Present day. The HIV/AIDS crisis has been all but halted by advancements in treatment, but a cure has yet to materialize. In a community center rec room, a group living with the virus convenes weekly. Enter Sam, a mysterious young man searching for what most of them would gladly give up.
I first came upon the term “bug chaser” in a Rolling Stone Magazine article. I was instantly drawn to the piece’s main subject, a young man who not only didn’t go out of his way to protect himself from HIV, he actively pursued it. My empathy kicked in immediately and I asked myself,
“Why would someone want to purposely infect themselves?”
It was this question that drove me to start the year and a half long journey to my first feature film script, Chasers. The feature explores the relationships between 5 young people who have all been affected in one way or another by HIV. This past November, I was anxious to start manifesting the world developing in my head and approached Wayne to help produce The Gift Giver as a proof-of-concept.
With the advent of PrEP and advances in treatment, some people now view HIV/AIDS in a much less ominous light, while practically forgetting the virus’ destructive history.
I hope this short film can start a conversation that will continue with the feature.
Thank you for your support and interest in our film.
– Denis Theriault, Writer/Director
Denis’ last film, I Am Syd Stone, played at over 30 fests worldwide, even garnering a nomination for the prestigious Iris Prize.
With the connections fostered during the successful run of Syd Stone, we feel confident about The Gift Giver’s journey into the festival circuit and the opportunities to be seen by international audiences.
The Realness: Festival submission can cost anywhere Between $0 to $100, this might not sound like much, but after submitting to over 30 festivals we’d be looking at around $1,500-2000! After putting our own money into the production of The Gift Giver, we unfortunately don’t have the remaining funds to send it everywhere we’d like.
We have selected our dream festivals and featured them as our PERKS — that’s right — you (as the generous contributor) have the power to help us submit to the festival of your choice. Not only will every donation made be helping us send our film all over the world, we will also provide each and every one of you with a unique VIP experience to compliment your generosity.
By donating to our campaign you will be helping us with the following:
On a tight budget?
We feel you:
Denis recently got married.
Wayne also recently got married…to his student loans…
That said, any of the following actions are worth more than you can imagine:
A MASSIVE THANK YOU for reading this until the end, and for considering to invest in our film.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly.
Much love,
– Wayne & Denis