A Thank You video message for our A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Kickstarter supporters!
Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine by Lizzie Jarvis
I met Matt in 1993, when I was fifteen years old. We were juniors at an American high school in a beautiful Swiss idyll, and like most of the kids there, we felt pretty out of our depth a lot of the time, and I think we were drawn together in appreciation of one another’s quirkiness! We had a similar way of looking at the world, which in that place and at that time, was so important.
I first mention him in my diary in November of that year; “Matt and I had an hour together eating peanut butter and chocolate and looking at my yearbook, just talking really. Great - I love him”. Matt quickly became one of my closest friends and he featured in many an incriminating diary entry.
He came home with me to visit my parents in Italy one weekend. A stray kitten had just adopted my parents as its keeper, and said cat responded to Matt’s hello by lunging at him, digging its paws into his face and hanging there for what seemed like a considerable time. We were laughing pretty hard and were still laughing when we returned to campus that Sunday - Matt with 10 tiny holes in his face as a souvenir! Every time he told the story it got funnier. He had such good timing and delivery, and of course that great smile.
I told him that with his dry sense of humour he could pass for a Brit, if it weren’t for the Casper twang! Anyone lucky enough to be in St. Moritz that January 1994 and who bore witness to his brave and harrowing run straight down a ski-slope (as opposed to around the flags), breaking all previous records for speed and defying all expectations on technique, will attest to his self-deprecating good humour and all round hilariousness.
By the time I got that phone call in 1998, our letters (his always on a Wyoming-themed card) had whittled down to a couple a year. When you’re young, you can’t imagine that you are going to run out of time or opportunity to see the people who have shaped the person you’ve become, but of course, sometimes you do.
Matt Shepard was a good friend of mine and I shall always remember him.
-Lizzie Jarvis
It's the Final Countdown
Only 6 hours left to make a pledge! With your support, we are just $1,511 away from $60,000, which is incredible and will certainly help with our post-production costs! Now is the time for one last push.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1253709612/matt-shepard-is-a-friend-of-mine
With love & so much gratitude,
Michele & the “Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine” team
Less than 40 hours left to go in our Kickstarter campaign! Thank you, everyone!!!! It’s been an incredible journey, and I am very honored to have shared it with you. And it’s not over yet!!!
So, as always, this dance is for you.
With much love & gratitude,
Michele & the “Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine” team
As we delve deeper into the editing process of “Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine,” we thought it would be a good idea to share a few short in-progress snippets from the film.
In the following sneak peek, we talk to retired Sheriff’s Deputy Reggie Fluty. She was the first responder on the scene who cut Matt free from the buck fence where he had been tied for 18 hours after being severely beaten.
This little story Reggie shares with us has given us some solace.
With love & gratitude,
Michele & the “Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine” team
9 days left!
YAY!!!! Thanks to all our amazing supporters, we have made our 50K goal and then some! It has been an incredible journey and I am truly grateful for all you have done to make this campaign a great success. We could not have done it without you. And we did it with 11 days left in the campaign!
Can we exceed our goal?
Yes! And thanks to you, we have! It’s been a dream come true! Kickstarter allows us to earn as much money as we can up until our deadline, so we’re hoping we can keep this going until then:) Since Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing deal, we had to set our goal on the low end. We do have costs that exceed this sum. Also, Kickstarter and Amazon take about 8% of what we raise. Exceeding our 50K goal will allow us to make a better movie and help take a bite out of our post-production expenses.
If you can, please continue to spread the word about our film. (Facebook and Twitter have been such great ways of getting our film out there.) Also, if you haven’t pledged and are considering doing so, you still have time.
It’s truly an honor to be making this film for Matt with all of you involved in the whole process. Once again, please know that none of this would’ve been possible without each and every one of you supporting and believing in our film with as much passion as you have.
My heart is full of love and gratitude. I am so touched and inspired by your belief in “Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine.”
Love, Michele & the “Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine” team
Wow, we’ve come so far! As always, a BIG thanks to everyone who has pledged and offered their support to our project. We still have $4,000 and 12 days left to go, but thanks to all of you, I know we can do it! Please continue to spread the word and help us get past our goal.
And now, without further ado, our overdue Extremely Happy Dance Thank You Mega video #3 and #4 starring my friends and awesome supporters of the film—Ava Klein, Alison Nagler, Anna-Marie Josue, and Daniel Fineberg.
Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine by Tim Galles
I had the fortune to get to know a Matt that most people didn’t, but I am forever grateful that I did.
Growing up in a fairly new subdivision in the town of Casper, Wyoming, who knew what was to become when a new family moved in across the street. Part of this family was a young 4-year-old who was wise beyond his years, someone who didn’t just settle for playing cops and robbers. He managed to squeeze in some extracurricular activities like acting, business ventures, and even a little politics as he grew up in this small neighborhood. He was never shy, but he was known and liked by many around him.
I can’t help but think that Matt was destined for great things. He ran our lemonade stand like it was a Fortune 500 company, right down to the meetings we had to discuss business. Our neighborhood was a plethora of activity, and its main hub was Matt’s front yard. The games of hide-and-seek and laser tag were the stuff of legend, and I’m positive his leadership qualities were the force behind their organization. He was the glue that held our neighborhood together, the band of neighborhood brothers and sisters that sadly doesn’t seem to exist today.
The greatest memory that I have of this time isn’t pertained to one particular event, but instead to how united we were as friends. It didn’t matter who liked what or what we were wearing or even who we were. We were simply friends. Friends who had their own uniqueness that brought out the best in each other. Unfortunately as we grew older, we grew apart and went our own ways, but I know in my heart that those memories can never be taken away and can be relived with fondness in our memories. It helped make me who I am today.
With sadness, the events that led to Matt’s murder will be a painful reminder of what could’ve been. But just as his family, who are quite possibly the strongest people I know, rose above and made many a positive out of a horrible tragedy, I have hope that we can do the same and rise above hate and injustice.
Matt wanted to change the world. I know that it may not be the way that he originally envisioned, but I take solace in the fact that he’s done just that. And whether we see a college-aged Matt, a high-schooler making his way in the world, or that little 4-year-old delivering presents as the neighborhood “mailman,” the heart grows stronger knowing we have to stand up for him and believe we can make a difference.
-Tim Galles
