Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 09/11/2014 -- A new Kickstarter Crowdfunding campaign is now underway to raise a total of $20,000 in pledges to complete the filming for “DIVE”, an independent short film that explores the common struggle of a gay athlete overcoming the challenge of accepting his own identity.

Directed by Brent Harvey under the production banner of Riovey Films, DIVE is a story set in the 70’s which revolves around a lightweight heavyweight boxer Kit (Played by, Tyler Derench), who is just one bout away from the championship title. However, his greatest fear comes to life when an old training partner blackmails him to take a dive (i.e. to lose the fight on purpose) or have his sexuality exposed. Kit now has to face the greatest fight of his life and overcome the challenge of accepting his real identity and find the voice to speak his truth. The film aims to explore the common struggle to come to peace with ourselves in a world which does not always accept differences. Through this short film the director wants to tell a compelling story that breaks the stereotypes and opens up healthy discussion, where people can discuss such topics without fear and judgment. In fact, when they first came up with this concept, Boxer Orlando Cruz had also come out as gay male to the media, which is indeed a big victory and can inspire other professional athletes to find the voice to speak and proudly show their authentic selves.

The film production crew has the support of a few high profile LGBT athletes and coaches including tweets by Olympic boxer, Orlando Cruz, who was one of their biggest supporters from the beginning. According to Fallon Fox, Transgender Pro MMA Fighter, “DIVE looks to be a truly inspiring film with an incredible storyline. This is certainly a story that must be told about what it was like for LGBT athletes in the era of the 70’s.”

The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign has launched and within the first 24 hours, they have already raised 20% of their $20,000 goal to cover the production and shooting costs of the film. Contributors can pledge any sum ranging from $5 to $2000 or more, and receive special thank you gifts in the form of DVD copies, T-shirts, Personalized Dog Tags, Signed Photograph/DVD, Signed Boxing Glove, Digital Copies, a Behind the Scenes Documentary and much more.

For more information, simply visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/951813983/dive-0

About Riovey Films
Los Angeles based Riovey Films was founded in 2013 by Brent Harvey and Nicole Rio. As a company, they revere the original spirit of "creating magic" through filmmaking and push the boundaries with stories that inspire and make a difference in the highly commercial world of entertainment. They are dedicated to the joy found in pure collaboration, with respect and openness to all artists and are driven by the belief that this is the only way to truly succeed.

CONTACT
Riovey Films
Brent Harvey: Brent@rioveyfilms.com
Website: http://www.rioveyfilms.com/