It's crucial to tell LGBTQ stories in these uncertain times and tell them in a honest way. Our cast and crew is filled with people identifying as gay, lesbian, transgender, non binary, gender fluid, and hetero cisgender allies. We also strove to hire female identifying crew and people of color.

Leading double lives and seeking redemption: three forsaken souls violently collide while drifting through an urban purgatory and over one cold winter night they are shockingly changed forever.

 

No stranger to the streets but still susceptible to its perils, Rhett, a homeless transgender man, craves harmony and acceptance while living his newfound life. He envisions reuniting with his skeptical ex-girlfriend to lock down a warm bed and to be taken seriously as a man. But his secretiveness and past aggressions may be his downfall.

Fear of being trapped in his own self-imposed purgatory, Doyle debates his morality as a conflicted African American Catholic man and a gay drag queen. But in his mind his money troubles currently outweigh any spiritual dilemmas. So his blackmail of a porn chat customer seems to be the answer to a better life. But the dangers of a hedonistic lifestyle catch up to him leaving his ill-fated extortion plan as the only option.

Where Rhett and Doyle struggle between right and wrong, Ted, more cemented in his destructive lifestyle, is endlessly stuck in a personal hell. The night begins with allegations raised of his connections to a small human trafficking ring. Now, this once seemingly Christian public servant is cast out for judgment. Ted plummets deep into a hysterical panic attack. But instead of retreating, the need to satiate his demons takes hold as he concedes to his addiction to chaos, pain and pleasures of the flesh. Reawakening his alter ego, “Mr. Ruby,” Ted dons an androgynous mask to conceal his identity and then sets out on the town to ensnare his favorite chat-site trick, Doyle.

God Made Man’s relentlessly convergent structure initially places Rhett, Doyle and Ted in profoundly different situations but then crashes them together by the film’s mid-point. As the film progresses we dive into the dual lives from which each of these characters are running. God Made Man ends with a chilling cataclysm of events as heroes rise and fall and personal demons are battled. But will Rhett, Doyle and Ted find the salvation they all desperately crave? Witness this uncompromising descent into Queer Cinema.

 

In these uncertain times it's crucial to tell LGBTQ stories and tell them in a honest way. When I began writing this film in 2009, I was still somewhat new to the LGBTQ scene in Austin, TX and in the middle of a break-up. While going through my self-discovery I was making new friends and learning more and more about life outside of just Gay and Lesbian (which was what I was familiar with coming from a small Texas town).

 

Meeting trans folks in the community was truly eye opening for me. I realized for the first time that you don't have to conform to binary gender norms. I began to question so many things- I bound my chest and shaved my head. Through this self-discovery I learned that I am not trans but fall somewhere in-between. I also learned that I shared a real empathy for transgender people, and through this I wrote a story about a transgender man and his friend. From there the story evolved into a tale of good versus evil. The hard-hitting themes in this story are not wholly representative of any one community, but these themes intrigue me as an artist and storyteller. God Made Man: God made all men (and women) equal, right? This story is about three religious men within the LGBTQ community who find each other in the various stages between good and evil: all different, all the same.

 

I am a queer woman writing a story to help shed light on a corner of my multifaceted community. While this specific story is different than my own I will exercise my privilege to fight against racism, sexism, and homophobia to the betterment of this family that I so dearly love. Transgender rights will not be erased, black lives will always matter and we will keep telling these important stories to show that we are here!

 

Even though I firmly believed in this story and its message I couldn't quite crack the formula it needed to be as powerful as it was in my brain. For years I struggled to turn God Made Man from a short film into a feature film. I even kept a "mood-board" on Pinterest of images that inspired me and I created a Spotify playlist of music that fit the mood of the film. I watched films for inspiration such as: Requiem For A Dream, Tarnation, Short Bus, Romeo+Juliet and more.

 

Fast forward to 2015... I knew my filmmaking buddy, Nate Locklear was looking for something artistic to do so I gathered all my material for the film and handed it over. And to my delight he cracked the formula. He's created something remarkable while staying true to my original idea and characters. It's raw, honest and so dramatic in that best way.

 

Once Nate came on we spent about 6 months re-writing the script and doing pre-production. We added to our mood-board and watched Black Swan and some films by master filmmaker, Wong Kar-wai for further inspiration. We were lucky to have a successful Kickstarter campaign reach its goal days before shooting began. We raised $10K for production.

 

Over the years while writing we also researched into the elements of this world I had created. And after learning (and continuing to learn) about the startling statistics surrounding the polemic topics in this film: transgender issues, HIV in the 21st century and modern slavery, we knew we had to approach the story truthfully and respectfully.

 

> 2015: 47% of all transgender people will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime (National Center for Transgender Equality).

> 20% of transgender people have experienced homelessness (National Center for Transgender Equality).

> 2016: 50% of gay black men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetimes (CDC).

> Every 35 hours, someone is diagnosed with HIV while cases are up 40% in the last decade in the Austin, TX area alone (The Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department).

> PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis, HIV Prevention drug) provides 92%-99% reduction in HIV risk for people who take the pills every day as directed.

> 2017: Only 136,000 people currently use PrEP for HIV prevention, the majority being white males (Gilead Sciences analysis).

> 2018: 455 cases of human trafficking reported in Texas (over 6,000 victims and survivors), 50% of victims are minors (The National Human Trafficking Hotline).

 

These startling statistics only scratch the surface. God Made Man demonstrates how we, as filmmakers, will not back down from controversial subject matter. While still being entertainers we can also be allies for the under represented LGBTQ film community. And not only can we create a more inclusive film landscape but we can help shed light on the horrible atrocities plaguing humanity.

 

With our Kickstarter funds, credit cards, our lovely investor, some donations and a lot of begging, borrowing and, uhm, stealing (sort of) we went into production. And over 19 very intense and very cold days in December we shot the film. The footage came out amazing.

 

After production Nate set out into the wild and often lonely landscape that is editing. 25 hours of footage that all needed syncing and organizing. Plus along the way we were applying for grants and other funds. Which unfortunately didn't bear much fruit but we learned a ton. And all this was happening while we held full-time day jobs. And might I add that we weren't and aren't getting paid for any of this work- it's definitely a labor of love. Along the way I watched the cut(s) with Nate and we discussed structure and theme. And then he'd go back and trim some more.

 

Cut to now... We have a solid cut of the film and we've begun foley and sound work. But to finish we need just a little more money to pay for things somewhat out of our reach. We need about $2K for color grading, $1K for final sound mixing and ADR recording and another $800 for some music and $1.5K for a some visual effects. Plus we need to fly in a couple actors for dialog re-recording ($700). We're so close I can taste it!

 

The future of indie film will only survive with strong communities of cinephiles. We've been gathering a small following from our previous fundraisers and through social media but we still need more to make this a success. We find it extremely satisfying to connect with other cinephiles- it's by far the best part.

 

So many people have come together on this film sometimes working for pennies but most often for free. It's hard to believe that we've almost finished a feature film for a fraction of the price Hollywood uses. But there are just a few items out of the reach of our credits cards. So please consider joining us on this journey.

 

Don't forget to follow our Seed&Spark campaign by clicking the "Follow" button next to the video at the top of the page. It definitely helps our project continue to gain momentum.

 

We would also greatly appreciate if you could share this campaign on social media, and with friends & family.

 

Thank all of you so much for your interest in our film and for your generosity. It's hard to believe we're reaching the 10-year mark that this film has been in my mind. I can't wait to share God Made Man with the world.