HELP US SUPPORT SMALL FAMILY FARMS 

AND THEIR COMMUNITIES ALL ACROSS THE NATION!

“True to life and effective.” –Hollywood Reporter

“A must-see.” –MovieMaker Magazine

“This doc goes beyond the romance of farming . . 

. Unflinching, compassionate, and beautiful.”

–Michael Pollan, Omnivore’s Dilemma & The Botany of 

Desire

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR IF YOU MISSED THE 

DEADLINE, YOU CAN STILL HELP US OUT AT OUR

ON HER OWN FILM WEBSITE

About the Film

“The land is our identity. The animals we raise are our livelihood. We care for the land the same way our ancestors did. This is our home and these are our children, our neighbors, our community we provide for.” – Nancy Prebilich (Gleason Ranch)

ON HER OWN tells a compelling story of a family struggling to salvage their relationships and their 150 year-old, 5th-generation family ranch in Bodega, California. The project began four years ago with the intention of documenting the everyday difficulties of maintaining a family farm. Now, however, it has turned into a much larger, much more personal story of loss, life, pain, and resilience. 

Nancy Prebilich and her sister Cindy spent their youth on Gleason Ranch. Their grandmother passed away in 2005, and since then they have been working tirelessly to save the 90-acre ranch, and save their family in the process.

As time passes, mounting pressures arise. In the face of great loss—the death of their parents in a six-month period—they struggle to hold onto their farm, their home, and their heritage. And while the ranch becomes more difficult to maintain, so do their relationships. Gradually, the story begins to ask what it means to give up everything for your history, your land, and your identity. Harnessing moments of both celebration and sadness, Gleason Ranch becomes a powerful place of life, death, and the precious connection we hold with the natural world.

To tell this story, we need your help. Funding a documentary film is not easy, so we humbly ask for your support in this journey. Although we’ve been working on this for many years, we can’t do it alone. This is why we’ve come to Indiegogo.

ON HER OWN is a representation of what is happening all across the country as farmland is being taken away from farmers--the very families behind our nation's food production. Our food system is at threat and every year multi-generational family farms are getting bought out because they can’t sustain such harsh economic times and effectively stand up to large corporations and land developers that want to take their land. In a time when demands on local farmers are ever-increasing, and developers are continually buying out small farms, forcing families to leave the land that holds their heritage and history, we deserve to really understand what this looks like on a personal level. In other words, we believe people need to see what is happening to humanity when large agribusiness buys out local farms, further corporatizing our food culture and supply. 

The future of family farmland is at stake. This film shows the human side of a much larger process, asking us to think about what it means for our environment, as well as our humanity.

We believe in family farmers and their stories, and if we don’t stand up for them, our rural economies will fall apart beneath us. 

In making this film, we hope to support local farmers and their communities everywhere. We hope you will too! Our health and sustainability rely on them.

Why We Need Your Support / How Indiegogo Works

ON HER OWN is an incredible story that needs to be told, and we need your contribution to tell it. Filmmaker Morgan Schmidt-Feng has been filming on Gleason Ranch for the last 5 years. He has documented the ups, downs, and everyday activities of a family struggling to survive. Now, we are nearly finished collecting footage and are hoping to move forward with editing and wider distribution. However, we have run out of funds to support the project’s development, and that’s where you come in. There are several more interviews to conduct, as well as an intensive editing process that requires financial backing. The idea is to complete the film by the Fall, 2014. The documentary will then be submitted to major film festivals across the country and will hopefully obtain wider distribution subsequently.

Our goal is to raise a minimum of $35,000. That's right. $35,000 in 35 days! Every contribution counts, and we’d like to thank you for helping us make this a reality. To the right you will see all the ways that we can say thanks!

If you can't help us financially, that's okay. We understand. HELP US GET THE WORD OUT! Anything you can do to help us finish ON HER OWN would be greatly appreciated. Please tell your friends, family members, and colleagues by sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, or through email. The more people that hear about it, the better. This project can’t happen without you!

We’re incredibly grateful.

Where Your Money Will Go

Most of the money we raise will go to the post-production process. The work it takes to put together a documentary film is not easy, as there will be countless hours spent organizing and logging footage. Furthermore, sound design, color correction, and music production will demand enormous amounts of time and energy, and will require the coordination and communication of numerous dedicated individuals. We hope to finish the editing process and have a rough cut by July, 2014, but in order to do so, we need all the help we can get to make this possible. 

Here is where the money raised on Indiegogo will go:

• Editing Costs
• Color Correction and Color Grading
• Sound Design and Mix
• Sound Effects and Foley
• Titles
• Translation and Subtitles in Spanish
• Legal Costs (including rights and clearances for the film's music)
• Festival Submission Fees
• Website and marketing for Theatrical Release in the U.S.

Distribution Plans

Theaters. Festivals. Television. Our goal is for this to be shared with and experienced by as many people as possible.

Our track record speaks for itself: Filmsight Productions won the 2011 regional Emmy® for Best Documentary for The Next Frontier, a feature length television documentary on solutions for climate change, which had over 700 broadcasts on over 300 public television stations. We've Got the Power, its sequel, begins airing this year. So hop on the bandwagon while you can!

OUR LOCAL SUPPORTERS!

We want to say thank you to all the local Bay Area businesses that have donated their time and services to help us say thank you to the highest donors of each day! 

Gather Restaurant, The Cheeseboard Collective, Bi Rite, Pegasus Books, Cafe Gratitude, Spoon Restaurant, Oakland Floats, Monterey Market, Monterey Fish Market, Northbrae Bottle Shop, Be Well Integral Healing, Whole Family Acupuncture, Iscream, Chater Camera, Quetzal Farms, Bay Area Bikes, Jerusalem Organic Kitchen, Anchalee Thai Cuisine, Berkeley Natural, Artist David Mintim, ...and more!