Indie Spotlight: The ‘Super Narcoleptic Girl’ Looks To Fight Crime And Stay Awake

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now. Read previous installments here.

---

The Super Narcoleptic Girl is going to save the day…so long as she can keep her eyes open. Sarah Albritton and Catherine Povinelli are the creators and stars of a web series about chronic sleepiness, friendship, pop culture, and the power of dance.

Albritton, who has narcolepsy herself, portrays Super Narcoleptic Girl‘s heroine Keelyn, who possesses the power to compel people to dance. Throughout the series, Keelyn battles for recognition, while Albritton and Povinelli make sure to provide a complex on-screen description of narcolepsy.

“Representation really matters. When you’re growing up and you see someone on television like you, that changes how you feel about things,” Albritton told Chicago’s Columbia Chronicle

. “Seeing [narcolepsy] portrayed realistically and seeing somebody go through some of the situations that you experience, you don’t feel as alone. You feel like, ‘Oh, they get me, they understand me.’”

Its unusual premise aside, Super Narcoleptic Girl has the charm, wit, and silliness of the best low-budget web series. Albritton and Povinelli created their show after raising $5,000 on Indiegogo, and they really every dollar count. You can check out what they put together on YouTube.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Anti-Chef. A guy with little culinary interest tries to make famously labor-intensive dishes.
• Softball Free Agent. He’s boisterous, he’s got an attitude, and he’s ready to join your team.
• Hyper-Distracted. A Winnipeg filmmaker shares stories from his “hyper-distracted” life.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.