Thanks to your overwhelming support we have SURPASSED our initial goal of $50k towards the production BUT WE ARE NOWHERE NEAR FINISHED! 

We have a $1 million dollar budget for our feature documentary and our promised one short documentary per committed 9/11 Kid. The more money we are able to raise, the sooner we can get their stories heard. 

We think 16 years is long enough. Don't you?

So please watch, donate, and share!  

We thank you for helping bring forward these incredible messages of HOPE.

What is WE GO HIGHER?

We Go Higher, at its root, is the story of a young woman confronting her past and making sense of what has been remembered as perhaps the single most tragic moment in modern American history. Delaney Colaio, now 18 years old, explores her life after losing her father and two uncles in 2001. Catalyzed by an invitation for her family to speak at Guantanamo Bay against the five accused in the terrorist attacks, Delaney instead chooses to go on a heart-questioning journey to unite with other surviving 9/11 Kids.

Yet this is not a story about tragedy. As Delaney travels on her own path of healing, she encounters others who have lost their loved ones, and realizes that all roads lead to Hope.  In the production, we have already filmed 10 incredibly brave Kids, now adults, who have come forward to share their stories their way.  That is when we realized we had a wonderful problem, more and more stories. We have already been able to capture so many beautiful stories and we refuse to turn away anyone who wants to be heard.  We now have FIFTY MORE Kids (and counting) who want to contribute to this amazing reshaping of a cultural narrative. 

While most of our stories involve those directly affected by 9/11, we believe that We Go Higher, on a grander and global scale, is a story of how courage overcomes fear.  As such, it provides a universal message to the world: out of the ashes of a tragedy rises a profound story of Hope. Ultimately, this is a film that invites audiences on a journey away from despair and into the grace and resilience of recovery.  Join our award-winning filmmaking team to inspire and uplift anyone dealing with loss in reshaping a story that will be told by the brave voices of more than fifty 9/11 Kids.

Anything beyond our $50k goal will go directly to our post-production budget to edit all of our footage and help bring our feature film and short series to life.

Other Ways You Can Help

    •    Share this campaign with your friends! You can use this link: https://vimeo.com/233224370

    •    Sign up to receive email updates

    •    'Favorite' this page to receive crowdfunding updates (click the 'heart' symbol)

    •    Follow us on Facebook and Instagram

    •    Are you a 9/11 Kid who would like to share their story? We’d love to hear from you! (Please fill out this form or email Delaney@wegohigherfilm.com)

Why Indiegogo? Why now?

We are committed to not turning anyone away who wishes to be a part of this film. To continue our ever-evolving project, we need your support in raising $50,000 to finish the filming portion of We Go Higher.  Your contribution will allow for each Kid to have a 30 minute interview, allowing us to capture every single story with the care and importance it deserves.

We are offering many unique and meaningful perks as part of our campaign!  Some of those include, original artwork created during the film by the Kids, posters and postcards signed by the filmmakers and cast, tickets to the premiere, and even a week-long stay at one of our filming locations in beautiful Montauk, NY. 

There are many ways to be a part of this wonderful project and we are so grateful in advance for your generous contributions.  We understand that not everyone can contribute but wants to help, so if you are able to share about the film on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or email, we thank you!

The Journey So Far

We have completed filming the stories of 10 Kids so far, but still need to complete  the filming of over 50 who have come forward and want their stories told, their way, for the first time. Your contribution will allow us to give each Kid a 30 minute long interview, which will be edited down to a short documentary as well as inclusion in the feature film. 

The Team

SARA HIRSH BORDO - DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, WRITER

Sara is the founder & CEO of Women Rising, a production company that empowers women and girls through content and experiences. Sara is the award-winning director and producer of her premiere film in 2015, A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, which won awards at all 9 festivals it played, qualified for the Academy Award, and secured global distribution in more than 30 countries. Her follow-up film project, ProtectHer, focused on combating sexual assault on college campuses by engaging male athletes and is premiering at the Carmel International Film Festival, Fall 2017. We Go Higher is her third documentary film positively storytelling a complex social subject, with a female hero. She has previously held positions as Executive Director of Interactive Marketing at Paramount Pictures, VP of Digital Marketing at MGM Studios, and CEO & Co-Founder of NowLive. Sara is a proud member of the Producer's Guild of America New Media Council, the International Documentary Association, Film Independent, and the Television Academy.

MICHAEL CAMPO - DIRECTOR, WRITER

Michael Campo is the co-owner of Grassroots Films Inc. and CampCampo.com. Michael is responsible for award winning films such as The Human Experience which sold to Netflix and OWN, Child31, and the latest of his heart-warming documentaries, OUTCASTS. A writer, director, filmmaker and all around creative strategist, Campo is the writer and associate producer of the SXSW Audience Award Winner, A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, and a contributing filmmaker to Women Rising.

