Pedaling With Purpose
Donation protected
The Papis are making a documentary and we need your help! Please read the project description below, our explanation of how you can help, the people leading the project, and a break down of our budget.
Project Description: How can we end HIV/AIDS in our lifetime? Puro Pinche Papi, a team of BIPOC gay and queer cyclists, also known as "the Papis," believe they can make a difference with their bikes. In this documentary, Black and Brown gay and queer men discuss how HIV/AIDS has impacted their communities and how a 545-mile bike ride across California has changed their lives. Through an intergenerational conversation between Black and Brown Papis living with HIV, and interviews of Papis not living with HIV but who are fierce advocates, this documentary will explore several themes, including: the disproportionate impact HIV/AIDS has on Black and Brown communities, health justice, empowerment, pride, community building, and the joy of cycling. With their bikes and full hearts, the Papis are working to elevate BIPOC voices in their mission to create a world where new HIV infections are rare, but when they do happen, everyone, regardless of their intersectional identities, will receive high quality life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination.
Funding: We estimate that we can make this much needed 20 - 25 minute participatory documentary with a budget of $10,000. Thankfully, we received a competitive film making grant of $1,500 for this project. We need your help to raise the remaining $8,500. Any donation amount will be extremely helpful towards our goal but we do have a list of incentives that we hope you consider.
Papi Perks
- Pa: $100 - This Pa name will be featured in a special section of the documentary where we thank those who made this film possible.
- Papi: $250 - This Papi gets the previous Papi Perks + a special social media shout out where we thank you for your contribution to our project.
- Papito: $500 - This Papito gets the previous Papi Perks + a private screening with the Papis before the premier of the film.
- Papasote: $1000 - This Papasote gets the previous Papi Perks + appears as an Executive Producer in a special section of the documentary.
Team: This ambitious project has a core team of three Papis that have the vision and experience to bring this film to light. You can read their bios below.
- Alfredo Trejo III (he/him/él) is a queer scholar and artist, born and raised in LA, with roots in El Salvador and Mexico. He holds a BA from UCLA, an MS from Carnegie Mellon University, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA. Alfredo has been thriving with HIV for a decade, sharing his story and advocating for the rights of people living with HIV. He is a Lambda Literary Emerging LGBTQ Voice Fellow and is an alumna of Tin House and Write It Out! Alfredo lives in Boyle Heights, where he makes his own kombucha.
- Travion “Trae” Smith (he/him) is a queer artist and current student at Columbia College - Hollywood. Born and raised in rural Alabama, Trae never felt connected to the conventional ways of his hometown and thus gained interest in learning about other cultures. In 2020 he left his career as a military police officer and turned his filmmaking hobby into a career. Trae’s focus is cinematography and has worked with a variety of programs and formats, including the documentary that he wrote, produced, and filmed, which can be found on his YouTube Channel . Trae loves queer documentaries, his favorite of all time being Paris is Burning.
- Joseph Cipriano (he/him) is a queer Filipino American college professor. Born and raised outside of LA, Joe earned his B.S. from Cal Poly Pomona and an M.S. in biochemistry from Cal State Fullerton, with research focused on proteins involved in viral production. Using his passion for mixed media arts, Joe has contributed his talents in film, photography, and editing to create social media content that advances the mission to end HIV/AIDS. He lives in Pomona, where he plays countless hours of video games and hikes nearby trails in the Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests.
Budget: Here is our budget for how we will spend the $10,000. We have intentionally over budgeted in several areas to ensure we have sufficient funding. Any leftover money will be used to help Papis earn their ticket to ride in the 2024 AIDS/LifeCycle. In other words, the remaining funds will go towards HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
- Studio and Gear Rental - $1500
- Studio Camera Operator - $1000
- Rent Car with Mounted Camera for B-Roll - $500
- Travel and Related Expenses - $1500
- Location Expenses - $500
- Film Editing and Graphic Making Contractor- $1500
- Producer and Story Editing Consultant - $1000
- Rights and Music - $500
- Craft Services - $500
- Film Festival Entry Costs - $500
- Expendables - $500
- Emergency - $500
Organizer
Alfredo Trejo III
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA