunts. The protestors’ actions put them in directly in the company’s sight, with devastating consequences.

We are very excited about the opportunity to make this film, but we need your help to make it happen. Whether you can help by making a small donation or just by spreading the word about the campaign, it will take all of us working as one to #stopmonsanto.
Mariel Hemingway
To make a contribution or to learn more about the #stopmonsanto project, go to http://www.indiegogo.com/stopmonsanto