Written and directed by Shaz Bennett, "Alaska is a Drag" follows "an aspiring Superstar who had to learn to fight to survive — when he gets recruited to join the boxing team, he suddenly has to face the real reason he’s stuck in a cannery in Alaska."

After shooting a short film that travelled to over 150 festivals, Bennett and her team are now looking to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter to shoot a feature film version of the project, starring YouTube personalities Shameless Maya (Maya Washington) and ThisisMartinJr (Martin Washington Jr.) 

More from the press release below:

The feature film stars popular YouTube superstars Martin L. Washington Jr. aka ThisisMartinJr (who played the lead in the short film) and Maya Washington aka ShamelessMaya as his short film. Even though they are not related, they share the same last name and are both half African American and both actors feel very close to the characters. At its heart, the film is about survival and trying to make something from nothing. It’s a fish out of water story, literally, but Martin says, “I was bullied, I used to wear headphones to drown out what people said to me, it’s great to play someone who kicks ass. Leo is not a victim, he’s an International Superstar.”

Currently in pre-production the filmmakers will bring the same glamtastic realism that fans responded to in the short film – if Hedwig and Rocky had a love child, that would be ALASKA IS A DRAG, Director/Writer Shaz Bennett promises, “We want to create a visually stimulating, rich world that highlights but doesn’t exploit the gender clashes between Drag Queens and Boxers.”  

Director/Writer Shaz Bennett and star Martin L. Washington Jr decided to launch the campaign after repeated requests from fans about when/where they can see the feature. They wanted to capitalize on the momentum from the success of the short. They also wanted to bring content from the film onto the web through YouTube. The project is multi-faceted. Utilizing the online community, we will be exploring the universal nature of connectivity. 

Find the film’s trailer and Kickstarter pitch at bottom, and find the campaign page HERE.