10/20/16

We are so incredibly thankful to have had so much support during our Indiegogo campaign this past month! We hit $20,000! THANK YOU for all the love and support, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU has made this a successful campaign. If you missed our Indiegogo, you can still support us by going to our website www.nicolemiyahara.com and clicking the "support" button! Feel free to drop us a line at thedragkingmovie (at) gmail.com if you are interested in collaborating on future fundraisers. Again, we appreciate your support and could not have gotten this far without your GENEROSITY! Thank you from the bottom of our drag king-loving hearts! 

Love & Drag,
The Making of a King

(Havok Von Doom)

THE MAKING OF A KING documentary is in one of the most exciting phases of the filmmaking process—post-production! This is where we take the footage we have shot over the past four years and craft the stories of our characters into the feature length movie. It’s also the most expensive part of filmmaking because there are several skilled people we need to bring onto our team, including an experienced documentary editor, composer, colorist, and sound designer.

It’s time for drag kings to step out of the shadow, into the spotlight, and tell their stories. With your support, together we will do just that! Join us and spread the word with friends and family to make this campaign a success!

xoxo,

Nicole & Niccole
(Director & Producer) 

While drag queens are widely known and largely accepted, drag kings are still fighting for equality within their own drag community. THE MAKING OF A KING is the promising underdog story of drag kings faced with issues such as equal pay, equal access to showtime, and respect in the greater LGBTQ community. Inspired by Hollywood, the kings’ hand-made costumes are camera-ready down to the very last rhinestone. Chest binding, bald caps or wigs, application of facial hair, and detailed cosmetic contouring complete the elaborate pre-show transformation to create characters ranging from the boy next door to fantastical creatures.

The common definition of a drag king --“the opposite of a drag queen” or “a woman dressed as a man”-- is simplistic and inaccurate. This feature documentary paints a broader and more inclusive picture of diverse identities and what it means to be a drag artist. These kings are challenging gender norms and stereotypes through drag and art. Through deeply honest interviews, the kings reveal the journey of expressing masculinity through performance, explore what it will take for drag kings to be part of mainstream pop culture, and share how their experiences with drag positively affect their daily lives.

Every dollar that you contribute will move us further along in our filmmaking journey! Good news, your donation is tax deductible! THE MAKING OF A KING is a fiscally sponsored project of the International Documentary Association (IDA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions on behalf of THE MAKING OF A KING are payable to IDA and are tax deductible less the value of any goods or services received, as allowed by law. The value of goods and services being offered is noted under each donation level. If you would like to deduct the entire contribution amount you have the option to simply decline the reward at check out.

Following a bout with cancer, Kristine fulfilled her dream to get back onstage by creating drag king, Landon Cider. Well known and respected in the drag community and a host/producer of several monthly drag king shows, Landon performs with many of the “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” queens. Recently, Landon's opinions about drag king equality were featured in an op-ed piece in The Advocate.

Shortly after taking his first Testosterone injection, Havok Von Doom felt confident to leave his comfort zone of performing in local bars and clubs. He decides to compete for the 2014 Mister USofA MI (Male Illusionist) title in Nashville, Tennessee. His top competitor is also his best friend Miles Long, who has earned himself a place in the pageant. A veteran performer with 17 years of experience, Ivory Onyx was the current reigning title holder and mentored contestants, including Havok and Miles. Where pageants are traditionally based on beauty, this one honors male illusion and talent above all else.

Phantom is a stay-at-home mother of two children with Autism by day, and a drag king by night. Using drag as a form of art therapy to cope with the stress of family life, Phantom and her male partner work together to create wondrous characters inspired by her childhood.

Even though he can easily “pass” as a straight biological male, transman Lucky Johnson continues to perform as a drag king to stay connected to the LGBTQ community. His mother has had a difficult time accepting his gender transition because of Evangelical religious beliefs, and he has not yet told her he is taking hormone therapy.

Not only can you support this incredible film, but you can get some awesome stuff in return! If you don't see your country listed in our shipping section please reach out to us at thedragingmovie (at) gmail.com 

CRAIG RAMSAY FITNESS CLASS
A trained and certified bodybuilder, Craig is an ally and understands and respects everyone’s fitness journey. He is extremely passionate about helping people achieve the physique results they desire. Known for his philosophy of "The World Is Your Gym" Craig guides this class with practical, effective, and efficient bodybuilding techniques helping you achieve proper muscle fatigue. The class includes a 45 minute workout and 45 minutes of Q & A. For fitness tips and tricks follow Craig at @CraigRamsayFit

How else can you help besides opening up your wallet? Spread the word!

