We're back for SEASON 3!!

Carmona Producxions and PrideArts are excited to partner for another season of the Pathfinders Project. Set to release Summer 2024.

These "inter-generational" conversations feature LGBTQIA+ leaders in the Chicagoland area discussing their histories and lessons. We film these interviews and present them together in a presentation that seeks to honor their life and their works. Our mission is to highlight the queer experience throughout various points in American history and celebrate LGBTQIA+ history as American history.

In two years we have been able to interview nineteen incredible leaders and create two feature-length videos that honor their past experiences and their contributions to the community. This year we are hoping to film six new leaders in the Summer of 2023 and release the third season in 2024.

To realize this vision for the third iteration we are asking our supporters to lend a hand.

The biggest challenge in producing a community project like this is ensuring that the people giving their time are properly compensated. I would like this project to be an opportunity for young filmmakers and artists to put their skills to work but also to be compensated for their time. I have focused a big portion of this budget to funding stipends for the artists involved and help offset the cost of lending their time, resources, and talents. Johnathan (co-director of SEASON 3) and I also want to use some of the money to upgrade our equipment to get the best possible footage and release the best possible feature next summer.

This project has become the highlight of my year. Working with like-minded individuals and telling stories from my communities has given me purpose and pride. I have grown with the project and I have seen others grow with it as well. We make do with the little we have and tell the stories we want to hear, in our way. I feel inspired every year working with the people I've worked with and engaging with the leaders we have interviewed. My appreciation for history, our history, has shifted my perspective on a number of things, and in a number of ways. I have heroes now that I wasn't aware of before. That's what we hope to give back to our audience and viewers, a list of leaders who have been here, who have paved the way, and who can give us hope that this is a fight worth fighting for.

I believe that is an excellent opportunity worth sharing with others who are looking for a way to give back to our communities and that's why I continue to come back to it year after year because I know that we have the potential to grow and support the artists of tomorrow, but it does take effort and it does take sacrifice.

You are investing in a good team. We work hard. We give it effort and we give it care. We stumble like the rest but we deeply believe these stories to be important and we think others will think so too. So we persevere.

In donating you are also becoming part of this team. You are helping us lift this new season off the ground and I cannot thank you enough for that.

We will be featuring our sponsors throughout the production process as well as in the final product.

Donations are tax-deductible and for every $30 you will receive a special thank you video from the production team.

Donate in "Honor of Someone" and their name will be featured in the project.

Donate for a specific part of the budget: if you would like your donation to be used for a specific part of the project please reach out directly and we can discuss it further.

Donate in encouragement and support: if a monetary donation is not possible at the moment we always welcome donations of support and encouragement. Please let us know why you think this project is important and how you personally have been impacted by these stories.

The Pathfinders Project starts production this summer (2023), follow our social media pages for updates and more, and stay tuned for upcoming screenings of The Pathfinders Project 2022; ON TRANSFORMATION

Thank you for your support and for believing in our vision as much as we do.

¡Muchísimas gracias!

-Magdiel Carmona

Producer, Director, Collaborator

About the Project (click here)

The Pathfinders Project 3

By Pride Films and Plays

The Pathfinders Project 3

Inter-generational conversations regarding LGBTQIA+ history

Team Members