Lynsey Dyer's Pretty Faces Kickstarter

[JeffreyJim]

Dyer has just launched a Kickstarter for her all female film, Pretty Faces. I've watched Lynsey work herself silly over the last year trying to make this a reality. The project is slated for delivery in Fall of 2014 IF it can acquire some funding. Check out the Kickstarter for more info.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...nture-sports-f

Also, here is my rambling on a girl movie from a guy-who-used-to-think-a-girl-movie-would-be-super-lame.

http://www.earlyups.com/featured/kic...-pretty-faces/

[powdork]

bump. always wanted to ski with Lynsey can someone loan me $585 dollars to add to my contribution?

[Gone Skiing]

Stoked to see this come together!

[Tri-Ungulate]

Lynsey is good people and fun to ski with. Defo gonna pitch in.

[raisingarizona13]

Being a dad of a daughter, I will buy this video and hopefully she is inspired. Nice.

[powdork]

Back up top.
And don't wait to buy the movie, make a $15 donation and get the movie when it is available for download. If they don't reach the goal, you don't get charged.
I'm not real clear on what happens with larger pledges. For instance if you pledge $100 do you get all the stuff from the smaller pledge amounts too (other than the limited ones)?

[JeffreyJim]

Back up top.
And don't wait to buy the movie, make a $15 donation and get the movie when it is available for download. If they don't reach the goal, you don't get charged.
I'm not real clear on what happens with larger pledges. For instance if you pledge $100 do you get all the stuff from the smaller pledge amounts too (other than the limited ones)?

I'll chime in.

If you pledge $100 you get to pick any reward that is $100 or less. You don't get all of them!

I know, we should have made less rewards, so its easier to navigate but too late now.

Surprised none of the other media outlets have picked this up.

[powdork]

The challenge is going to be to keep the interest up throughout the 30 day period. There was a large influx of new backers 2 days ago but it has definitely leveled off. Hopefully there will be renewed interest and support after Christmas.

[scarlet begonias]

The trailer for this is awesome. As a female skier and a mom to a future female ripper I would LOVE to see this movie come to fruition. I can't believe she can't get sponsors and funding for this.

I will be donating.

[thefrush]

Can't decide if I want that limited edition hat or Ingrid to write on my wall. Does any contribution above $15 include an electronic copy?

The challenge is going to be to keep the interest up throughout the 30 day period. There was a large influx of new backers 2 days ago but it has definitely leveled off. Hopefully there will be renewed interest and support after Christmas.

Contributions for Kickstarter campaigns are heavy in the first 24 and last 24 hours. Seems to be the trend. I have seen $500,000 kickstarters that looked like they were gonna flop with a week to go end up $100K over their goal in the last day.

[powdork]

^i don't think so but it's basically the price of most movies so you could always make two separate donations (i think)

[JeffreyJim]

I can work on this.

If you guys think it'll help bring in more donations, an electronic copy of the movie doesn't cost us much. We're happy to add this to all prize packages above $15 if you think it'll make a difference.

[rideit]

Hey JJ, your inbox is dun blow up....

[powdork]

It might push people into the higher amounts but who knows.
i'll definitely be plugging it on my sites and facebook after the holidays. that should get at least one more backer if my mom checks in.

[JeffreyJim]

Thanks all!

[JeffreyJim]

Ride-it - box cleared.

[grskier]

I can work on this.

If you guys think it'll help bring in more donations, an electronic copy of the movie doesn't cost us much. We're happy to add this to all prize packages above $15 if you think it'll make a difference.

I'd go with all above $25 or something...

[klar]

The trailer footage is great. I want to see a movie like that. I want to be inspired by female skiers killing it on the big screen. I would love to meet and ski with any and all of those women. I have met and skied with a couple of them and would love to repeat that. I ski with guys almost exclusively and I wish I had more regular female ski partners. I think female skiers should get more media exposure and female role models in sports are important.

It's just that some of the reasoning given as to why this movie needs to be made does not resonate with me. I guess I'll donate in any case and I'm honestly not trying to be bitchy and I hope someone can explain these things to me so they make sense and I can wholeheartedly feel good about this project.

The article JeffreyJim linked to goes on about showing the "girl perspective".

What is the "girl perspective"? I truly do not understand this. Maybe I just have no idea at all how men think, but my male ski friends do not appear to have some sort of vastly different approach to skiing than I do. I get that sometimes some guys may engage in testosterone fueled shenanigans that women might not partake in, and women may have certain collective quirks of group dynamics that men might not. But the fundamental reasons behind why people ski and the role skiing plays in their lives do not seem to have anything to do with vaginas and penises.

JJ says it occurred to him that "girls did not have their version of the Blizard of Ahhhs, Tangerine Dream or Ski Movie." It never occurred to me that I might need a "girl" version of Blizzard of Ahhs. I always felt like those movies were for me too.

The first thing Lynsey Dyer says in the clip on kickstartes is "if you grew up female in America you heard this: Sports are unfeminine."

Admittedly I did not grow up in America, but as a first-world, upper middle class child I never felt like athletics of any kind were not an appropriate pastime for me and I never heard anything resembling that statement. (Actually I did spend a small part of my childhood in the US and it seemed like school and college sports are a huge thing for both genders, especially in the US). I was never discouraged in any way at all from running around in the forest and getting muddy, from climbing trees or mountains and certainly not from skiing. I can't think of anyone I know or have known who refrained from athletic activity because girls should somehow not do that.

In my skiing life, I have never encountered anything but encouragement and respect from male skiers or anyone at all really. No one has ever made me feel like I don't belong because I am a woman.

Maybe I have just been very fortunate in my upringing and the people I've had around me as an adult. Maybe there are young girls out there who need Lynsey Dyer to tell them that it's okay to like skiing.

