UP LIFTING: Elevating Homes & Inspiring Community Resilience
Seeking Funding to Create a Documentary Film
More Information about this Documentary Project
This documentary will showcase the elevation of a historic 1802 Greek Revival home in Owego, NY, within the broader story of this underserved, historic, flood prone community’s path toward climate resilience. This project aims to raise awareness about home elevation and home adaptation as sustainable and community preserving flood mitigation alternatives to the more common practice of buyouts or inaction.
Kim's Story
This is Kim Trahan’s home and hers is a powerful story. Kim is a physician assistant. In 2011 her home flooded, her medical office flooded, and her patients’ homes flooded. In short, her entire life flooded, and its impact was devastating. Similarly, all but a few blocks of the Village of Owego were submerged by this same flooding event and the collective suffering it induced was great. But this is a story of hope as the viewer will see how Kim is preserving and saving her home with this elevation project. They will both be UP LIFTED in 2025 - the house onto a new foundation and Kim to a mentally healthier place where she no longer lives in fear of the weather. The story of Kim’s journey will be integrated into the broader story of flood resilience in the rural Village of Owego in Upstate NY.
Local Context
Since the 2011 flood, 44 homes were demolished and only 11 were elevated in Owego. Maintaining the vacated land for 19 of these properties is an additional burden for this resource strapped village. This documentary highlights how elevation and building adaptation offers a more sustainable solution by:
- Preserving historic architectural and cultural heritage.
- Preserving much needed housing
- Promoting an environmentally responsible approach to flood mitigation.
- Preserving the tax base and community.
Documentary Objectives:
- Capture the technical aspects and benefits of home elevation.
- Share a homeowner's emotional journey to flood resilience
- Highlight the adverse mental health impacts of flooding and continued vulnerability to flooding.
- Advocate for wider adoption of home adaptation as viable flood mitigation strategy to buyout (demolition).
- Showcase an underserved community's proactive approach towards climate adaptation.
Target Audience:
- Homeowners in flood-prone areas
- Policymakers and community leaders
- Environmental, hazard mitigation, and historic preservation organizations and professionals
- The general public interested in sustainable solutions
Project Impact
Retreat doesn’t make sense everywhere. There are communities across the country like Owego, where adaptation is an insufficiently understood and promoted option. This documentary will serve as a much needed and valuable educational tool, inspiring communities and individuals to consider home elevation and adaptation as viable options to retreat for flood mitigation. By demonstrating the technical aspects and human story behind the elevation process, the film aims to spark broader conversations and actions towards sustainable flood mitigation solutions that can preserve our much needed housing stock, history, mental and physical well-being, and communities nationwide.
Project Team
This project is led by J. Nucci Consulting, LLC. The video will be jointly filmed by Robyn Wishna and Karen Rodriguez. Robyn Wishna is an independent visual journalist and project director based in upstate New York. She is the project director/photographer/videographer who led the community-based projects “We are Ithaca” and “Spirit of Tompkins”. Karen Rodriguez is a Fulbright Scholar and master documentary cinematographer who focuses on creating intimate, thought-provoking portraits of subjects that range from poets and poetry to wildlife, politics, and personal diary. Social media and marketing will be managed by Nancy Coddington, a STEM leader, media producer, and science communicator with over 17 years of experience in broadcast media and education. She has hosted and executive produced podcasts and award-winning monthly digital science shows. For more information on the team, see these links: https://jnucciconsulting.com, http://www.robynwishna.com, http://www.karenrodriguez.net, https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-coddington/
Project Timeline
- Fall 2024: Fundraising
- Winter 2025: Fundraising, elevation planning, video pre-production, film planning process and pre-interviews, launch media campaign with project updates, and sponsor acknowledgments
- Spring/Summer 2025: Filming: elevation preparation, elevation, and landscaping/rebuilding of the historic 1802 Greek Revival home in Owego; the broader Village of Owego story of resilience; interviews. Media campaign: continue showcasing project updates and appropriate sponsor-level acknowledgments
- Fall 2025: Film: documentary production and editing, media campaign continues
- Winter 2026/Spring 2026: Documentary completion and premiere. Promotion of documentary, along with releasing footage not in the final documentary on appropriate social platforms.
Collaboration Benefits
This project offers a unique opportunity for a sponsor to demonstrate their commitment to:
- Preserving housing, communities, history, and the mental health of residents who live in flood prone places
- Promoting the workforce development needed to elevate homes nationwide
- Environmental stewardship
- Historic preservation
- Community development
Support telling this important story about community resilience.
Sponsorship Opportunity
Our production team is proud to present these sponsorship opportunities to help make this impactful documentary a reality. Sponsors will be prominently credited in the film, recognizing their vital contribution to promoting sustainable flood mitigation strategies.
Cornerstone Sponsor: Foundation Lifter ($20,000)
Benefits:
o Prominent logo and name placement in documentary credits.
o Cornerstone Sponsor listed in credits.
o Featured interview opportunity about your company's commitment to sustainable solutions. Footage will be used at the producers' discretion and may appear on websites and social media platforms.
o Logo displayed on all promotional materials and website.
o Minimum of 50 Social media posts and recognition throughout the media campaign.
Pillar Sponsor: History Raiser ($10,000)
Benefits:
o Prominent logo placement in documentary credits.
o History Raiser sponsor listed in credits
o Logo displayed on promotional materials and website.
o Minimum of 25 Social media recognition throughout the campaign.
Beam Builder Sponsor: Flood Fighters ($5,000)
Benefits:
o Logo placement in documentary credits.
o Recognition on the project website.
o Minimum of 10 social media mentions throughout the campaign.
Lintel Lifter Sponsor: Community Cornerstone ($1,000)
Benefits:
o Logo listed on the project website.
o Social media acknowledgment during a campaign milestone update.
Friend of the Foundation ($100 - $500)
Benefits:
o Listed as a supporter on the project website.
o Social media acknowledgment during a campaign milestone update.