If you are looking for a great Kickstarter campaign to support right now, make it “The Boobie Project” by Viv Li, a Chinese filmmaker based in Berlin and Beijing. Currently up and running with 2 weeks to go to reach the goal of $12,000+, the animated documentary featuring two animated superpower boobies will explore China’s sex culture, the history of breast binding, genderless communism and modern women’s role in society.
The 90-minute film will adapt a hybrid form with archive, animation, fiction and documentary elements. A humorous approach and a decided style will be used. Two breasts animation will be created as the narrator of the film.
It will follow a chapter based and chronological order of filmmaker Viv Li’s personal life, reflecting the influence of one child policy, gender inequality, sex education, globalization, life in diaspora and the sex culture in China historically and today, which she explains more about on the campaign page.
“Do you know that Chinese women had to bind their breasts flat for more than 2000 years? And the genderless communist era of “no breasts”? Perhaps only men can appreciate boobs, because every woman I know, struggles with them. Me? Even worse! Born as an only-child in China, I was raised up as a boy. When my breasts started to grow, they immediately become the struggle of my life. Almost two monsters that never get out of my sight. I tried to hide them by all means even until today. But right now, as an adult filmmaker, I propose to animate them and confront them in a film!” she said.
That became the start of the project and along with her own personal evolution of learning to love her body was the acknowledgement that society has slowly been changing in China as well.
“What has happened? Is that more of a liberation or just another prison? I hate to say it, but the constant struggle with women’s body goes on and on. The difference in turn, shows that a society has changed. The memories of a generation in China can actually be told through the story of boobs and the role of women in society.”
Through the role of breasts and sexuality to a coming-of-age story, the film will follow 30 years of a culture and a society. It is not only to reflect on Viv’s own memory and struggles, but also to understand the larger society perspective on women and the relationship with our bodies and culture.
While Viv’s journey primarily takes place in China, the themes are universal, and it’s a timely topic as we grapple with so many struggles around the way women’s bodies are legislated, oppressed and objectified.
Take a look at the Kickstarter page, watch the campaign video and support the documentary project while it is running so the world can get to know the Superpower Boobies!