It’s amazing when you think about it, that, to date, there hasn’t been a feature length documentary about the pioneering playwright and activist Lorraine Hansberry.

Aside from being the first African American female playwright to have a play produced on Broadway (Raisin in the Sun, of course, which is now currently in its umpteenth revival with Denzel Washington), Hansberry was a lot more than just a writer. She was also a social critic and activist, writing and agitating about racism and injustice, and even advocating for gay rights back in the 1950s, decades before it became more common.

And that is one reason why filmmakers Jamila Wignot and  Tracy Heather Strain’s currently-in-production documentary about Hansberry, has the potential to be a significant work.

The filmmakers have set up a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise $100,000 in the next month and half, to help complete the film.

Ms Strain wants to complete the documentary in time for the 50th anniversary of Hansberry’s all too early death at the age of 34, from cancer, in 1965.

As the filmmakers say, they felt they had to make the film because “Hansberry not only helped change American theater, but made distinctive contributions to emerging national and international movements: civil rights, feminism, human rights, gay rights, and anti-colonialism… Her story reveals possibilities and limitations for African-American artists in post-World War II America as they sought to juggle the demands of their craft while serving as civil rights spokespersons.“

Go HERE for the project’s Kickstarter page; or click within the widget underneath. 

Watch the video pitch below:

>via: http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/fundraising-kickstarter-campaign-for-lorraine-hansberry-documentary-in-progress