It's amazing to think that it's been only 12 years since the murder of 21 year old Matthew Shepard became the eye of a media storm that brought homophobia to the forefront of the American conscience. Sadly, a dozen years later similar themes are still being played out in the national media. The suicide of Tyler Clementi last year is just another chapter in the on-going fight against hatred and discrimination that the LGBT community faces, a fight that is not nearly over.
It's taken all these years for Michele Josue to feel ready to talk about Matthew Shepard, the person -- not the symbol that he has since become -- but she has stepped forward and begun making a film about the man behind the TV headlines, someone that she knew as a friend. Her film, Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine, has been filmed, but needs support to help complete the last leg of the production process. It is currently hosted on Kickstarter, a community fundraising website, looking for the last bit of money it needs so that the filmmakers can present their portrait of Shepard to the world. Visit them here to learn more about how you can help them finish this intensely personal, but socially important, film.
