One of the surprising upsides of the pandemic lockdown was that no one was around to break my heart. As an artist (and a gay man) it was always very easy to fall into the bad habit of giving my power away to other people. But in that extended period of isolation, no one could decide what I was worth except me, and I finally learned to cultivate self-love.

The challenge in the years since has been how to sustain those hard-won lessons, while still going back out into a world that is inevitably going to leave us all a little bruised now and again. Even if your experience of the lockdown was different, all of us came out of that era striving to live our lives differently... and now we're struggling not to fall back into old habits.

JEREMY is an elegant, neurotic poet who invites KEVIN, his handsome, introspective ex-boyfriend to join him in the quarantine. After two months of isolation, they're both very eager for physical intimacy. But since they both feel like they've grown and changed so much since they've been apart, they're hesitant to just jump right into bed without really getting to know each other again. They have to create some kind of mechanism to forestall their sexual impulses.

...So Kevin proposes a game. Since Jeremy tends to repeat himself, Kevin says - "Every time you say something to surprise me, I'll take off a piece of clothing...and when I'm naked, then we can have sex." 

As the sun goes down, they rekindle their affection, laughing and drinking and kissing all over the house, telling stories of old friends and lovers. And with each surprising revelation, Kevin takes off his shoes... his socks... his shirt.

But as they let their guards down and become more vulnerable, old wounds fester and guilt and resentment rise to the surface. Since Kevin's pretty-privilege stokes Jeremy's insecurities, and Kevin feels so unworthy of the adoration his beauty affords him... they start to wonder if maybe they need to change the rules of their game. 

Can they forget about sex and just try to make a connection? Can they accept that neither one of them has it all figured out? Can they shed their old ideas of how the other perceives them? Will they be able to keep growing together? 

Or does self-love require you to be by yourself for a while?

Actor-writer-producer James Patrick Nelson and co-producer Chelsea Fenton collaborated on the queer romantic dramedy TV pilot "For Years to Come," which was financed from a successful Seed&Spark campaign, co-starred Richard Riehle from "Office Space," featured music by the popular band Cloud Cult, played in over a dozen top festivals including SeriesFest and Outfest, and now streams on Short Frame with nearly a quarter-million views!

We met director Leland Montgomery a few months after "For Years to Come" wrapped, when his latest film "Hotter Up Close" was playing in several of the top festivals we played in the following year. He's been a great friend ever since, and we're overjoyed to collaborate with him on "Something to Surprise Me". He brings so much talent and experience to this film.

And we're so thankful to be collaborating with co-producer Christian DeMarais and director of photography Charlie Cole, and a wonderful team of associate producers -- Faith Fuerst, Lucas Miller, Danni Vitorino, and Mimi Brown. Please visit our team page for more extensive bios!

Our film is not about the pandemic. The realities of that era merely linger in the periphery. The scene that really clarifies the time and place is when the character's rush to the roof to cheer for the healthcare workers, as the sun sets on their faces - a deeply joyous, romantic moment.

So much of the socio-political chaos we're facing today stems from our collective instinct to memory-hole the quarantine. Our team believes an audience will lean into this story because it's not about the trauma and anxiety we typically associate with that era. It's a radically optimistic story about two people trying to love themselves and each other, as best as they can.

Anti-LGBTQ+ fear-mongering and hate-speech has spiked in recent years, so it's very important that we keep telling nuanced personal stories that showcase our common humanity. And while representation has gradually improved, most queer protagonists are in their teens or early-20's, and as a result, their queerness is almost always the conflict.

Our team wants to affirm the fact that coming out of the closet is never the end of the story. Queer people are full human beings, which means our struggles extend beyond homophobia, and our joy expands beyond the euphoria of acceptance. We want to make films with queer protagonists facing universal conflicts that anyone could relate to.

While our haters over-sexualize us, the people who uplift our stories also tend to over-sexualize us. So our film aims to lean into that trend, while also dismantling it. The strip-tease game is undeniably sensual, but it forces the characters (and the audience) to temper their sexual appetites and really linger in moments of deepening vulnerability.

And separate and apart from sexuality, it's still far too rare to see a film about men articulating their emotions without violence or aggression. We need these stories, now more than ever. 

This intimate character-drama is rich with humor and unapologetic sensuality. A subtle palette of warm and cool colors will accentuate the emotional rollercoaster. Dynamic art direction and subtle cinematography will draw out narrative subtext. And grounded performances will balance irreverence and vulnerability, all with an unbridled improvisatory spirit.

We're inspired by beautiful queer love stories like Andrew Haigh's Weekend and Lucio Castro's End of the Century, as well as brilliant two-handers like Alex Lehmann's Blue Jay and Richard Linklater's Before Sunset. We feel very affirmed by the massive commercial success of recent gay love stories like Heated Rivalry and Red, White and Royal Blue, and the Indie Spirit Award nominee Peter Hujar's Day reminded us of the narrative power of just two people talking.

The two-character single-location concept was designed to make the project achievable with a modest budget. And yet, because we're passionate about telling queer stories that reach a broader audience, we're holding ourselves to very high artistic standards. We need this budget to secure a stellar production team and a prominent-name actor, to guarantee excellent lighting, sound, cinematography, and production design, and to market the film as broadly as possible.

The script has been in active development for two years, with numerous readings and invaluable feedback from our community. We've assembled a talented, experienced, majority-queer creative team to make the film this summer!

There are so many ways that you can be part of bringing this heartfelt love story to the screen!

CONTRIBUTE - Your generous pledges will finance our production. You'll be supporting our remarkable cast and crew, and helping us pay for a beautiful location and spectacular camera, lighting, and sound equipment.

WISHLIST - Alternatively, if you have access to a beautiful location, production gear, delicious catering, or any in-kind contribution, you could generously offer those goods or services at the Wishlist tab above!

SHARE - Build our community! Projects like this depend on an ever-expanding community of supporters. You can email this campaign to anyone you think it would inspire! Post on social media: Help queer artists telling queer stories. Support #SomethingToSurpriseMe https://seedandspark.com/fund/something-to-surprise-me#story

FOLLOW - You'll make a big difference just by clicking the Follow button at the top of the page. As we surpass 250, 500, and 1000 followers, Seed&Spark will offers remarkable resources!

Too many executives are still afraid that queer films will "alienate the audience". But the only way to heal our division is to highlight how much we have in common. And in a world that feels so frightening and hateful, telling a love story feels like a radical act of hope.

When you support independent cinema, you're shaping the culture you want to see. We don't have to settle for an endless parade of reboots, franchises, and slop. With the industry still recovering from the union strikes, filmmakers can't wait for Hollywood to catch up. Our films depend on the generous support of a vibrant, enthusiastic audience like you.

And don't forget, we're offering exciting incentives - everything from early access to the film, to invitations to screening parties, to audition coaching and dance classes!

We hope you will make a contribution today. We can't do this without you. We're so passionate about this film, and we would love you to be part of bringing it to life!