Yellow is Forbidden

I've made over 50 documentary films.  But this one, Yellow is Forbidden has caught and held me.  Now I need your help to finish this beautiful film - and you can get a third of your donation back!

Givenchy, Lagerfeld, Chanel, Dior, Gaultier…. perhaps the most exclusive club in the world.  Mostly men.  Mostly European.  Mostly from auspicious backgrounds.

And then there's Guo Pei, the subject of my film.

China's only haute couture designer, Guo Pei was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2016.

A profound story of survival and creativity.  A blind mother, a military father, communism and the Cultural Revolution. 

From a life of uniforms to dressing Rihanna in a 27kg dress - deliberately heavy and cumbersome to show the strength of women - it has not come easy for Guo Pei. 

This is her story.  An inspiration to every person who dreamed a truly impossible dream.

BACKGROUND

I got off the couch….

When Rihanna claimed the Met Gala 2015 red carpet with Guo Pei's yellow cape, as a storyteller I was intrigued to uncover the creative force who 'invents' a 27kg dress.  I wanted to know who is this woman who didn't know of Rihanna. 

And amongst the China internationally known for plastic toys and knock-offs, how did this unique talent develop?

So I got off the couch, called Guo Pei and three days later Director of Photography Jake Bryant and I arrived at her Beijing studio.  She wasn't expecting Jake, just a meeting with me.  But within an hour we were filming and 12 blocks of filming in six countries over two years later, we have gathered some 250 hours of exclusive footage.

THE FILM

YELLOW IS FORBIDDEN is a modern day Cinderella story where the brave, diminutive and daring heroine's dream doesn't end at the ball…  Guo Pei is chasing every designer's fantasy - to become part of the exclusive yet savage world of Haute Couture.

It's an unprecedented story, taking the viewer inside the world where Guo Pei creates magic…

A 50kg dress so heavy Guo Pei has to consider a gymnast not a model to walk the runway…. A gown spun by 300 embroiderers… Precious gold material printed with centuries-old Swiss fresco…

All from a woman who learnt her craft at Number 2 Light Industrial School after the reign of Mao Tse Tung and is now launching internationally at Paris Haute Couture Fashion week.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

YELLOW IS FORBIDDEN has been an extraordinary film to shoot and edit.  As with any creative venture, there must be difficulty - ha! 

I've raised nearly half the budget, now we need your help to finish the film, to cover the fine cut of the film, the composer, archive, colour grade, sound mix and deferred fees

Join us today. I thank you for your support. You won't be disappointed. 

And the great thing about Boosted is that NZ donors can claim 33% back on their tax return. So if you give $100 you can claim $33 back!

I'm needing more than $20,000 but am truly grateful for anything.  Boosted is an all-or-nothing platform meaning that if I don't reach the target of $20,000 in 30 days your donation will be refunded.

My overseas friends, Boosted is in New Zealand dollars - $1NZ equates to about .75US cents.  But if you would like to donate US$1000 or more let me know as there is a similar US charitable organisation that operates for such donations.

THE TEAM

There's a saying in feature documentary circles - if 100 people make one film, only 50 will make a second, 5 will make a third and no-one will make a fourth, it's just too jolly hard.  But this is my fifth documentary and each time I seem to have convinced DOP Jake Bryant that venturing into the unknown, sometimes warzones, often in cultures, languages and religions not our own, is part of the adventure of film-making.   And our belief remains strong these films provide a window into another world that can only foster appreciation, understanding, empathy across borders.

That belief in the power of story telling has paid off.  Rare in filmmaking circles, my films have premiered in four of the world's five top film festivals - Sundance (winning an award), Berlin, Toronto and Venice Film Festivals.

And my most recent film A FLICKERING TRUTH was the New Zealand entrant for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2016 Oscars.

It's a tight group of extraordinary talent that have been sucked along on my journey too - Nicolas Chaudeurge, Margot Francis, Cushla Dillon, Ken Sparks, Chia Chi Hsu in the editing suite, composer Tom Third, shadow puppet artist Annie Katsura Rollins, sound designer Dick Reade, the wonderful team at Park Road Post including Clare Burlinson, editorial advisors and mentors Joanna Paul and Molly Malene Stensgaard, fellow producer Naomi Wallwork... and 32 translators in six countries.

Check out my other work www.pietrabrettkelly.com

THANK YOU

All donors will be offered a credit of thanks in the film's end credits.  And I'll keep you posted on the film's completion and release.  I know you will be as proud of this film as I am.

Filmmaking is a humbling experience - from the people who agree for me to tell their real life stories, right through to you all who are prepared to hear my plea and respond with support and love.  If you could even share this page with your networks that'd be wonderful in helping me spread the word.