nullJulie Dash has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise $55,000 which will go towards completing her feature documentary "Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl."

nullA project we first alerted you to last summer, Dash’s film documents the life of writer, poet, actress, and culinary anthropologist Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor, a frequent contributor to NPR (producing award-winning documentaries like 1983’s "Slave Voices: Things Past Telling," and "Daufuskie: Never Enough Too Soon"), who went on to host NPR’s award-winning documentary series "Horizons" from 1988 until 1995, when it was discontinued.

Smart-Grosvenor, who also appeared in Dash’s "Daughters of the Dust," was born in Fairfax, South Carolina, and grew up in a Gullah family (in case you aren’t aware, Dash’s seminal work "Daughters of the Dust" tells the story of 3 generations of Gullah women). Smart-Grosvenor traveled all over the world as editor for Elan magazine, hosted shows on NPR (including the aforementioned "Horizons"), and has made appearances on several television programs including "The Today Show" and "Nightline." 
She has written several magazine columns for Ebony, Jet, Essence, Publishers Weekly and Redbook to name a few. She also has served on the Literary Task Force for the South Carolina Arts Commission. 
She is author of "Vibration Cooking or the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl," an autobiographical cookbook; and of "Thursdays and Every Other Sunday Off: A Domestic Rap."
And to acknowledge African influences on the world, Smart-Grosvenor has written a food folk opera called "Nyam," a Gullah word meaning "to eat."

"We’re using today’s social media and online technology to reach out to people who care about independent film, about women in and on film, about the representation of African American women; and to history, art and food lovers everywhere to help us retrace her unconventional life journey from the South Carolina Low Country to the world’s stage," Dash says.

Launched just yesterday, with 38 days left, the campaign has raised about $500. 

Watch the pitch video immediately below, and to make your contribution to the campaign, visit: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/travel-notes-of-a-geechee-girl–2

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