We’re so happy that our 1st film has been selected to another film festival! We believe this story is so important, both for understanding a rural part of the country seldom considered in national discourse, funding, policy, & movements & bc its story resonates across regions & across states.

Another laurel, another film festival where people from all over will get to learn from the amazing Kotzebue families, childcare providers, educators, & community leaders in “At Home/In Home: Rural Alaska Childcare in Crisis”!!!

Heads up: This bill increases the # of families who will qualify for childcare assistance, permits the state to calculate assistance rates to better match the true cost of care, & provides tax credits to businesses who fund their employees’ childcare. www.adn.com/politics/ala...

Importantly, at this screening we provided on-site childcare by licensed providers Hillcrest Children’s Center, and dinner for all guests. We recognize that in order for policy & politics to be accessible to those affected by it, it needs to account for parents & children & their basic needs.

In Sep 2023, we hosted a screening of “At Home/In Home: Rural Alaska Childcare in Crisis” in Anch, along w/ a panel of state policymakers & @lisamurkowski.bsky.social staff, providers, advocates, & journalist—& w/ bipartisan #akleg emcees. Livestream is linked below; panel convo begins at minute 58.

In Aug, we spent time w/ a phlebotomist & lab tech & her family, incl. this 3-year-old who will hopefully get a spot in the South Peninsula Hospital’s childcare they’ve been planning, building, & licensing to open spring 2025. 🏥’s leadership believes in supporting employees w/ childcare as a benefit

For this series, we interviewed 3 people w/ insight into the economics of childcare. As statewide economists (Nolan Klouda) & Kenai Peninsula-focused economic development leaders (Cassidi Cameron & Julie Engebretsen), each spoke of how the lack of childcare affects business, tourism, & demographics.

We visited the day before the childcare’s 2-year anniversary. They were able to build, license & open the childcare using CARES act & ARPA funding. Opening a childcare requires a significant amount of startup funding for both the direct costs of building or renovating, installing playgrounds,

🧵Preschoolers play on the Ninilchik Traditional Council childcare’s playground. Their childcare, called “It Takes a Village,” serves the children of employees & enrolled Tribal members + also serves the communities at large, from Anchor Point to Clam Gulch.

“It all starts with these little humans, right? I mean, I know a lot of people say ‘They’re our future,’ but I think they’re more than than our future. They’re little people that deserve safe, fun, loving environments to grow.”

- Laurie Mead, group home #childcare provider in Soldotna, Alaska

This October KDLL article provides a glimpse into the environment of childcare on the Kenai Peninsula that we’ve been focusing our filmmaking on since April. Sparse, hard to staff, hard to afford. Some policy changes may help but more is needed. alaskapublic.org/2024/10/15/c...

Here’s a little glimpse of what we’ve shared so far! You can check us out on IG, which allows for longer captions, & we’ll work on sharing more here.

The film has been cited as influencing the Governor’s Task Force on Childcare, regulation change that has already gone into place, & legislative policy & appropriations. And it’s an official selection of the Toronto International Women Film Festival! We’re so grateful to the women at its center ❤️.

To kick off this account, we’d love to introduce you to our first mini-documentary on childcare, “At Home/In Home: Rural Alaska Childcare in Crisis,” set in Kotzebue. 25 min long, you can watch it at: vimeo.com/814699053?sh... It premiered 4/5/23 & was shown to #akleg at the Capitol & in Anchorage.