• Use the Indiegogo share tools to get more eyes on our campaign, it really does make a difference!
• Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Sign up for our email list; shoot us a line at thedragkingmovie (at) gmail.com to stay updated with the progress of the film and where and when we’ll be releasing it.
• Host a fundraiser, show our video at an event, and donate those funds to our campaign.

In 2013, director Nicole Miyahara graduated from the University of Southern California with her MA in Visual Anthropology and a 30-minute thesis film. Nicole’s long term ethnographic research has allowed her to see patterns and changes in the L.A. drag king’s community which offers a unique perspective of the their lives both in and out of drag.

(L to R: Lucky Johnson, Phantom, Landon Cider, Nicole Miyahara, Miles Long, Havok Von Doom, Ivory Onyx, and Trey Sharpe)

We are forever grateful to our earliest supporters who believed in this project from the very beginning and for that we want to say THANK YOU!  We have gotten a lot accomplished on a very small indie budget and with a tiny team—we are very resourceful!

As everyone knows, filmmaking is costly and this campaign will absolutely let us take a big step into the next phase of the project.

We are a group of female indie filmmakers committed to telling the unique stories of an incredibly diverse group of L.A. drag kings. We recognize this as a huge opportunity and responsibility to inspire conversations about the construction of gender, expression through performance art, and the spectrum of the LGBTQ experience.

Nicole Miyahara - Director Nicole Miyahara is an ethnographic filmmaker with a MA in Visual Anthropology from USC. There she completed her thesis documentary, The Making of a King. Nicole was a 2014 Armed With A Camera fellow through Visual Communications where she created To Sit With Her, a short documentary about a Taiwanese-American transman and his relationship with his 97-year-old grandmother.  

Niccole Osborn - Producer Niccole Osborn is a Mexican-American Los Angeles native, who worked in post production at Blumhouse Productions on over 25 projects including Academy Award-Winning Whiplash, The Purge, and Insidious franchises. As post supervisor, she recently wrapped XOXO, a Netflix original movie, now playing. Niccole was selected to participate in Outfest Infusion at NBC Universal as an up and coming LGBTQ filmmaker/producer.

Claire Paluzzi - Additional Editor Claire Paluzzi is a Northern California native with a Bachelor of Arts in Television, Film, and Media Studies. She has a passion for telling a story visually, and a background in Post-Production. Claire works as a Freelance Editor, cutting short form charity videos for Omaze.com.

Ryan Ashley Caldwell -Advisor Ryan Ashley Caldwell MA, PhD is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Soka University of America.  She holds graduate degrees in Sociology, Philosophy and Women's Studies.  Her areas of research and publication include social and cultural theory, gender and performative identity, and power. She is interested in how identity is constructed through personal narrative, embodiment, and cultural deviation from norms, and uses both performance art and drag (as theory and as performance) within both the classroom and research/publication as a point of academic interest. 

Jazmin Ontiveros - Digital Video Director Jazmin Ontiveros is a Latina filmmaker. Jazmin launched her work in digital media at BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, learning the fundamentals of viral video production. Currently, she is assisting with the development of the video team for mitú—a digital platform for Latinx millennials in the US. Jazmin hopes this will help her parents finally understand what she does for a living. 

We would like to give SPECIAL THANKS to our team Christine Riccobon, Yi Ning Wong, and Karli Santos, everyone who has helped us in any way big or small, and to our angel donors! 

Indiegogo photos by Molly Adams, Heather Boucher, and Brandon Okumura. Other photos by Nicole Hernandez, Michael Mendibles, Rachel Quaill, and Erin Reeve.

(Phantom)

Risks & Challenges

Where there’s a will there’s a way! As we learned from our previous crowdfunding campaign, a variety of factors can change the course of independent filmmaking - that’s the challenge (and the thrill)! We want to stay true to our vision and create the film we want to make, that's the indie way. The release date for the film is truly an estimate that will ultimately depend on the distribution process. We promise to keep you posted on the progress of the film with occasional newsletters. Thank you for joining us on this documentary journey we couldn’t do this without your support!