Crowdfunding campaign launches for NYC Intersectional LGBTQ+ and Women-of-Color Web Series

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

"In Femme We Trust"

Trans NYC filmmaker Ariel Mahler, and black Philadelphia writer Daquisha Jones have launched a crowdfunding campaign for their new web series, Bad Ally. The campaign is being run through Seed & Spark, a fundraising web platform designed to specifically help indie filmmakers. The project’s goal is to raise $7,000 in the next 30 days. Once the project hits its goal, editing on the fully-shot web series will commence and the episodes will be released. To contribute or learn more, visit www.seedandspark.com/fund/bad-ally.

Bad Ally is a six-part series that examines the intersection of the transgender community with women of color. The two protagonists, Mix, a white nonbinary transgender actor meets Harriet, a black cisgender straight writer. In a world that narrowly defines everything, including friendship, our main characters defy stereotypes and societal expectations. They redefine friendship in this new-age buddy comedy with a twist set in New York City.

“The crew of Bad Ally believes your actions speak louder than your Facebook posts. Your activism is as important as your identity,” Jones (her/hers pronouns) says of the project, which she co-wrote with Mahler. "You can think that you're being an advocate, but lip service is not enough in this day and age. You can be a 'bad ally,' no matter how hard you try. It is up to us to become better allies."

Mahler (them/theirs pronouns) identifies as nonbinary and has dedicated their adult life to being an advocate for the queer community. They partnered with Jones after discovering they both had a shared passion for social justice, and a desire to tell compelling stories.

Bad Ally, a genre- and gender-bending dramatic comedy series, questions who we are as a community and what we value as a society.

“We hope to reclaim so-called ‘PC’ culture and safe-space mentality,” Mahler says. “This series mixes the academic with the crude, the elevated with the nasty, to produce a story that hasn't been told before. We want to give a platform to the underrepresented by showcasing this not-very-likely, yet desperately necessary, friendship.”

About The Co-Creators and Executive Producers

Daquisha Jones is an Indiana transplant, who moved to New York City after graduating from Hanover College. Bad Ally is Jones’ first film project. Now residing in Philadelphia, she is practicing and expanding her art in both cities. She started her blog “Pussy Politica,” a forum for millennial women of color exploring sexuality, identity, and the political climate. She also volunteers within the Philadelphia community, alongside local black and women activists.

Jones prides herself on being unapologetically political, with a deep understanding of the racial tensions in this country.

“I’d rather be erased than misrepresented," she says. "Fortunately, we live in a time where I don’t have to choose either outcome."

Ariel Mahler, a filmmaker and LGBTQ+ rights advocate, is an out (and proud) self-proclaimed social justice warrior. In 2016, Mahler self-produced their first original web series titled “Façades,” which tackled the relationship between a nonbinary trans person and a drag queen. It explored those thin conceptual lines between "gender as identity" and "gender as performance."

Since that production, Mahler has also directed the independent feature “NOVA”, set to premier in early 2018. The Huffington Post wrote a feature piece on that project.

Mahler feels being visible - and heard - as a trans person, is a politically revolutionary act within itself; they infuse advocacy into everything they do, first and foremost through the production of film.

“Seeing yourself reflected in the media you consume is one of the most fundamentally identity-forming experiences you can have," Mahler says.

A teaser trailer for Bad Ally can be viewed here. To access stills from the series, and to view other clips or to learn more, visit www.badallyseries.com.

Creators Ariel Mahler and Daquisha J. Jones are available for interviews upon request.

Website: www.badallyseries.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/badallyseries/

Twitter & Instagram: @badallyseries