What do veganism, film, and 1981 have in common? Our upcoming memoir, Rough Cut Vegan!

Written by Sara Abed Millman, edited by Sadie Rose, and illustrated by Sindy Self and Federico Duque, Rough Cut Vegan is about dreams, survival, and turning pain into action in the pursuit of a kinder world.

About the Memoir

The story unfolds when 12-year-old Sara stumbles upon Peter Singer’s transformative book, Animal Liberation, tucked away on a library shelf.

Already a vegetarian since age 8, after discovering the harsh realities of using animals for food, she finishes the book and is instantly called to become a vegan.

While Sara’s decision to become vegan was instantaneous, the reality was far from easy. Growing up in a non-vegan family in 1970s Florida, she was isolated and dramatically at odds with the culture around her. Her veganism – a term no one around her knew – was seen as “unpatriotic” and referred to as “the devil’s diet.”

Coming from a family who fled ethnic persecution, the feeling of being an “outsider” was not new to Sara, but being vegan added a whole new layer that permeated deeper than anything she had felt before.

As her connection with other humans shrunk, her dreams only grew. It was not long before the atmosphere of hateful discrimination – towards humans and animals alike – proved too much for her to take. She set her sights on leaving home at age 16, to New York City, in search of fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a successful actress and using her platform to help animals.

While New York was a refuge for Sara, offering a sense of acceptance amidst its vast diversity, the show business world was anything but. This was in the pre-#MeToo era, and the scene was rife with misogyny and sexual harassment.

In her memoir, Sara shares pivotal moments like her “almost” first big break. As she hustles through auditions she finally lands her first role. But it wasn’t the movie role she had auditioned for. The casting agent urgently needed someone to fill a spot in a TV commercial after a last-minute cancellation.

What did the role entail? “Just drink the milk and look happy.”

When Sara explained she couldn’t drink milk because she was vegan, the agent was baffled. It was 1981, and veganism was still an unknown concept to many, even in New York City. Needless to say, she didn’t get the part.

Rough Cut Vegan propels you into Sara’s pursuit of acting dreams in New York, to her homelessness and alienation, and finally the triumphant creation of her first micro-budget feature film. The film, Robin’s Hood, featured authentic and diverse characters, a vegan wardrobe, vegan food on set, and was shot digitally to avoid gelatin-based film stock. This groundbreaking film, which captivated audiences worldwide, was a testament to independent intersectional filmmaking with vegan production methods.

A New Chapter for VeganFlix Studio

Rough Cut Vegan is more than just a memoir; it’s a tribute to creating your place in the world and the foundation of VeganFlix Studio. Through Sara Abed Millman’s candid storytelling and the boldly brilliant art of Sindy Self and Federico Duque, we hope the memoir will connect with those who have felt isolated or at odds with the world, and who want to create their own meaningful path.

As we anticipate the release of this graphic memoir, we’ll be sharing more updates, sneak peeks, and behind-the-scenes looks as we get closer to the release date!

You can sign up for our pre-order updates here!

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Sara & Sadie ~ VeganFlix Studio