Bethel resident Lathe Poland has taken a personal project -- exploring the roots of the increasingly common malady from which he himself suffers -- to new heights, thanks to an ongoing Kickstarter campaign.
Earlier this year, the filmmaker launched a documentary called Carb-Loaded: A Culture Dying to Eat, examining the causes of diabetes after being diagnosed with the disease. He's working on the project alongside collaborator Eric Carlsen.
"I started digging and realized I could pretty much control my diet," he told Patch in May. "I started wondering, what is the story with the standard American diet?"
The project has produced a new trailer featuring interviews with well-known nutritionists, including Marion Nestle and Weighty Matters blogger Yoni Freedhoff. It's also raised more than $7,400 to date from 183 backers. (While donating more than $2,000 can earn you an Executive Producer credit, but a donation of just $10 earns you the title of "genuine friend.")
Kickstarter funds are used for everything from travel expenses to complete remaining interviews to musical scores and content licensing.
"Any filmmaker will tell you that there are always challenges to hitting a target date," wrote the filmmakers on the page. "We are going into this project knowing full well that issues with equipment and scheduling will arise. We are satisfied that we have developed the 'tools' to meet these challenges from our 10 years in video production."
View the five-minute trailer on the film's Kickstarter page.
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