Doc Raises $176K

Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak was able to raise more than three times as much as he needed to produce a documentary about the gay rights movement on Kickstarter.com.

Yezak, whose Second Class Citizens documentary teaser went viral earlier this year, set up a Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 to produce a full version of the documentary. The campaign exceeded expectations with 4,272 backers as of Friday afternoon, raising $176,354.

In explaining why he wanted to tackle such a documentary, Yezak wrote, "My boss asked me if I wanted to donate blood with her. I immediately got up to go with her & then stopped abruptly realizing that I couldn't donate blood. She did not believe me, nor did she understand why. I felt like a different species. I did not feel one with the human race in that moment. That was the moment it had a direct effect on me & my rights -- that is when I decided to make this documentary."