Peter Wants to Be a Feminist

Peter Richards, a 60-year-old “girl dad”, lives in Newport Beach with his wife and two daughters. We, the filmmakers, Adelaide Burrows and Araceli Seager, are two young female filmmakers who were roommates with Peter’s daughter in college.
Peter has discovered gender inequality.

He is shocked, looking around and seeing injustices towards women. Didn’t we kind of already fix that problem, he thinks? We need to let the people know what’s happening.

This was his pitch: “I want to make a documentary about women.”… What does that mean?

A bubble has burst around him, and Peter feels he must take steps to fix the problem at hand. “Fixing” the issue, though, appears to be harder than he anticipated. He can’t “mansplain” himself out of this one. Through intense self reflection, discussions with professors and activists, and an examination of the relationships in his life, Peter comes to find that before he can cure the world of misogyny, he must find the feminist within himself.

For this, we need your help to finish production and edit this into a documentary everyone will want to see!

There are a lot of films about feminism. There are very few films about learning feminism. Peter asks the questions that a lot of dads wish they could ask. Showcasing his process in a humorous light gives a path for others to learn and change along with him.

Most stories start after the awakening. This one starts before it—when the language is clumsy, the confidence is misplaced, and the intentions are good but incomplete.

We document the process of unlearning, self-reflection, accountability, and sitting with discomfort—especially for people who were never forced to do that work earlier in life. And the relationships at the heart of that work are what keep all of us going

And beneath that humor is something rare in our society’s socially divisive landscape: optimism that people can still change.

We’re telling this story because we lived it.

Peter isn’t a character we invented. He’s a real person who needed our help in order to go on this journey.

We are women in our 20s who have grown up navigating what it means to exist as a woman in our society. Watching Peter try earnestly to enter this world raised a question we couldn’t ignore:

What happens when someone actually wants to learn… but doesn’t know where to start?

Peter Wants to Be a Feminist exists because Peter’s is a story of someone who wants to change, and we want to create a space where that could lead to even more change on a larger scale.

Because this isn’t a film you just watch. It’s a film you join.

If you’ve ever:

• Wanted to ask a question but didn’t know how
• Felt overwhelmed by issues out of your control
• Or believed that curiosity should be encouraged, not punished

…then you’re already part of this story.

By backing Peter Wants to Be a Feminist, you’re helping create a space where learning is allowed to be messy—and where growth doesn’t require perfection. You will help us to rent the equipment and hire the people that will make this story go the distance that it is meant to go.

We are deep into production.

We’ve filmed Peter’s daily life, his conversations with family and friends, as well as scholars and activists. We’ve captured deeply personal scenes—some hopeful, some uncomfortable, some informative—and structured the story around the waves of feminism, mirroring Peter’s emotional and ideological shifts.

Without giving away the ending, the film moves through:

• First Wave: A bold (and naïve) beginning
• Second Wave: A period of tension, resistance, and reality checks
• Third Wave: A moment when Peter realizes how much there is left to learn

What comes next, the fourth wave, is the heart of the film— but we won’t spoil that quite yet ;)

This crowdfunding campaign is funding:

• The final days of productions that will complete the story
• Start post-production (editing, sound, animation, music)
• Accessibility (captioning outreach materials)

Reaching our goal is the only way we will be able to tell this story and get it in front of audiences.

Once complete, we plan to:

• Submit to festivals
• Host community campus screenings
• Partner with organizations focused on dialogue, gender equity, and education
• Release the film so it’s accessible beyond traditional documentary audiences

We’re building this with longevity in mind. Not just a premiere, but a conversation.

Peter Wants to Be a Feminist is not only going to be a blast to watch, but it is the beginning of a conversation, proving that learning and growing, at any point in your life, is still powerful.

If you believe that too, come make this with us!!!!

The only way we will reach our crowdfunding goal is if we reach beyond our networks! If you’d like to be a part of supporting female filmmakers and spreading the word about women’s issues, YOU can make the difference in our success.

Please share our campaign via your social media, email, word-of-mouth, however you can! We cannot do this without you. Feel free to copy and paste!

Help @potentialfilmsla by supporting their eye-opening, clever documentary PETER WANTS TO BE A FEMINIST about a 60-year-old girl-dad in Newport Beach going on his own journey to learn and spread the word about feminism. Join them on allyra here.

I’m so excited to see PETER WANTS TO BE A FEMINIST, a documentary by @adelaideburrowsfilm and @celii.ilec. And you should be too! Support them on allyra here.

I just saw the trailer for PETER WANTS TO BE A FEMINIST, being made by @potentialfilmsla. I can’t wait to see the whole thing! You’ve got to support this insightful and witty documentary. Join them on allyra here.

Your contribution is tax-deductible! Peter Wants to Be a Feminist is a fiscally sponsored project of the International Documentary Association (IDA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions in support of Peter Wants to Be a Feminist are payable to IDA and are tax-deductible, less the value of any goods or services received, as allowed by law. The value of goods and services offered is noted under each donation level. If you would like to deduct the entire donation, decline the reward at checkout.