Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit has one of the most astonishing stories in all of sports.
The tale of an American athlete struggling to make ends meet playing beer league soccer in England and his astronomical rise to the FIFA World Cup is a source of inspiration to all those that know it.
And that includes the two filmmakers who charted the journey and are hoping to realize their own dream of releasing Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story.
The film is nearly finished but has only been shown behind closed doors and at select private screenings, according to Nick Lewis, one of the men behind the movie.
The response has been positive, but Lewis has been unable to cover the licensing costs associated with releasing the movie.
“It costs about $20,000 a minute to show footage from the English Premier League and $50,000 a minute from the World Cup,” said Lewis. “We talked to a few people about investing, but never found the right fit.”
So Lewis has turned to soccer fans and the arts community for help through kickstarter.com, the largest funding platform in the world.
Anyone can back the movie with a donation and will only be charged if the documentary hits its goal of $215,000 pledged by July 18.
So far, 355 people have stepped up and offered $44,683.
Lewis hopes the day will come that people can see DeMerit’s story for themselves.
“It’s a story that deserves to be told.”
For more information and to see a trailer for the film, visit “Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story” at kickstarter.com.
