** We hit our goal after only two days but we still need lots of help!! Much of the budget is not covered by this campaign-- all contributions are still vital and super appreciated!! Thank you!! **

TW: ED's

Hi. My name is Ryan Wagner and I’m the writer/director of KID. I am currently in the pre-production stage of making this film and looking to raise funds to bring the story to frutition.

KID is a soft, pensive story about a 12 year-old boy who sneaks out of his home to buy diet pills from a CVS, only to learn that to buy the product you have to be at least 18. The film is nostalgic in tone, and has the dreamy quality of being a memory.

This is because it is based on my own memory from when I was that age, when I went to buy diet pills. 

I have an eating disorder, and this is the first time I’ve ever mentioned it publicly. I’ve had one for as long as I can remember, which means that every photo in the above video is of someone struggling with a severe ED. Up until a couple years ago no one knew; it was something I kept very secret. This is because, most simply, I never felt like I was allowed to have it.

I didn’t know men could have eating disorders.

Two years ago, secretly, I went to a therapist who specialized in eating disorders. She gave me handouts — worksheets — to fill out in between our sessions. All the worksheets used female pronouns.

This lack of male representation has been a reocurring theme, and a real setback throughout my process of recovery. 

I’ve spent my life trying to figure out if I was alone in all this. This is why I care so deeply about dramatizing this memory of mine. I want to put something on the screen that would have made me a happier, more authentic person growing up...

...that would have allowed me to know I wasn't broken, just in need of some help. 

But “KID” is not just for men, and certainly not just for people with eating disorders. This movie is so much more universal than that. It’s about the way that — at one point or another —  we all have tried to change ourselves for other people. When we look back at our younger selves it’s easy to forget how incredibly important all our problems seemed. It’s easy to scoff. And it’s even easier to not recognize how capable we still are of this tunnel vision.

I want this film to be a cathartic experience for anyone who needs a reminder that we do not need to change to recieve our own love. 

I kept my eating disorder private from everyone in my life until now for fear that it would define me; that people would see this as essential to who I am. That they wouldn’t forget it. But maybe that’s the point. That this is a part of me, not all of me, but something that does not need to be hidden anymrore. 

If you feel comfortable, please consider contributing / sharing our project so that we can ensure this story is told. Any supoort you're able to offer is greatly appreciated.