Back in 2007, we wrote about a little indie short that we really thought could. The short was Pariah, and I spoke to writer/director Dee Rees and producer Nekisa Cooper about their plans to turn it into a full-length feature film.
They’ve gone on to do just that. The filmmakers describe the feature-length Pariah as a movie “about a Brooklyn teenager who juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression. The film was shot on location in December 2009 over 19 days in Brooklyn, NY. It is a classic coming of age story told from a perspective never seen before on the big screen.” Now the film is headed for the Sundance Film Festival where, on January 20, it will premiere on opening night and compete for Best Picture. And the filmmakers are hoping that fans of the film will help them get there.
The Pariah team is looking to raise $10,000 over the next two weeks in order to finish the film. In their Kickstarter.com pitch, they explain, “We’re almost there and just need to pay for our music clearances, sound mix, and help bring some of our fabulous cast out to the festival to help in the effort to bring the film to a theater near you.”
Here’s a video message from Rees and Cooper about the film and their fundraising campaign.
Supporters can choose from tiered incentives which include digital downloads, autographed copies of the short film, autographed posters, feature film screen credit and more.
The Kickstarter campaign ends on January 19, and 100% of the funds (all $10,000) must be pledged in order for Pariah to get the support. Although going over the $10,000 goal would be just fine too. As of today, they’ve raised nearly $5,000. In addition to contributing funds, fans can also help Pariah by spreading the word about the film and by “demanding” it via the Pariah website. On the “Demand” page, fans can enter their zip codes and email addresses in order to show interest in seeing the film screen in their towns. Doing so will show distributors that people all over the world want to see this film in theaters.
To learn more about the film, visit www.pariahthemovie.com and follow it on Twitter.
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Did you see the short film version of Pariah? Are you going to “demand” to see the feature-length version this year?
