The Auntie Sewing Squad Resistance Playbook

What would you do to protect your neighbors?

In March 2020, as COVID-19 exposed deep fractures in the U.S. public health system, performance artist Kristina Wong launched the Auntie Sewing Squad. A grassroots collective of primarily BIPOC women volunteers, the Aunties mobilized virtually with an urgent mission: to protect those most at risk. What began as a few dozen crafty activists quickly grew into a nationwide network of more than 800 volunteers, sewing and donating masks to historically disenfranchised communities of color.

In this feature-length documentary, directors Valerie Soe (Love Boat: Taiwan, The Oak Park Story) and Kristina Wong (Radical Cram School) showcase the ways in which the Aunties transform domestic spaces as sites of resistance. From their sewing machines, they confront systemic inequities head-on, openly discussing feminism, anti-racism, mutual aid, and collective care.

Through acts both intimate and expansive, the Squad – Aunties, Uncles, and non-binary volunteers alike – reimagines what solidarity looks like in a time of crisis. Their living room “sweatshops” not only become engines of radical care to offer protection, but also a powerful blueprint for community-driven action and change.

This film was supported by CAAM’s Doc Fund with funding provided by CPB.