One in a Crowd: Devil's Horse

The links between Texas and Louisiana are long and deep. So while UT film student Michael Roberson is in the Bayou State working on his new dark, dramatic short Devil's Horse, he's hoping the Lone Star State (and everyone else) will help him through crowdfunding.

The Devil's Horse is a common name around the world, often given to the biggest, blackest bugs around. In Britain, it's the aggressive Ocypus Olens. In some parts of the U.S., it's reserved for female praying mantises. But in Louisiana, it's the giant, toxic Lubber, a grasshopper so gigantic it can neither hop nor fly, but so vile that even carrion birds will not eat it.

However, in Roberson's tale, there's something far worse lurking out among the magnolia and bald cypress.

Roberson developed the story of depression, divorce, and swamp monsters with childhood friend Brad Creel, who also stars as a recently divorced man facing something strange in the swamps. It just started production in Mandeville, Louisiana, and while Roberson has already raised some money, he's hoping to find another $7,500 by July 31 to cover remaining production and finishing costs.

You can help out via his Kickstarter page, and find out more about the director's work at www.robersonfilm.com. You can even follow the team's production updates via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

And a quick note on another recent local crowdfunding project featured in this column. On July 14 there will be a fundraiser at the North Door (502 Brushy) for Trolls, the upcoming feature from Lex Lybrand (Meet Me There). You can RSVP Facebook, or just find out more about the production here.

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One in a Crowd is a series intended to showcase Texas film and tech projects that are crowdfunding their way to a goal, be it distribution, a prototype, or production costs. If you have a project that we should know about, email us at filmflam@austinchronicle.com.