Help bring Big Joy — a documentary feature about James Broughton — to our time. God(dess) knows we need much more of it.

"Adventure, not Predicament".......... "Allness is ripe"
"Here We are .......So This is It"
--James Broughton

Big Joy is the magical way of being that James Broughton, who called himself "Big Joy," lived fully and expressed through his poetry, writing, and many experimental films. James was truly one of a kind — a trickster poet, a player in the creative post-war California Renaissance. He was a pioneer of experimental filmmaking, made art which teases us into a direct, playful and wondrous relationship with life, God, nature, and each other. James is one of the great, unsung poets of the 20th century — despite the fact that he created 23 films and authored 23 books. Big Joy will sing his name!

James was also a friend and mentor to many, an exquisite grammarian, a vibrant lover, innovator, and role model especially in his later years. He was an early bard of the Radical Faeries. He believed in polyamory well before its current fashion. His poetry and films are as inspiring as his life. And it's important to our culture that they be saved, read aloud, and illuminated. His story shows how making art can keep you from suicide and how you can find true love — and yourself — at age 62, or any age.

We are beginning by raising the $75,000 necessary to conduct 30 high-quality filmed interviews with a number of Broughton's friends and colleagues who are not getting any younger, including Lawrence Ferlinghetti (now 90). Time is of the essence. And given the current economy, it's important to create employment, particularly in the arts — something James understood in his bones! The funds we're seeking from you will do just that. The film's full budget is $304,000

It will be so wonderful to have you as a partner in this project. We hope you can dig deep, even in these challenging times. You will receive screen credit, regular updates on the project, tidbits of joy we find along the way - and of course the satisfaction of knowing you are adding heaping portions of Big Joy to our needy world.