My other me

We wrote a while ago about pop culture documentaries that exhibit a niche silce of life many of us might not otherwise get to experience.

On IndieGoGo this week I've unearthed a pair of campaigns that again do just that.

My Other Me: A Film About Cosplay

I think I totally understand this subculture because when I was four years old I didn't want to just watch Voltron, I wanted to be one of the characters from Voltron. So badly, in fact, that I made my mom sew me a couple costumes so I could walk around the house and attend preschool "in character." For real. I was a mini cosplayer in the early '80s and I didn't even know it. This documentary film, which has already raised over half its goal on IndieGoGo with 50 days left, is all about the cosplay world and a few of the — forgive me — characters who inhabit it.

International fest animated objects

International Festival of Animated Objects

If there's one thing I know about Canadians, it's that they take their puppeteering pretty seriously. It's the only country where you'll hear the words "marionette" and "superstar" linked together. So when this Calgary-based festival, which promotes the arts of puppetry, mask, and animated objects, lost $60,000 worth of its funding several weeks ago, the promoters didn't back down. Instead they turned to IndieGoGo to help supplement some of the funds they'll need to produce this massive March event. I admire their pluck and dedication to keep it all going despite having lost nearly all their funds to do so.