Liz Achanta
One of the best things about the internet is that it helps independent artists bypass the gatekeepers of mainstream entertainment and media. From initial fundraising to final distribution, the internet empowers artists to communicate directly with their fans and retain creative control of their work.
The crew of indie filmmakers and musicians behind the movie Throuple is a perfect example: they’re using ThroupleTheMovie.gay to crowdfund the project’s production budget. We did a Q&A with screenwriter Michael Doshier (he/him) to learn about the personal inspiration behind Throuple and the film’s deep ties to New York City’s independent music scene.
What is the premise of your upcoming movie, Throuple?
A lonely gay singer-songwriter learns to ask for what he wants in life through a newfound romance with an honest and communicative married couple. All the while, he fears he is losing his best friend to her boyfriend.
What inspired you to make this film? In other words, what is your mission in telling this story?
My artistic goal has always been to better the lives of young queer people. And now I’ve written my most personal story yet, which somehow contains my most universal message: you have the right to outwardly claim the desires of your heart!
I have spent the last six years of my creative life within the New York City live music scene. Musicians have become my community and I am excited Throuple presents them a new avenue to perform! And, with a talented, super diverse team containing multitudes of perspectives and backgrounds, I am so thrilled knowing how this project could be received by those young queer people who continue to be my North Star!
What will people find at ThroupleTheMovie.gay, and why should they visit your site right now?
We have been offered fiscal sponsorship through THE FILM COLLABORATIVE. They have sponsored groundbreaking queer films, and we are thrilled to be working with them! Through their 501(c)(3) status, any contributions to Throuple are tax-exempt charitable donations. As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) Congress has extended charitable deduction benefits for the 2021 tax year allowing 100% AGI for itemized deductions.
Dakota Jones
Your donation is going toward supporting an entire assembled artistic community ready to get to work. Throuple has the potential to be a launchpad for so many different artists, from the filmmakers to the actors to the producers to the musicians. Both our story and our team consist of queer people, People of Color, and underrepresented communities in film. Donating to this project is an opportunity to become a deeper part of these communities and help us tell our stories in a new way.
As filmmakers and musicians, we all dealt with a full year of canceled shows and projects put on pause, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. By supporting Throuple, you are supporting an entire creative community after an unprecedented moment in history that saw our futures venture into uncertainty.
Why is it important to you—and to this film—to be proudly and visibly OUT online?
As a gay man myself, I feel like I have seen every gay rom-com there is, and still find myself wanting more! There are stories—our stories—in our world that have not been told. We need all of the help we can get to make this film!
On top of that, Throuple is really a community effort—with our fundraising, NYC events and concerts, etc. This is so beautiful to us, and so much more exciting and FUN than just making a movie ourselves! This movie already belongs to so many, and we want to keep expanding our community and invite anyone on board who wants to play a part in seeing it come to life!
Why is it important to help create a safer internet for LGBTQIA+ people?
Lily Mao & the Resonators
The internet is where so many LGBTQIA+ people first begin to find themselves, especially if they have to remain closeted in their "real" worlds.
Queer people are, in many ways, frontiers of utilizing the Internet to create fuller lives. There is such a beautiful queer community online, and queer people especially are deeply in tune with how to utilize the internet to make beautiful connections with others. It truly is a portal to a world that accepts you for who you are. This is really vital to coming of age as a queer person in today's times, and should be cherished and respected as such—and this makes the work of the .gay community in creating a safe space online for LGBTQIA+ people so important.
Elizabeth Achanta
How CATS.gay grew from an online community into a nonprofit serving hundreds of transfeminine people across the Eastern United States.
Elizabeth Achanta
Money. Politics. Sex. The three things your mother told you never to discuss at the dinner table. One content creator has built an entire career on one of them — and he's not even a little bit sorry.
Liz Achanta
For nearly three decades, Logan Lynn has built a career rooted in radical transparency. The Portland-based musician, writer, filmmaker, and mental health advocate first emerged as a teenager, signing a record deal at just seventeen years old using songs he had written and recorded years earlier. Since then, Lynn has released a deep catalog of music spanning indie rock, synth-pop, and electronic influences while building a reputation for emotionally raw songwriting that explores identity, grief, addiction, love, recovery, and survival.
Liz Achanta
When Jesse Rudicil started RudicilAI Lab Inc in Los Angeles, he had a straightforward mission: “Be the leader in medical, legal, and cellular AI technology.” His goal is to explore how artificial intelligence could support advances in areas such as patient care, legal processes, and cellular research. It’s early-stage, ambitious work, and much of it sits at the intersection of fields that don’t always connect easily.
