Documentary on Military Sexual Abuse

This documentary is called Justin’s Journey. Justin’s Journey is about an LGBTQ veteran Justin Terry-Smith. He served in the United States military under the policy Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Don't ask, don't tell was the official United States policy on military service of LGBTQ people, instituted during the Clinton administration.

The policy was issued under Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 on December 21, 1993, and was in effect from February 28, 1994, until September 20, 2011. Basically, anyone who was out as an LGBTQ person could be kicked out of the military.

Justin Terry-Smith suffered sexual abuse/rape in the military while serving under this policy. He suffered from PTSD and didn’t even know it. How could he as a LGBTQ person be open about the abuse without fear of being kicked out with no benefits or pension? At that time, they could not. Now picture fighting HIV stigma on top of that. This documentary supports United States servicemembers, veterans, and LGBTQ persons.

This film is about Justin’s fight not only for compensation, his fight against HIV/AIDS but his journey along the way. While identifying as Black, LGBTQ, and Jewish. But WE NEED YOUR HELP TO TELL HIS STORY. To finish this film, we need 25K. Here is a breakdown of funding.

What We Need

Cast and Crew 10%

Shoot Cost Daily 10%

Misc. 20%

Postproduction Cost 60%

The Team

Selena Stewart has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade, having worked with major networks such as MTV, BET, truTV, and ITV. She enjoys the power of storytelling in documentary films and has worked with HBO Documentary Director Brent Owens. Selena is currently a producer on the upcoming documentary film, Serve With PRIDE; and is also serving as a producer on two new documentaries currently in pre-production.

Jason Stewart has worked on several TV shows and series. He worked on the film James Brown: The Man, the Music, & the Message (2008). He delights in the making of documentaries that make a difference in the world.