But I can't shake the feeling that the typical skiing demographic that will see this movie is also a demographic that encourages girls and young women to join the high school volleyball team, ride horses, swim, do yoga or martial arts and, yes, ski. Hell, even cosmo recommends lots of cardio because it helps with that thigh gap issue.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely believe that women are discouraged from doing certain things and behaving in certain ways by society, purely because they are women. I believe that this is wrong and we need to do something about it. I guess I just don't see this sort of problem being an important issue in the world of freeskiing.

Why does this have to be about saving young girls affected by the problematic body image portrayed in the media? Why can't this movie just be about getting a bunch of amazing, strong, talented women together to ski because they're good at it and skiing is really damn fun? Most main stream ski flicks do not justify their existence beyond "'cause it's fun" or "'cause it looks cool" (okay, maybe Jeremy Jones is trying to save the world.) Do we need reasons beyond those because the action footage is not quite as extreme and radical as what the male pros produce? If so, fucking really? Is it because more people will donate?

Why is it called "Pretty faces"? Why is it not called "Rad skiing" ?

Maybe my problem is that I don't consider myself a "skier girl". I am a skier.

[powdork]

Those are all valid points and I think most girls in your position feel that way. But the film is supposed to (I think) inspire those that don't feel the way you do. If you go to a freeskiing comp (the old school kind that you enter instead of an invitational) you will see 5 times as many male entrants as females. Why is that? I know lots of rad female skiers and also have skied/ski with at least one in the movie but still when I go in the backcountry the ratio is skewed way heavily toward males. In fact it's quite a sausage fest out there unfortunately. I'm not sure why that is either (but I don't like it). While I'm certain they exist I have never been with a female splitboarder in the backcountry. Why?

And while we're at it, why is your last thread called waiting for winter when you seem to be enjoying winter already (dammit!). Nice job btw.

[JeffreyJim]

Klar

Your points are well taken. One thing people probably missed is Lynsey wasn't reading her own script in the opening scene to the Kickstarter vid. She's reading the opening to a book (its in the credits) that resonated with her.

Within the world of Kickstarter we're trying to show a need. What is the story? Why does this project need to exist? In Lynsey's mind, girls aren't encouraged athletically to the same extent guys are encouraged. Girls don't have a source of inspiration aimed directly at them in the freeski realm. Girls also haven't had the same opportunity on the silver screen guys have.

That's what a lot of this comes down to. I realize we made a few "black and white" assumptions in doing so but I hope people keep some context around them. This movie will be like the trailer. It will inspire. It will be fun. It will showcase girls getting rad...and not just the ones we all hear about.

Make sense?
J

Edit: RE: "JJ says it occurred to him that "girls did not have their version of the Blizard of Ahhhs, Tangerine Dream or Ski Movie." It never occurred to me that I might need a "girl" version of Blizzard of Ahhs. I always felt like those movies were for me too."

Lynsey's main hope is to motivate and target 11-16 year old girls. My only case study on the matter (although anectodatal) was my cousins around Christmas. I know the dude cousins would dig watching ski movies. Especially the iconic ones. Girl counins? Not so much. But I feel the right type of ski movie, told from Lynsey and company's perspective, could offer something they (the gals) would sit and watch. My point is I think there is a gap in the ski movie market. An overlooked niche. And its one that could have a positive effect on a certain demographic of skier girls.

[klar]

Those are all valid points and I think most girls in your position feel that way. But the film is supposed to (I think) inspire those that don't feel the way you do. If you go to a freeskiing comp (the old school kind that you enter instead of an invitational) you will see 5 times as many male entrants as females. Why is that? I know lots of rad female skiers and also have skied/ski with at least one in the movie but still when I go in the backcountry the ratio is skewed way heavily toward males. In fact it's quite a sausage fest out there unfortunately. I'm not sure why that is either (but I don't like it). While I'm certain they exist I have never been with a female splitboarder in the backcountry. Why?

And while we're at it, why is your last thread called waiting for winter when you seem to be enjoying winter already (dammit!). Nice job btw.

I find the comps have changed a lot since I have been aware of that scene and you now have more women, skiing at a way higher level than just a few years ago. I did a bunch of FWQ comps last season mainly because there are a lot of ripping ladies there that I would not otherwise meet and I love being pushed by them. I don't know why there are more men than women at these events. Why are there more women than men in a typical yoga class? Why is synchronized swimming perceived as more of a female sport than boxing? Do we need a movie called "Strong Jaw Lines - An all male Yoga and Pilates movie" ?

I know several female splitboarders, would you like me to introduce you?

And I enjoyed the southern winter. Now I wait

Make sense?

Yes it does. Thank you. And yeah, did not realize she was quoting a book.

[_Aaron_]

Do we need a movie called "Strong Jaw Lines - An all male Yoga and Pilates movie" ?
.

Goddamn klar. You're cracking me up.

[Alpinord]

Thanks for the heads up. SlideWright is in for $500. Let's see the mags get behind this.

To the point about lack of encouragement, it may be a function of where you live. Here in Durango there is an incredible amount of support for female athletes, especially on the soccer pitch, volleyball court, biking, skiing/boarding and most outdoor sports. Having grown up with a sister who has always achieved success in the athletics and still rips on skis, I've been 'chicked' more than my fair share. I hope the movie also includes the long view from ladies who are still getting after it after many decades and not just the 'young and pretty'.

[JeffreyJim]

Awesome Alpinord! Thanks man!

Klar -- you killed me with the yoga/pilates movie. Strong Jawlines. I may go make that happen. The story of the yogaman.

[powdork]

I know several female splitboarders, would you like me to introduce you?

Well that WAS the entire reason for my long winded post. Glad you saw through the rest of it.