As writers, directors and producers, Mark and Jay Duplass have become key players in US indie film, using their profile to help champion a wide variety of movies made outside the mainstream. They’re now backing a Seed&Spark crowdfunding rally, which has brought together 73 prospective movies to help them raise funds.
The 10 films that get the most followers by October 13th will qualify for the finals and get to pitch The Duplass Brothers. Up to five could then get a $25,000 cash boost to their production budget, and get Duplass Brothers as executive producers.
Those competing includes several LGBT-related titles. That includes Andrew Paul Davis’ Indiana, which at the time of writing was just inside the top 10 movies. One of the film’s three leading characters is a lesbian student attending a Christian college. Alexa (Emily Sweet) wants to get her music noticed, but struggles to find an audience for rap. Her story mixes with that of Chris (Todd Bruno), a hardened auto-mechanic, who hopes to inspire a resurgence of white supremacist rhetoric in his community, and Chuck (Joe Martyn Ricke) lives a prematurely retired life in a little room above a bar in Fairmount, Indiana.
There’s also Test, which follows a young bodybuilder living in the Appalachians, who defies his religious mother when he follows Ohio’s ‘best’ coach into a world of steroid abuse and exploitation. Brock Yurich’s film explores the correlation between sexual repression and drug addiction, with substance abuse more than twice as prevalent amongst young LGBT people compared to the general population.
DIY meanwhile, is ‘A comedy about the institution of marriage from a queer perspective. As Josh and Matilda get sucked into the Wedding Planning Vortex, they are determined to do it their own way. Class and gender norms collide in this brazen carnival of non-conforming characters.’
In the horror film Wretch, ‘Nat’s long suffered hallucinatory psychic fits. Booze dulls the visions. Recently returned home to KC, buoyed by best friend Aleah and new partner Adam he’s got 30 days sobriety, a good job, a tenuous peace. But one cancer diagnosis, relapse and cult indoctrination later, all hell breaks loose.’
The queer rom-com Like Wonderland, based on Erica Messenger’s play, follows ‘Alice on her journey through love, confusion, heartbreak, and growing up in this romantic comedy that challenges you to question expectations and forge your own path through “Wonderland.”‘
You can find out more about all the movies over at Seed&Spark.
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