Help Crowdfund A Documentary About Pioneering Punk Band The Slits

They may not exactly be a household name among most folks south of 30, but at one time British punk outfit The Slits were as revolutionary as they come, being credited as the first all-female act to rock the scene during the movement's first wave in the mid-1970s and coming to be regarded as "the godmothers of punky reggae" to boot.

Thankfully, we live in an age defined by the quest for information, so it should come as little surprise that there should be a grass-roots campaign under way to help bring to life Here To Be Heard: The Story Of The Slits, a feature-length documentary about "the life, art, struggle and passion" of the band's members, chronicling their tale from the group's inception in 1976, through the untimely death of lead singer Ari Up in 2010, and beyond.

With the film's roots lying with Ari Up herself, the late singer's friend Jennifer Shagawat (Starcleaner Records) took on the challenge of bringing the movie to fruition in the wake of her passing, conscripting director William E Badgley (Kill All Redneck Pricks) to help complete the movie, with the pair taking to Kickstarter in order to raise the necessary funds to get Here To Be Heard to the finish line.

According to a statement on the documentary, "the interviews are shot, the film is over half-edited and now [Badgley and Shagawat] are just seeking the final funds they need to clear the archival for the film".

They're making it a pretty enticing deal to do so, too, with rewards running the gamut of impressiveness and exclusivity from common loot such as tote bags, badges and run-of-the-mill T-shirts to a spot in the film credits, original drumsticks used by Slits drummers Palmolive and Budgie (one of the few male members to have passed through The Slits' ranks) and a signed limited-edition T-shirt or copy of 2009 book Typical Girls? The Story Of The Slits, by Zoe Street Howe.

Watch the project's just-released trailer below.

Interestingly, the band's guitarist, Viv Albertine, released an autobiography last year, Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys, which swiftly made its way onto several 'best-of' year-end lists, cited by more than a few outlets as one of the books of the year, including The Guardian's top-10 for 2014.

There are plans, should Here To Be Heard be successful in its crowdfunding, for the film to be screened in Australia — we'll keep you posted with details should everything work out in favour of the movie. At the time of writing, however, the campaign has garnered just over 150 backers to the tune of $5808 — with 25 days to go, there's a fair gap to close to reach the intended $30,000 target, but we have faith in the global music community that they'll help this come together. Do it for history's sake.