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Generation Food Growing Funds with Indiegogo Campaign

July 24, 2012

Steve James, director of Hoop Dreams and The Interrupters, has teamed up with Raj Patel, academic, activist and author of bestselling book Stuffed and Starved to make Generation Food, a documentary that explores innovative approaches to global food issues.

The duo is in the third week of their Indiegogo campaign, which has raised just over a quarter of its $50,000 goal. The funds will cover travel costs, equipment, digital platforms for distribution and education, funding for researchers, and the Indiegogo campaign itself.

“Everyone’s heard of fair trade food; well, this is fair-trade filmmaking,” explains Raj Patel in the campaign launch video. “We want to make sure that everyone who is working on this project, from researchers to people helping to carry our equipment up a mountain, are being paid properly.”

The campaign has over 135 backers and has received support from big names including bestselling author Michael Pollan, academic powerhouse Marion Nestle, documentarian Morgan Spurlock, and actor and hunger activist Danny Glover. The film’s campaign video has also been featured on Current and the Sundance Channel.

Some of the film's research - which the campaign will directly fund - has already been causing a stir on social media (over 230 shares!). Should the campaign be successful, you can expect more captivating information and surprising images once the project hits full production.

Janna Lafferty, an Indiegogo campaign supporter, thanked the filmmakers for "digging into something other than ‘the rule of experts’ to find real and just solutions to our shared global food crisis, and for piecing together some hopeful and inclusive storytelling. Glad to be a small part of a growing community working toward healthy change from the roots up."

You can get updates on the film’s progress, read cutting-edge news related to the film’s topic and join the dialogue about food issues around the world by following Generation Food on Facebook, twitter @foodgeneration and the project website. You can check out photos from their recent trips to Cuba and Japan on Facebook.

Patel and James arrived back from their first trip to Cuba last week, and have put together a fun video to thank their supporters and make a call for continued support in week 3 of the campaign.

James explains, “So far we can go on the trips but we can’t afford to actually eat on the trips. And given what the film is about, I think we need to”.