Dear Reader,

In April, the mayor of San Diego proposed cutting all funding to arts and culture from the city's budget.

My community and I were devastated. These cuts affected so much of the most vital parts of San Diego for us:

• Pride
• Parks and Recreation
• Balboa Park Museums
• Libraries
• Theaters
• And dozens of small, grassroots organizations – most of them supporting the most marginalized and underrepresented parts of our community.

It would completely change the beauty of our city.

As one sign at the protest I attended said:

As I sat through hours of protesting at City Hall, hearing speaker after speaker talk about how these cuts would devastate our communities, I thought to myself: What else can I do?

My answer was to make a movie.

Not just any movie, but a queer story featuring a cast and crew full of San Diego locals.

I needed to prove to myself, my community, and my elected officials that:

1. San Diego is full of talented ambitious people who are dedicated to making art here in the city we love.
2. Queer voices will not be silenced.
3. We will tell our stories no matter what happens politically.

Sparked on by my passion for the arts, I got to work, gathering other creatives who were interested in the same mission.

Just a few months later and we already have a script, a venue, a date, cast, and most of our crew!

All that's left for us to do is raise the funds.

That's where you come in Reader.

My team and I are dedicated and ready to make No Animals Harmed – the first of many projects we hope to bring to San Diego – but we need money to rent gear, book the venue, and feed our cast and crew.

In exchange for your support, we've got some fun incentives! Including:

• Name a character after your ex!
• Get your name in the credits of the film.
• Join an exclusive AMA about the movie.
• IMDB credit.
• Invitation to the wrap party.

Plus, everyone who donates gets a copy of the film and a behind-the-scenes look-book.

Most importantly, you'll be supporting local, independent, queer movies – a powerful act of resilience in a world that's defunding the arts and silencing queer voices.

So, take a moment right now to pre-order the film and make a donation to our film fund.

Because the world needs our stories, now more than ever.

With excitement and love,

Lauren

P.S. We have only 7 days left in our crowdfunding campaign and need your help to reach our goal! Can you donate today?​

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