reviews_and_ramblings | Chaser, Help Us Tell Our Story

Today I want to ask for your help, but not for me, for my friend Max. Max Rhyser is one of the first online friends I made years ago, when I opened this LiveJournal and it says a lot if 6 years later we still call each other friends, online friendship is feeble and hard to make it last. But with Max, I don't know, it was always easy. In the past six years we met face to face twice, and it was always a nice experience, something I look forward to re-do everytime I happen to be in NYC.

Aside from being nice, kind, with a wonderful smile that reflects the pure soul he has, Max is also a promising actor, he has just won BEST MALE LEAD for his portrayal of Simon Greene in The Austerity of Hope on Broadway this past winter. And now Max, with Sal Bardo, is pursuing another dream, Chaser, a story that has to be told.

From Max's own words:

"The film Chaser started germinating in my mind at the age of 18. In recent years, both my work a s a bartender in a gay night club and then later my Spiritual Healing Practice, has proven to me how much disease there is around sex. This is not particular to any one group of people but certainly the most prevalent within the LGBT communities.

This inspired my research into sex, sexual psychology, deviancy, self-injury and more. This was without question the darkest period of my Life. And I'm happy to say is now finally over. Hallelujah!

I joined forces with filmmaker Sal Bardo, and together we are the co-creators, writers and producers of Chaser.

While from some the support has been immense, we have also met quite some resistance. The topic is controversial. Chaser tells the story of a young, promising high school teacher who, disconnected from his family, culture, and community, seeks solace in the fringes of gay bareback community. Our story focuses on Zach who may or may not be a Chaser - we have done our best to leave that ambiguous enough so the audiences can decide that for themselves... Our commentary is on the increase of unprotected sex within the LGBT community - Our goal, to start a conversation and ask why?

If the topic doesn't excite you, if it downright displeases you... then perhaps your knowledge of me, who I am and what I aim to do with my Life, maybe that is enough to inspire you to help me tell this story. I hope so.

The good news is we will make Chaser no matter what! We'd like to do it right. And as starving artists (at times) we believe in paying our cast and crew for their time and work - therefor the budget of 20,000.00.

Online we've made just over $6,000.00. With additional fundraising we've raised about $2,500.00.

If you are able to donate, do so below:

www.indiegogo.com/chaser (Donors, and donation amounts can be anonymous and no amount is too small.)

If you are not able - please share this with someone who is... or a handful of folk, alas it is a number game - the more people the better...

And in lieu of the above, our final Fund Raising Event is A SPRING AFFAIR, the eve before the end of our campaign.

If you can come, please do, if you cannot, please send your friends, if you are short of friends in the NYC area, please buy tickets in spirit anyway...

10% of ALL BAR SALES will go directly to Village Care's Ryan White program whom deal specifically with GAY MEN OF COLOR aged 18-30, the demographic MOST affected by the spread of the HIV virus." --Max Rhyser

Here is a podcast with Max and Sal talking of the project, if you are still not convinced, listen to it and you will be: http://clickclickexpose.com/podcasts/pm_03202012.html

Often people send me virtual gifts on this Livejournal, of which I'm grateful, I love those virtual gifts on my profile page, but please consider to instead donate to Chaser. It's not my birthday yet, and the IndieGoGo campaign will end on April 18, so I know I'm asking in advance ;-) but please, please, do that. Even if it's a drop, thousand of drops make a storm!

And please, if you can, spread the word on your own blog, facebook, twitter.