DELANEY COLAIO - CO-DIRECTOR, WRITER, AND 9/11 KID

Delaney Colaio is a recent high school graduate with a special interest in cinematography. Delaney already has collaborated on photo and video projects with renowned artists such as Twenty One Pilots, KYLE, Hoodie Allen, Bryce Vine, Chef’Special, and Mutemath. Delaney’s passion for giving back to others has brought her to several countries around the world including Belize, Guatemala, Iceland, and South Africa. She has also partnered with the Hope Sports Organization, building affordable and sustainable housing in Mexico. She is now attending Quinnipiac University as a Freshman.

SARAH JANE MURRAY - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

SJ Murray is an EMMY-nominated and award-winning writer and producer. Born in Ireland, she works and lives in the US, and is passionate about the roles stories play in shaping culture. A graduate of Auburn, she earned her PhD from Princeton, studied screenwriting at UCLA, and is a tenured professor at Baylor. She is the founding Co-Chair of the NEXUS working group on film, media & story, and has curated impact-centered conversations from Sundance to the White House and the United Nations. Her TEDx talks on story have been viewed over 250,000 times.

KATIE DANAHY - WRITER AND 9/11 KID

Katie is from Yorktown Heights, New York and attended Convent of the Sacred Heart, where she was actively involved in the community. Katie also participated in numerous service opportunities during her time at Sacred Heart, including one significant trip to the Dominican Republic through Global Leadership Adventures. She spent a week in Puerto Plata constructing sustainable structures for an impoverished community. Katie greatly enjoys learning and graduated salutatorian of her high school class. She now studies as a freshman at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Here, she plans on studying Global Health and possibly Mathematics. Katie is compelled to go into the medical field and become a doctor after witnessing her mother’s battle with breast cancer in 2006.  Katie still enjoys running despite the conclusion of the cross country season and continues to dedicate time to the faith she has cultivated in school and family life from a young age.

EMILY MICCIULLI - WRITER AND 9/11 KID

Emily lives in Rye, New York, and has been living there since she was in first grade. Prior to living in Rye, Emily was born in and lived in New Jersey with her mom, biological father, and younger sister. After her mom remarried to her now dad, Tom, Emily is one of six children: Alexandra, 20, Sara 16, Tommy, 16, Katie, 7 and Shannon, 5. Emily attended Convent of the Sacred Heart where she participated in the athletics, community service, campus ministry, clubs, and took on various leadership roles. Emily is currently a freshman at Georgetown University in Washington, DC where she plans to study on the pre-medical track. She has already joined various clubs and looks forward to immersing herself into the Georgetown community, as well as take advantage of all that Washington, DC has to offer.

ELIZABETH BUFFONE - ASSOCIATE PRODUCER

Prior to joining Women Rising, Elizabeth was a member of the Creative Artists Agency Foundation, where she worked with the agency's clients to develop their philanthropic interests, and ran employee engagement efforts in the NYC office. While at CAA, Elizabeth founded Future Forward, a group for junior women in the company, and was an elected Task Force Leader. Elizabeth is also the Young Professional Committee Chair for the American Women's Museum of History. A graduate of Georgetown University, Elizabeth was an English major and Film and Media Studies minor. At Georgetown, she helped to found the Own It Summit, an annual event that bridges the gap between female leaders of the 21st century and the millennials who admire them.

JESSICA WARING - ASSOCIATE PRODUCER AND 9/11 KID

Jessica Waring grew up in Bayside, New York and currently resides on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She graduated from Quinnipiac University summa cum laude in 2009 with a BS in Finance, BS in Accounting and minor in mathematics. She is a licensed CPA in New York and works in the asset management industry. Jessica is the current co-chair of the Tuesday's Children Junior Board and has been involved in various fundraising efforts for the organization over the last 4 years, including co-chairing 4 gala events and running the New York City Half and Full Marathons. Jessica is an Associate Producer for the documentary We Go Higher: A Documentary of Hope from the 9/11 Kids.

CHRIS JOHNSON - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Chris draws from 25 years of experience with many of the most visually talented contemporary artists, directors and cinematographers. Chris has had films play at major film festivals such as TIFF, Cannes, Sundance and many others and has shot for HBO, Showtime, ABC, NBC, Disney, Universal, Sony and Paramount. He is a member of the International Cinematographers Guild, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and was a lead instructor of cinematography and lighting at the prestigious Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

MARCELINO ORTIZ - EDITOR

Marcelino is the Founder of Chipotle Films and an award-winning filmmaker. With expertise as a Broadcast Journalist, he combined his technical knowledge of non-linear editing, opening doors for him as a commercial editor and in the world of documentaries. Marcelino’s debut film was selected by National Geographic's All Roads Films, and for his second documentary project, A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velazquez Story, co-edited the award winning film. He is in preparation of his next two documentaries with the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts and the Fusion Network.

Thank you for supporting We Go Higher!  For more information please visit: www.wegohigherfilm.com