You & I, You & Me is a feature-length romantic dramedy about a defeated pop superstar, Ashley, whose rise to fame was decimated by her coming out as trans and Max, a newly sober punk rocker looking for a second chance. They are paired by his gruff record label CEO father to write her an unlikely comeback hit. And of course, they fall in love.

You & I, You & Me is my passion project. It is a fantastic script and I am extremely proud of it. It's funny, heartwarming, and sexy. And who doesn't love hot people falling in love over music?

There has never been a more urgent time for this movie to be made. We begin production at the beginning of March and have everything in place and set to go. We just need a little money to be able to pay our cast and crew fair wages. We can't do it without you.

I wrote this film while I was grappling with my own gender identity in 2021. It was both scary and exhilarating because as the world became more aware of trans people, we thus became a mainstream political talking point. A Boogey-man. A moral panic. And the Hollywood representation and accolades for us is still bestowed on cis actors playing trans characters, and trans actors are largely passed over even when finally given good material to work with. I wanted to take a big leap of faith on a project starring talented trans actors in complex, rich trans roles. And for fantastic actors be allowed to play main characters and THRIVE.

For a long time I resisted making it a trans 4 trans love story. I was scared there was no audience for it and that creating a trans love story, without trans trauma, would be impossible. But this movie is not impossible, it desperately needs to happen now.

Cast? We got cast, baby! I could not be more excited to have Jesse James Keitel (Queer As Folk and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) and Alex Blue Davis, (Grey's Anatomy), starring in this film. Ashley is a character that sprung onto the page as I wrote while thinking about my own experiences coming out as trans while in the public eye. Max comes from my affinity for the gender-bending punk community and from my childhood growing up with a father in active addiction.

We are also lucky to have Oscar Montoya (HBO's Minx) and Jarrett Sleeper (No Man of God), joining the cast, as well as music by Atlas Bishop and Destroy Boys. The film will also have a soundtrack of music by the cast, engineered by Coco Llorens, who has worked with PartyNextDoor, Demi Lovato, and Mariah Carey. The film is also produced by Melisa D. Monts, who directed the poet Amanda Gorman's Grammy nominated audiobook.

The film will be accompanied by an original soundtrack performed by the cast with music from the movie, which is so freakin' cool I can't stand it.

I've been creating content for the queer community online for the past decade whether through my successful YouTube channel and podcast Just Between Us, my time as a Buzzfeed celebrity (now I'm just dating myself), and as a queer and trans filmmaker. I know for a fact that the queer community is hungry for new stories, for our own involvement in the telling of our stories and for quality feature films about trans people falling in love.

I'm honored to be in a long tradition of incredible trans filmmakers, but I know from my decade in Hollywood that it's often cis people who benefit the most from our stories. This does not need to be the case, but many of us queer artists have to prove our work is wanted and needed in the world through the independent route. We can come together as a community to make it a reality.

How's this gonna work? The movie is cast! The crew is solidified. The location is paid for. We really need to hit this goal to take the movie from good to great. Movies are way more expensive than one might think and this movie has a very reasonable and well-thought out budget. Once You & I, You & Me is finished, we will show it at festivals such as Sundance, Newfest, Outfest, Frameline, etc. And take it around to theaters and schools around the country. As with my last film GRINDR BABY, we eventually ended up on streaming services and everyone can watch it there!

If the project campaign goes over our goal, our stretch goals would go to:

Paying everyone more and hiring more marginalized creators to work on the movie.

Pay for parking permits for production vehicles to stay on site (making things a hell of a lot easier).

More set decorations, better costumes, cooler guitars.

But seriously, it's paying the crew more and getting those dang permits.

If you can't contribute financially, any help spreading the word would be INVALUABLE. You can tag the film on Instagram @youandiyouandmefilm or the director @gabesdunn and write something like, "Please check out and help support this incredible indie trans film with an all trans/queer/BIPOC team that could use some dollars! Everyone involved is so talented and hot, wow!" Or you know, in your own words (but still mention I'm hot?) Email this page to everyone you've ever met. Ask your parents who reacted poorly when you came out to contribute. Ask your dentist! John Waters once said his films were funded by dentists he knew. And if I could be 1/8 the filmmaker John Water is, I'd die happy.