Hey folks! Some of you know me as Amber, but likely many more of you know me as Reptar. Like many of you, I have always longed for a roller derby film to exist that is realistic to the modern-day flat-track derby experience (outside of the documentary medium). I have always known it would take a roller derby person to make such a film, but prior to the pandemic, my dream of doing so was just that- a dream. But now, because of my passion for working in film, ironically because of the pandemic, I have been able to focus on building a career in the film industry these last 3 years ever since roller derby was put on pause in 2024. The last 3 years of experience working in the film industry have given me the perspective, knowledge, resources, and contacts to feel confident in making a realistic, big-budget roller derby film for a major network. In order to do so, I am calling upon the derby community and anyone extended that finds themselves here to help by contributing to an initial budget needed to film a mock trailer at Rollercon this year as proof of concept for this film. Last week I set out to Vegas with a talented film crew from Philadelphia with a huge goal in mind. To film a proof of concept video to pitch for a roller derby movie. A realistic, scripted narrative roller derby movie. A movie at the large scale that represents our sport properly. Trying to see to a goal of this magnitude has come with it’s fair share of challenges, obstacles, emotional moments, as well as overwhelming ones. I could not be more grateful to the people who were willing to jump onto this project and take on the challenges along with me to make this happen. There is still an ongoing strike to get through before we start pitching and much work ahead in the editing stages, but this team captured so much incredible footage. As much as this film sets out to finally give real representation to the community, it is meant just as much to be what could recover this sport we all love and put a lot of time, money, effort, and heart into. If we do this right and the film does get picked up, this could be the perfect timing and just what the sport needs to see a surge in interest in the sport much like when Whip-It was released. The struggles since the pandemic have affected our leagues and the sport as a whole due to loss of membership, practice spaces & venues, and ultimately, financial stability. I truly believe that this could be something that pulls us out of the deficit we are all likely still seeing yet still trying to get back to where we were, which we all know, was already hard to maintain with this being a sport run by volunteers who can only do so much. In order to do this, support and contributions are going to be crucial to make this the best possible pitch it can be to be sure the film actually gets picked up. Any contributions are greatly appreciated. If you aren’t able donate, sharing this link still goes a long way! Thank you so so much to everyone who has donated and shared so far. I couldn’t be more grateful for all of you. ❤️ Photo by: Michele Hale
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