Ryan James Yezak has been an Internet and media sensation after releasing his seven-minute trailer for a planned documentary about the gay-rights movement.
He released the emotional video on YouTube in January to coincide with Martin Luther King Day after working on it solo for the past eight months.
The trailer has been featured on Ellen, and covered by Perez Hilton, MSNBC and other media outlets. In addition, about a week after its release, he had secured the needed $150,000 in funding to put the documentary into production, which will start in March. The documentary will be called Second Class Citizens.
"I first thought of the idea [for the documentary] when I came out to Los Angeles [several years ago] to intern in the entertainment industry. [Same-sex] marriage was passed on my roadtrip out here; that was very exciting," said Yezak, 25, originally from Houston. "I also witnessed [same-sex marriages] when [that right was] taken away.
"I really wanted to make a documentary about marriage equality, but the subject was so large that I didn't know exactly how to tackle it."
So he sat on the idea for about 18 months.
Then he befriended a high school student from Florida through Yezak's work mentoring the younger generation with an interest in YouTube. The student told Yezak that, though gay, he couldn't come outor he'd be expelled from his private school. In fact, Yezak learned homosexual activity was even mentioned in the school's handbook under moral misconduct.
"I thought that was unbelievable," Yezak said.
Then Yezak learned first-hand about the blood donor ban against men who have sex with men. "That really made me feel different on a personal level," he said.
Yezak was set in motion on his documentary, driven by discrimination.
"If the gay community isn't aware of all these inequalities, these discriminations how will the general public know?" he said.
The documentary will encompass all areas in which the LGBT community is discriminated against, including marriage rights, gays getting denied admission to private schools, private organizations and religious institutions, and more.
The documentary also will detail gays getting bullied, not being able to adopt children, getting denied housing and more.
Yezak hopes to have the documentary completed by the end of September, and then show it next January at the annual Sundance Film Festival, scheduled for Jan. 17-27, 2013, in Park City, Utah.
Yezak's trailer features the song "The First Day of Spring" from Noah and the Whale: "When I [first] heard [the song], I envisioned something really grand related to gay rights. As I saw these [gay rights] clips over the next couple of years, I knew that song, coupled with the images, would have a great, emotional impact on people.
"I wanted to release [the trailer] on MLK Day since there are obvious similarities between that [King-driven] civil rights movement and ours."
The trailer has been viewed more than 2.3 million times on YouTube.
"I never envisioned that I'd be able to raise $150,000," especially so quickly, Yezak said. "I'm just shocked and overwhelmed with support this documentary has received; it's so unexpected, such a good feeling, truly incredible. It's just been very overwhelming."
None other than out actor George Takei has taken to social media outlets to promote the project.
To watch the trailer for the documentary, visit www.youtube.com/watch.