Lola Aikins, Director of ‘Naledi,’ is Crowdfunding to “Tell a Story We Don’t See Often”

“Some of the events such as Naledi tripping over a hurdle, is directly drawn from something that happened to me,” Aikins says. “So, the influence from my life was really strong. I looked towards myself as well as the people I know to build these characters. Naledi’s father is based on my grandfather, for example.”

On the themes of resilience and grappling with grief that are interwoven throughout the story, Aikins says that everyone has been through something that they thought that they could not come back from. “But they did manage to overcome,” she says. “Grief is universal, and grief can take many forms, not just losing someone to death but losing a friend or a career. Some people believe it could break them but through support and time, even though you may not entirely move on, it eases and you get to continue on your path.”

While crowdfunding can be a challenging process, it can certainly be rewarding and has been for Aikins, who is enthusiastic about bringing her film to life. “Seeing all the support from people all over the world has been really inspiring,” she says. “Naledi is a story we don’t see often, but this proves that there is an audience out there that wishes to see these types of stories.”

Hosted on Kickstarter, Naledi has ten days left to raise €50,000 (over $54,000). If this mission is achieved, the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa will grant them an additional €20,000 (almost $22,000) funding. To support Naledi and invest in seeing the film to fruition, visit here.