Reason and Faith

Reason and Faith is a multi-faceted film project, which is centered around the story of Timothy Bridger, a closeted Christian minister, and Gregory Price, a popular drag queen and lifelong LGBTQ advocate.

As teenagers, Timmy and Greg had a romantic encounter at the Christian summer camp where they met. After being outed by the church and their families, the two split apart for over fifty years, which is when the story of Reason and Faith begins.

Though both characters are completely fictional, their life stories are well-founded in actual history and numerous true events. We hope to tell a story which deeply explores both secular and spiritual identity, disparaging neither, using the interactions and dialogue of these characters as a jumping off point for provocative discussion. Even as Greg and Tim eventually finally find out that they are not as different as they first thought, we hope our audience will come to understand that there is really much more that unifies these two communities than divides them.

Why Now?

The easiest way to answer this question is to say

"because it's long overdue."

Christian groups and LGBTQ communities have been at odds since the origin of the LGBT movement in the late 1960s, and our team believes it is high time that we come to realize something very important:

WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM.

and there is more that unites us than divides us.

America stands currently at a cultural crossroads, and seems more divided than ever, between conservatives and liberals, Democrats and Republicans, team red and team blue, team Cross and team Rainbow, but we want to show that these differences are surface deep.

The point we wish to make with Reason and Faith is this: If a Baptist Minister and a Drag Queen can come to love each other as neighbors, then

anything is possible.

Why Us?

www.filmmenagerie.com - Excerpts of films by Zane J. S. Johnson with music by Noel Herbert.

From Writer/Director Zane J. S. Johnson, Owner of Film Menagerie Productions :

"This story is incredibly personal to me. I grew up in the conservative southern city where filming will take place, and had numerous friends in both the Christian and LGBTQ communities, identifying easily with the ideals of love, inclusion, and fellowship that defined each."

"My past work, such as the suspense feature The Olden Days are Now, filmed in Kyoto, Japan, or the feature comedy Plastic Breakfast, produced in Los Angeles, often explore the intersection between personal psychology/spirituality and cultural identity, delving deeply into the language and semantics by which we define our relationships with each other and the universe."

From Noel Herbert, Head Producer:

"Conflict is the outcome of fear, and fear is a natural response to the unknown. Reason and Faith nurtures spiritual and religious education within various communities and cultures. This film is not solely an act of social justice, but an opportunity for people of different backgrounds and beliefs to engage in discussion."

"As a spiritual queer person the fruition of this film is of great importance because with it comes knowledge by which we can cultivate understanding.

With understanding we can create tolerance, and by engaging with outside communities we humanize them. With that we lessen the unknown, minimize fear, and ultimately relinquish conflict."

Where We Are and What We Need

We currently have two scripts written, one for a short film and the other for a feature film. We also have a gorgeous shooting location and an amazing team comprised of both spiritual leaders and LGBTQ activists and organizations.

Reason and Faith will be shot over five days in the summer of 2023. Almost the entirety of the short film will be shot on a single location, a beautiful two-story traditional southern home in central Virginia surrounded by 23 acres of forest. This home will not only serve as the location for the film, but will house the cast and crew for the duration of production.

This campaign is step one in the process of bringing the short film into reality. Your contribution will enable us to roll the cameras this summer in Virginia, to bring Reason and Faith off of the page and into reality, creating a short film that will play in festivals throughout the world and enable us to grow the team that we need to make the feature film happen in the next few years.

However, we want to emphasize that this is not just about money, but about growing a culture and creating a community. And as such, we want you to be with us every step of the way. By donating as little as $1, you will be invited to join our online community, where we will discuss issues of spiritual and secular life, as well as share updates on the project as it develops.

And even if you are not able to contribute anything monetarily, you will help us just as much by:

SHARING. POSTING. and COMMENTING.

So please - let us hear your voice!

If Reason and Faith is a film that you would like to see, then we promise to make it for you!