**UPDATE** - June 21st

The outpouring of support over the last few days has been amazing!  With everyone’s help we are getting closer to where we need to be to get the film out to a wide audience.  We should have our legal and insurance fees covered now, and are well on our way to having enough to get a professionally authored DVD created for screenings. Funds are still needed for additional post work so that the film can look and sound as good as possible, and we also need to get it onto a professional tape format for festival screenings, as well as have it encoded for online distribution. 

There are only a few hours left so please help us keep the momentum going!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thisishowirollmovie

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HowIRollMovie

The Story

This Is How I Roll is a feature length documentary about the rocky beginnings of men's roller derby. Alternately hilarious and thought provoking, the film follows the pioneers of men’s roller derby as they fight to move from being seen as a joke to earning respect, yet without ever taking themselves too seriously. It also spotlights how conflicting ideas about gender influence our perceptions of sports, athletes, ownership and entitlement -- something current coverage of roller derby has yet to tackle.

We started filming in early 2008 and four years later, we are proud to say we have a smart, funny, and engaging film to share with you. In order to do that we need your help. We funded much of the production from our own pockets, then we secured a very generous loan to get us through post production. We have also been very fortunate to have some great supporters who have gone above and beyond to help this project become a reality; giving it, and us, their time, talent, and expertise.

We had just enough left in our bank account to get a screening worthy DVD to the Seattle True Independent Film Festival where This Is How I Roll  premiered on May 10th. We have gone as far as we can and now we need to ask for your help to get us the rest of the way, and get this film out to an audience.

We need your help for the film to continue to screen at festivals in the U.S. and abroad, pursue potential broadcast outlets, launch home DVD sales, online distribution and community and league screenings! It can't happen without your help!

What We Need & What You Get

What we need:

• Festival submission fees, screeners, and mailing costs (this stuff adds up fast)!
• Professional screening formats required by many festivals, theaters, and broadcasters.
• Additional color correction and sound mix to make the film meet broadcast standards.
• Boring but very necessary legal, insurance, accounting and fiscal sponsorship fees.
• Creating the glass masters and producing the first round of home DVDs!
• Having the film encoded for iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and other online platforms.

The more money we can raise, the more places we can show the film, (festivals, theaters, community and league screenings, broadcast, DVDs and multiple online outlets are all potential options) and the more places you will be able to see it!

Anything we raise that is above our goal will go towards producing a trailer, and creating special features (like extra footage and deleted scenes) for the home DVD.

Once the film begins to generate revenue, our first responsibility will be to pay back the loan we have. This is why we are asking for your help, the more money we can raise via IndieGoGo, the more options we will have for getting the film out to you!

What you get!

We are working with small derby owned or derby friendly business to bring you special limited edition perks! We are so excited about these partnerships! Contributing at the Wicked Level will get you a limited edition, personalized crew jacket! You can also snag a discount from Hellbent Helmets, maker of awesome custom painted derby helmets. At any point in the campaign contributing at the $30 level will get you on the list for the pre-release DVD of This Is How I Roll. Keep an eye on this page, will be rolling out new perks as the campaign continues. We are also continuing to look for sponsorship partners, so please contact us if you are interested in getting involved!

Why? (and then what?)

This film is about more than a fun sport, or a cool hobby. Modern roller derby, with its DIY skater owned and run ethic has been challenging the mainstream business model for sports teams since its rebirth in 2001. This modern, female driven, revival has challenged ideas about everything from what a female athlete looks like to how you run an international sporting organization. This Is How I Roll documents a shift in the evolution of modern roller derby, long before the press and even many of the fans ever became aware it was happening. When men decided they wanted to play as well, quiet (and not so quiet) rumblings went through the roller derby community. This Is How I Roll offers a glimpse into the early years of men’s roller derby – when everyone, male and female skaters and even the fans were trying to figure out just where they fit in. Who owns a sport? Who has a right to play, to call themselves and athlete? Do the answers to those questions change if you are a woman or a man? Is it ever ok to exclude people based only on gender? What if their inclusion might challenge something you feel you created? We hope This Is How I Roll gets people talking about these questions in a new way, and with a different perspective than they may have had before. We also hope the film makes you laugh and maybe even cheer a few times for a good play and a hard hit. It is, after all, about roller derby!

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand that not everyone can make a contribution. If you would like to support the film, here are some things that would help!:

• Share this page on Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler or anywhere else you can think of.
• Like This Is How I Roll on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You can also visit our website and join our mailing list to get updates on screenings.
• Join the conversation! Leave messages or ask questions on Facebook or Twitter, we would love to hear from you. If you blog, contact us, we would love to do a short interview or answer a few questions about the film via email.