Alumnus releases film supporting LGBT rights
School of Cinematic Arts 2012 alumnus and director A.J. Goodrich has finished editing his film, The Road Less Traveled By, a documentary following his 3,600-mile walk across the United States in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights. The project took four years from inception to completion, and with the help of the current crowdfunding campaign, the documentary is ready to enter the post-production phase and hit the film festival circuit this year.
Goodrich is attempting to raise $35,000 by Sept. 17 through the crowdfunding campaign in order to pay for post-production sound editing, sound mixing, color correction, music rights, archival rights and festival fees.
“The biggest challenge was that I was doing the editing alone,” Goodrich said. “During the walk, even though it was really difficult at times, I had the crew with me, but keeping the focus to see it through over four years took a lot of perseverance. What always got me through was remembering that I walked across the whole country, and I felt like I owed it not only to myself but the people who walked with me and the people we met along the way to see the project through to the end.”
After editing and condensing more than 400 hours of footage and 31,000 photos over the course of four years, Goodrich is submitting the film to Sundance and other major film festivals around the world in addition to festivals with an emphasis in documentary film and LGBT specific festivals, such as Outfest in Los Angeles. The ultimate goal is to obtain distribution for the film on HBO documentaries, Netflix, PBS or the Travel Channel.
“I would like to see it go global,” said producer Mark Metivier. “I would like people in England or Australia or China to watch it because people who have never experienced America and don’t know what is going on here will learn so much. Also historically, 10 years from now, this film will be important.”
What began as a political grassroots campaign from Venice Beach to New York City quickly transformed into a journey about self-discovery, the idea of love and friendship and simple human connection. Goodrich and the group of friends who went on the trip with him met a wide variety of individuals with varying perspectives on their eight-month journey, from a queer commune in New Mexico to an Islamic gravedigger in the Mojave Desert. This unique human interaction made the trip much more insightful than Goodrich initially anticipated and proved that individuals across the country are bonded through universal issues and ideas.
“As long as the editing process was, it actually ended up being perfect timing with the Supreme Court passing gay marriage in June,” Goodrich said. “I think the movie provides a unique window into one of the most important human rights issues of our time and a snapshot of a point when public opinion was rapidly shifting.”
Goodrich hopes that the film’s final message to viewers is of hope and faith in humanity that will inspire young LGBT people to have more confidence in themselves and for heterosexual individuals to have a better understanding of what it means to be a part of the LGBT community.
“I am really looking forward to seeing The Road Less Traveled By,” said Audrey Emerson, a documentary film producer and junior majoring in critical studies. “It’s not just a story about an incredible personal journey, but about the larger things that bring us together and reaffirm our humanity. Traveling opens up worlds between people who appear to have nothing in common, and I think documentary film is a really amazing way to make us feel connected to one another.”