Help Us Kick Off Production for A Little Gay on the Prairie!

We’re raising $11,000 to fund our first production trip for A Little Gay on the Prairie, a feature-length documentary about queer people who are building lives in rural USA. This film celebrates the joy, complexity, and resilience of queer folks in places where they’re often underrepresented and underserved—and this summer marks our first step toward bringing it to life.

From June 10–21, I’ll be traveling with my co-producer and cinematographer Andres Solorzano to Nebraska to begin principal photography. We’ll be filming two of our first subjects, Bryan Bruland, a gay race car driver from my hometown of Albion, and Ashley Swartz, a trans farmer navigating life in rural Nebraska.

This first shoot will focus on Bryan, who lives and works in Omaha during the week and returns to Albion to race on the weekends. We’ll be filming his return home for the Father’s Day race, an important event that carries emotional weight for his entire family—his father has been battling cancer, and Bryan’s boyfriend, Jacob, will be meeting the family for the first time. These events offer an incredible opportunity to introduce Bryan’s world and launch the story of our film. We’ll also be spending time with Ashley, whose quieter day-to-day life as a trans woman running a farm adds another essential perspective to the story.

This trip is the first of several planned shoots in Nebraska over the next year. The footage we gather in June will serve as a sample that we can use to apply for grants, secure production partners, and attract larger-scale investment to complete the film.

Where Your Money Goes

We’re asking for the bare minimum needed to get us to Nebraska and shoot safely, professionally, and respectfully:

$6,400 – Gear rental (camera, lenses, grip gear, media storage)

$700 – Flights for two from Los Angeles

$400 – Checked luggage fees for transporting gear

$2,500 – Lodging and meals for the duration of the shoot

$1,000 – Production insurance

Every dollar goes directly toward making this shoot possible. With recent cuts to public arts funding and ongoing instability in the film industry, it’s harder than ever to get independent films off the ground. That’s why we’re turning to our community.

But what is a crowdfunding campaign without some incentives?

$5+ – A thank-you on socials

$115 – A painting of a still from the movie/show of your choice

️ $250 – A thank-you in the film’s credits

️ $350 – An invitation to a first-look screening

$500 – Associate Producer credit

$1,000 – Executive Producer credit

If you want to help us tell rural queer stories, we’d be honored to have your support.