Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine

When 21-year-old Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in 1998, millions of Americans were suddenly confronted with the reality of homophobia. That ubiquitous photograph of the boy next door seized the public's attention, and the quiet dignity of Shepard's parents in the wake of the tragedy spoke to average middle-class parents everywhere. This film forms a portrait of "Matt" from a different angle, however, and broadens our understanding of who he was not as a symbol but as a person. Director Josue attended boarding school with Shepard in Switzerland, where he was sent when his father took a job in Saudi Arabia. Through journal entries, letters, home videos, and interviews with friends and family, Josue reconstructs Shepard's life and paints a picture of the innocent but complicated young man he was. Extensive interviews with Shepard's high school counselor, his boarding school and college friends, and his remarkable parents round out the profile. In revisiting the life of Matthew Shepard 17 years after his death, the filmmaker has created a touching and honest memoriam to her old friend.