Two film students are trying to raise the $600 they need to carry out their final project – a short film about a young man with a gay older brother, who has to make a choice between conforming, or having his brother’s back. Gerard Spowart and Onehou Strickland from AUT Film and Television School say they want to graduate with a meaningful and beautiful piece of work behind them. They are hoping to do that with Two Steps Behind, which they say is a coming of age story about a man named Chris reflecting on his past. “A time where he learnt as a high school junior the true extent of gay shaming. Chris must now make a choice between conforming and antagonising people who are different, or standing up for what’s right and having the back of the ones he loves.” The pair says the short film is “an ode to all the LGBTQueens out there. We will only touch on the basis of things that they face daily”. Some of the short will be filmed at Aorere College, and students from the school’s film academy will get to be involved behind the scenes. Funding will go towards general production costs, including hiring school uniforms, feeding cast and crew of about twenty people, and a koha to the film academy and drama department of Aorere College. You can help out here – every bit counts! Jacqui Stanford - 10th August 2015