Mapplethorpe, the biopic of legendary gay photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, debuted at the Tribeca Film Fesitval a couple of weeks ago. However, just because the film has screened, doesn’t mean it’s finished, so an IndieGoGo campaign has been launched to help raise funds for things like music licensing, special effects and the expense of taking the movie around to festivals.

Alongside the campaign, the first trailer for the film has arrived, giving us a look at Matt Smith as Mapplethorpe in Ondi Timoner’s film.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Robert Mapplethorpe’s portraits, images of calla lilies, and chronicles of New York City’s underground BDSM scene remain touchstones of 20th-century photography even now, nearly three decades after his death from complications of HIV/AIDS in 1989. Mapplethorpe revisits the titular photographer’s legacy, beginning at the moment just before he takes up residence in the Chelsea Hotel. There, Mapplethorpe begins to amass a portfolio of images—and, at the same time, to explore his formerly supressed attraction to men. But Mapplethorpe’s relentless ambition—as he says in one early scene, “I can’t just be Mapplethorpe the photographer,” fancying himself a “modern Michelangelo”—threatens to tear apart the relationships he cherishes the most.

‘From the early ’70s until his untimely death at age 42, the film explores the intersection of his art and his sexuality, his struggle for mainstream recognition, and, looming above it all, the specter of the emerging AIDS crisis. Featuring Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown) and Marianne Rendón, the biopic offers a nuanced portrait of an artist at the height of his craft and of the self-destructive impulses that threaten to undermine it all.’

Take a look at the trailer, clip and fundraising video below, and if you like what you see, head over to Indie GoGo to help complete the movie. There are also some interesting perks on offer, including props and clothes used in the movie. [Read more…]