Free On-line Screening Of Why We Ride

For the next seven days film makers are screening Why We Ride for free to spur crowd funding for a new film; I Am Sturgis. Viewers are encouraged to pledge $5 to help produce the new movie.

“We don’t want to stop with just one movie. We want to continue to inspire more people, and that’s why we want to make I Am Sturgis,” says James Walker, producer of Why We Ride. “This is a movement now, and we want it to flourish. Sturgis is the entire motorcycle microcosm – it’s got everything: the camaraderie of the tribe, the visceral power of the bikes, the cacophony of humans and machines coming together, communing, riding, bonding. We want to show this world to people, because the instinct behind it, the gathering and the sharing, the competition and the rush – it’s universal. This isn’t just about being a motorcyclist; it’s about what drives us as people. All we ask is that everyone who has seen Why We Ride – or who view it for free on our site over the next week – to please donate to the I Am Sturgis Kickstarter campaign. If everyone gives even $5, it will allow us to continue telling these inspiring stories about our motorcycle culture.”

The link to the free online screener is www.kickstarter.com. Please take this opportunity to watch Why We Ride for free and share the link so others can enjoy it as well. (And don’t be cheap. If you watch, you can afford to pay at least $5 -Ed.)

Upon its initial release, Why We Ride generated intense interest and soon became a critically acclaimed motorcycle movie. With time running out on the current campaign, the filmmakers hope to channel some of that energy and enthusiasm toward their new project.

The impetus for I Am Sturgis stems partly from this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally being the 75th Anniversary of that motorcycling institution. In recent years, the Sturgis rally has drawn half a million participants, but attendance estimates for this year’s anniversary rally exceed one million riders. There may never be a better time to capture the passion, dedication and camaraderie of the motorcycling community, and there certainly is no better place than the iconic Sturgis gathering.

When making Why We Ride, Sturgis was the first filming location, and it had an immediate emotional effect on the filmmakers. “There is a spirit there that enters you and grabs your heart,” says Bryan H. Carroll, producer/director. “The beauty of the Black Hills is God given. You put your hand on a boulder and you feel this energy; you can feel it in the air. It’s easy to understand why American Indians hold this place sacred.”

To launch the project, Why We Ride Films hopes to raise $350,000 of the production budget for I Am Sturgis through their Kickstarter campaign. And while they’re on their way, there are only 19 days left to achieve their goal. There are many contribution levels and many rewards at each level, including digital movie posters, movie downloads, movie premier passes, production credits, access to the Producer’s Private Pre-Party, and private theatrical screenings, as well as new offerings, like an exclusive David Uhl print of legendary motorcycle maven Gloria Struck, Ride in the Movie, VIP passes to Michael Lichter’s Motorcycles as Art party, a handmade “Bagger” metal sculpture by James Rice and the opportunity to make it into the movie through participation in Sturgis rally rides.

“We made Why We Ride about a community,” says Walker. “Now, we want to grow that community and invite the people to be a part of our next film.”