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Coming July 3, 2020
The Fandom is an award winning documentary that explores the history of animation fans who brought anime to the western world in the 1970s, Disney animators who faced threats to their careers, sci-fi fans who started the first furry conventions, and why furries became early adopters of the 1980s internet. It contrasts that with the modern fandom covering how it became a haven for the LGBT community as well as a positive economic and artistic impact on major US cities.
Now Streaming
The Fandom is a documentary covering the sensationalized, misunderstood, but colorful history of the furry community starting from the 1970s to 2020.
Recovered Footage
The Fandom has recovered never before seen footage of sci-fi and furry events from the 1970s to the 1990s. We digitally scanned dozens of tapes which gave us new insight into the early sci-fi, anime, and furry fandoms and how they rapidly changed due to technology and the media. We also see some of the more controversial aspects of furry history including the artistic culture and push back by the media that made it become something far beyond what most people think of as a “kinky hobby.”
The furry fandom is a worldwide community of animation fans, creatives, and LGBTs who are wild about media with talking animals. They create and share art online, gather for conventions, and even dress up as anthropomorphic animals—either from their favorite movies and TV shows or of their own creation. While there has been some media coverage of furries, none have covered the furry fandom’s origins or how it became one of the internet’s first subcultures.
2019 Trailer
The Production Team
The Fandom has an all LGBT cast and crew. It was successfully funded on Kickstarter and also independently funded by the creators.
Ash Kreis and Eric “Ash” Risher are award-winning documentary filmmakers who have teamed up to create this amazing new series. Each lending their blend of unique creative talents in camera work, editing and directing to make this project the most comprehensive look at the fandom to date.
Ash Kreis | Director/DP
Ash Kreis is a trans filmmaker from Colorado Springs. She got her start working on indie features including The Creep Behind The Camera and The Frame. She also worked in the advertising industry while teaching cinematography at UCCS. The last feature film she worked on was Being Evel directed by Daniel Junge and Produced by Johnny Knoxville. Since transitioning she has been approaching film with a fresh eye focusing on the lives and experiences of members of the LGBT Community.
Eric (Ash) Risher |
Co-Director/Editor
Eric 'Ash' Risher is a filmmaker from the San Francisco Bay area. Their prior editing work earned them a Heartland Regional Emmy. Their experience from the Academy Award winning documentary American Factory was invaluable for the making of The Fandom. They was born in Ohio, where they worked on feature films Carol and Miles Ahead. Ash gravitated toward a career in editing and found themselves at home in the world of documentary film. Ash’s directorial debut was a short doc called Furries which premiered at Frameline. Their work has appeared in numerous other festivals, on the radio, and on TV. Ash’s passion for storytelling has led them to pursue films with a focus on identity and civil rights.
Phil Kreis | Producer
Phil has been part of the furry community for over 25 years. Since furry has become more mainstream, he felt it was time to tell the story of its unique influence on modern culture. Furries have had a huge impact on modern culture since the 70’s but very few people know the full story. He’s a space systems architect, enjoys volunteering at furry events, and supports his wife Ash in the film industry.
Composers
Fox and Pepper have performed worldwide with concerts in Europe, Australia, Canada, Singapore, South America, Dubai, and the US. They debuted their first collaborative album in July of 2016 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.
Fox Amoore | Iain Armour
A pianist and composer from Scotland. He started playing the piano at age 5 and professionally at age 14. In the past 18 years, Iain composed two albums both with a live orchestra and choir at Abbey Road Studios. His album Come Find Me has sold over 5,000 cd, digital, and vinyl copies worldwide. He has had the pleasure of playing at the Cavern Club, has produced seven studio albums, and composed for Nintendo and Steam games. Iain completed his second album recording, The Dreamcatcher, mixed by Simon Rhodes at Abbey Road Studios in February 2017, which featured the world famous seventy piece Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and a 40 person choir from Eclipse Choir and Opus32.
Pepper Coyote | Jared Clark
Jared lives in Arizona and has a degree in music education. He started performing classical music at age 5 and continued until he reached age 16 when he joined a band and focused on the pop/rock genre. Jared has recorded eight albums, some independently and others with his band Look Left. Jared collaborated on the The Dreamcatcher mixed by the award winning sound engineer of Avatar, Skyfall, Spectre Simon Rhodes. Pepper released his newest album Muh in December 2017.
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