Our Story:

Soldiers fight and die for our country, regardless of their orientation. Shouldn't their families be equally compensated for their loved one's ultimate sacrifice?

Survived by... is 25-minute short film about how the policy of Don't Ask, Don't Tell/Defense of Marriage Act affects the families of gay and lesbian soldiers. It takes a poignant look at one fictional family in the year 2006. The film begins with the military funeral of Army Staff Sergeant Alana Ridings. During the somber ceremony, we transition to a few days earlier when the National Guard chaplain comes to the home to provide information and comfort to the soldier's mother. While she is there, the chaplain discovers that SSG Ridings, who was killed in combat while assisting a marine unit searching Iraqi insurgents, was a lesbian with a "wife" and a (non-biological) child. SSG Riding's mother discusses the inequity of the DADT/DOMA policies as they pertain to SSG Riding's widow and daughter, who have sacrificed just as much as any military family and now will get none of the benefits, programs or grief counseling afforded to the families of other heroes killed in action.

Who We Are:

We are 3 Grunts Productions, LLC (http://www.3gruntsproductions.com/) a diverse, minority company based out of Columbus, Ohio. Our intention is to create films that address topics and issues relevant to the LGBT community and women in general. Our primary goal is to create great films that entertain and enlighten.

Our Goal:

Through this film, we would like to make people aware that the repeal of DADT is a victory but there is still discrimination if the spouse/partner/children's rights aren't also equal to that of all military dependents. The time for this film is now while the topic is hot and highly misunderstood. 

We have already spread the word through showing and sending our trailer to friends and relevant organizations, uploading it on You Tube, the Survived by... fan page on Facebook and Twitter and the Survived by... website. We have sold t-shirts that advertise the film (under the original title, Requiem: A Soldier's Tale, and we have successfully put together a local fundraiser that raised the money to get the movie filmed. We previewed a rough cut in June in Orlando and we received several responses of "I've experienced that" from some military members and "I never thought of the issue in those terms, that's so wrong" from civilians. Opening a fence-sitter's eyes on this subject is the best reward we can have.

Where Your Donations Will Go:

The money we raise will go for remaining production costs (our wonderful cast and crew donated their time but we would like to cover some of the expenses they incurred while filming), expenses for post-production (editing, color correction, audio equalization, music, effects, etc.) and entry fees for independent film festivals around the country to get our film out to a wider audience and enlighten them on this subject.

We encourage people who believe in this project to join us in our campaign, team up with us and help spread the message in Survived by...

Soldiers are making the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. Their families should not be treated differently. Our film will help people understand that.