Film TIMELINE

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October 2016

The Clexa Project is born, while Margot and Rachel work together at the Gender & Sexuality Equity Center (GSEC) on CSU, Chico's campus. Rachel starts researching interview prospects and best practices in documentary filmmaking.

March 2017

The team drives to Las Vegas, Nevada to conduct its first ten interviews at ClexaCon's inaugural convention. Upon their return, Rachel applies for fiscal sponsorship with North Valley Community Foundation (NVCF), a 501(c)3 organization in Chico, California. 

April 2018

The Clexa Project conducts another round of interviews at ClexaCon. While tabling, Rachel and Margot meet the future editor of Love Me Bait Me, Erika Lygren. 

August 2018

Rachel and Margot move to Portland, Oregon. Erika begins editing the interviews captured to date. 

April 2019

Rachel and Erika travel to ClexaCon to conduct another round of interviews. 

September 2019

Producer Bren Coombs joins the team to provide advisory, fundraising, and marketing-related support. 

February 2020 

The Clexa Project is awarded a grant for $5250 from the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC). 

March 2020

The pandemic prevents the team from traveling to another convention to conduct additional interviews.

November 2020

189 Kickstarter backers pledge $10,683 to help us hire a composer and animator. 

January 2021

Animator Titus Byron is invited to the team. 

March 2021

Composer Paulina Manrique, aka Pau Strange, is invited to the team. Erika makes a generous contribution to the film, accepting a new title as Associate Producer in addition to Editor.

August 2021

In addition to conducting interviews from their living room, Rachel and Margot travel to San Francisco and Irvine, California to conduct additional interviews.

February 2022

Rachel interviews Margot for the film, wrapping up the film's last interview. 

March 2022 

Erika compiles all of the new footage and b-roll into a new rough cut for Titus and Paulina to work from. The goal is to finish the film before the end of the year, but unexpected life challenges prevent the team from doing so. 

August 2022

The team rebrands its website and social media to reflect the film's official name: Love Me Bait Me. 

September 2022

Rachel applies for additional funding support from the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) and the Women in Film (WIF) chapter in Portland, Oregon. 

October 2022

Out of 30 applications, Love Me Bait Me is selected as one of three finalists and invited to pitch the project to a panel of WIF board members and other film/media professionals. 

November 2022

WIF selects another project for their Vision Grant. With the bulk of the film finished, the team begins soliciting community feedback using a formal process. Participants view the rough cut in-progress and answer questions about overall flow, structure, and topic resonance.

December 2022

Erika incorporates community feedback before setting her sights on the film's ending and call to action. Rachel receives word that RACC has selected Love Me Bait Me for another grant award for $5000. 

March 2023

The team submits a rough cut to Frameline Festival in San Francisco with plans to complete the final cut by early May. Another round of community feedback is organized to gather any remaining thoughts on the film's intended tone and desired impact. 

January 2024

Despite the team's best efforts, they were unable to enter the film festival cycle as they hoped to do by summer 2023. With more than 95% of the documentary finished, Erika and Rachel meet almost daily to hammer out the remaining edits needed for official release.

June 2024 - FILM IS FINISHED!

The team has completed a final cut of Love Me Bait Me just in time for the conclusion of Pride Month. Now, we eagerly look forward to the next chapter: applying to film festivals and organizing screenings!