In this pitch, Zaakirah Naya Muhammad – a brand strategist, TEDx speaker, and childhood retinoblastoma survivor – outlines her plan to launch a documentary series titled "Beyond Survival of the Glow." The series, slated for release by December 2024 (her birth month), will follow approximately seven childhood cancer survivors who are visually impaired, hearing impaired, chronically ill, or identify as Black or Indigenous. Drawing on five years of prior work (a book, a podcast, and a TEDx talk), the project will combine archival audio/video, AI‑generated animation, professional cinematography, and interviews with notable guests such as Brittany Howard, whose sister died of retinoblastoma. Zaakirah seeks to fund the production through a community‑driven crowdfunding campaign, offering tiered rewards ranging from website shout‑outs to private dinner invitations, early screening access, and associate/executive producer credits. She emphasizes the urgency of raising funds amid inflation and a challenging political climate, and she aims to distribute the finished series widely on streaming platforms (Amazon, Tubi, Netflix) to raise awareness about the medical, emotional, and accessibility challenges faced by survivors. The timeline aligns with Disability Pride Month (July) and Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (September), with a goal to finalize the project by September and launch in December. For participation, she directs viewers to zaakirahmoya.com/documentary.
Chapters
Hi, my name is Zaakirah Naya Muhammad. I am a brand strategist, a childhood eye cancer survivor, a TEDx speaker, and I am launching a documentary series. I'm prepared to launch a crowdfunding campaign for a documentary that is inspired by The talk, the TEDx talk theme that I did, Seeing Life from a Different Lens: How to Incorporate Empathy, Advocacy, and Compassion for Childhood Eye Cancer Survivors. My goal is to release it by December 2024, my birth month. I am currently based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I've traveled to multiple United States as well as over a dozen international countries. While being a retinoblastoma childhood eye cancer survivor, this means that I only see in one eye. Retinoblastoma usually develops in children the first 2 years of life, and although it is curable, 90% of children who survive experience moderate or severe vision loss, hearing loss, and it can lead to emotional trauma as life goes on. The goal of the documentary is to follow around 7 other visually impaired, hearing impaired, chronically ill, and Black or Indigenous childhood cancer survivors. This is also to spread awareness for really the challenges that currently pose in the rarity due to the research, as well as continue to have a professional knowledge of what it's like to survive. I have been able to travel to so many places to speak at in-person events. And now that we're back in person, it's really been difficult being the only one, especially as we're in this season of transitioning from the diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging world. And not many places are easily accommodating. So this series will also shine a light on that while also being able to educate others about what it is like to live life with one eye. I currently wear a prosthetic right eye, so that means I only see you in one eye. As a result of the radiation treatment for the cancer, I was also receiving a mild hearing loss. And so when I interact in person, it is definitely different. And mind-boggling sometimes to advocate for myself for these invisible disabilities. So the reason for starting a crowdfunding campaign, I truly believe it is a community effort. It only can happen with a community. The reason why I have survived and the reason why so many others have survived is because of community, to be able to raise awareness, to be able to tell stories. So being able to continue to do that requires your help. The goal is to really distribute it as far as possible. It has been started. It's been 5 years in the making. It started originally as a podcast. There's a handful of episodes where I've audio recorded, video recorded, both talking solo as well as talking to other childhood eye cancer survivors on what it's been like surviving. So I want to be able to continue to feature These survivors. And my number, my favorite number is 7. It doesn't have to be 7, but 7 seems to be the magic number. And being able to interview them, continue to interview them, maybe have the team members who can go through that archival footage and export the important parts from the podcast episode that had already been recorded, or be able to have the funds to be able to pay for the inquiry, the seating fee, the travel fees for dream guests such as Brittany Howard, who is the lead singer of Alabama Shakes. And she lost her sister due to the same cancer that I have, retinoblastoma. And so being able to shine a light on that, and of course that means making them feel good, boost their confidence, having the hairstylist, the makeup artist, and the closed set studios or the comfort of their homes, having the right video, videography, video editors, lighting, gaffers, and being able to have voiceover work. They're going to be a use of AI. They're going to be a use of animation to tell the stories that may not be able to be digitized, may not be able to be videos and photos that me or anyone else can get from their archives and digitize, but be able to utilize AI to make animations. And so all of it is going to cost funds. And so the risk, it is risky. I'm fully aware that we are in a very interesting political climate at this time, and there's inflation going on as well. And having, if I don't raise these funds, then it really won't happen in the way that I envision it. But there's a handful of awards that will go towards your contributions. So one, the smallest one and the biggest one is because you contributed, you get a shout out on the official website, you get a shout out on the page, there'll be a certain page of those who contributed, and you can do that. And then also you can also be able to get access, early access to the screening once the tickets are up and running. And as another bonus is being able to have a private dinner with me, with all of the team members who are going to be a part of the making and the strategizing and the distributing of the film. And then you also too can get associate producer credit as well as executive producer credit. You get to be the ones who is also a part of the team as well. You get to share your expertise and share your opinions about what should or should not be included in this documentary. You know, the goal is to make it a series. We are loving binge-watching. It would be a dream come true to be able to have it on Amazon, on Tubi, on Netflix, on your favorite platform so that it's simply so easy to watch and share and tell your friends. So that is the gist of the documentary, and I'm so excited to finally make this happen. You know, it's definitely been a scary process. It's definitely been a mental Olympics to be able to get to this phase, but having it be 5 years in the making, first starting off with a book, called Seeing Life Through a Different Lens, as well as turning it into a podcast and then amplifying that on the TEDx stage. Now is really the best time to amplify advocacy. July is the month that it's launching, and July is Disability Pride Month. The goal and vision is to have just about everything wrapped up by the end of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which is in the month of September, and then having everything ready to be finalized and/or launched by the December, which is my birth month. So we only have a short amount of time to put it all together and make it happen, especially with the upcoming speaking engagement that I have that coincide with accessibility, that coincide with retinoblastoma, where I have access to get the behind the scenes, the B-roll, and also be able to cover having a videographer, photographer to follow along in the day in the life of a childhood eye cancer survivor who has survived resilience, who has overcome adversity, who is a creative, and is going to spotlight and amplify awareness for other creatives and the challenges that come with that. So for more information on getting involved, for contributing, for sharing, please go to zaakirahmoya.com/documentary to continue to learn more as the time goes on, as the campaign goes. And I'm so excited for you to see it. I'm so excited for you to contribute to it, and thank you for being a part of
