The text from the Kickstarter campaign that accompanied the video above:

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TEST - A FEATURE FILM IN POST-PRODUCTION



A poignant, powerful story set in the San Francisco modern dance scene of 1985, in the early years of the AIDS epidemic.



SUPPORT TEST - YOU'RE IN GOOD COMPANY!

 

With prestigious grants from the San Francisco Film Society, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and the Horizons Foundation, Serious Productions recently completed principal photography on TEST, the second feature film by award-winning writer-director Chris Mason Johnson. With your support through this Kickstarter campaign, we will be able to finish post-production on TEST and launch it at a major international film festival before bringing it to you via VOD, Netflix and in your local art house theater. (Read on for an explanation of what "post-production" entails.)

 

THE STORY OF TEST

 

TEST is a poignant, powerful story of friendship and hope in a time of crisis, set in the San Francisco modern dance scene of 1985 in the early years of the AIDS epidemic: when headlines threatened a gay quarantine, when nobody knew for certain how the disease spread, when dancers were afraid to touch each other because they might get it from sweat...​

From the trauma of the AIDS epidemic there were stories of suffering and death, and political activism, that needed to be told first. But the early history of the epidemic is big and complicated, and there are untold stories that frame the subject in a different light and need to be heard now as well. TEST is one of these. It's a very personal movie with universal appeal: protagonist Frankie is a classic underdog who faces homophobic bullying at work and the newly named AIDS epidemic outside of it. His courage and resilience are tested.

 

A PROVEN TRACK RECORD

 

The filmmaking team behind TEST brings an enormous amount of commitment, passion and experience to this project, as well as a proven track record with a successful first feature. THE NEW TWENTY is currently distributed on Logo, iTunes, Netflix and Amazon, among others, and in Canada, Germany and France. It's a small film that has found an audience, and with your support TEST can find an even larger one!

 

THE TEAM BEHIND TEST

 

TEST has brilliant new choreography by critically acclaimed choreographer Sidra Bell, original music by renowned composer Ceiri Torjussen, and beautiful cinematography by up-and-coming Director of Photography Daniel Marks, as well as a cast that includes Matthew Risch, fresh from his leading role on Broadway in OTHER DESERT CITIES, and dancers from the San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and local modern dance companies in San Francisco. (See below for a full list of Cast and Crew.)

 

TEST has been shot on an ultra-low budget without sacrificing a high production value, and now that we've shot a beautiful film we need to fund post-production!

 

WHAT IS POST-PRODUCTION?

 

It's everything that happens after the film is shot and before it's ready to market and screen. Shooting a film is only half the story. Next comes: editing, mixing the sound, color correcting the footage, creating a full-length original score, paying for additional music rights and editing music to picture, plus all kinds of technical details to conform the film to HD standards so it can be streamed, downloaded and projected.​

 

With your support we look forward to finishing post-production on TEST and sharing it with you and audiences around the world.

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