Film Funding

A Columbus poet has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a series of animated short films featuring poems penned by preschoolers.

Nancy Kangas worked with students at Columbus Early Learning Centers on the Near East Side to write the poems, which they dictated to her. They were filmed reading their work in May. Now, with filmmaker Josh Kun, Kangas hopes to hire an animator to bring six of the stories to the screen. They already have a $5,000 grant from the Ohio Arts Council to help fund the project.

Two of the poems from the Kickstarter page:

• "I am a volcano. And you are another volcano. And we wear big hats."
• "I kiss my sister and my brother. The snowmen melt."

As of mid-day Nov. 22, the campaign had garnered $12,223 in pledges. Organizers receive the funding only if the $15,000 goal is met. The deadline is 11:59 p.m. Nov. 24.

For more information, go to kickstarter.com/projects/546532976/the-preschool-poets-an-animated-film-series.