We are moving stories

“The film is definitely very personal! It’s based on a true story, between the director Will Sullivan and his husband Derek Dodge, and you can’t get more personal than dealing with the combination of love and work, and simply figuring how to grow up between the two.”

“I’m a multi-organ transplant recipient, and I grew up never seeing any sort of media that centered around people that had the same fears and anxieties about my body. I wrote the original script when I was 17 during COVID and I was in this really intense period of isolation and self-exploration. ”

“LGBT struggles are human struggles. The main character could be my mother or yours. She’s a woman searching for something and deciding whether or not she has the courage to go for it, to risk losing everything to find it. I think everyone can relate to that. Redefining who you are in the eyes of the people you love can be a liberating but also terrifying prospect for anyone regardless of age, sexuality, or gender.”

“One thing that I’m proud of is that we always approached the characters as three-dimensional people in the real world rather than gay quip machines or angsty models. I think more work should be made that renders gay characters with the same commonplace brushstrokes as their heterosexual counterparts, and I hope the audience will find a refreshing, comically pedestrian take on marriage from a gay perspective.”

“I made The Takeback as a way of examining how we handle the complex emotions behind casual encounters in the gay community. Despite being vulnerable physically, it’s often more difficult to be vulnerable emotionally—even sleeping over can be too much! That dissonance leads to a need to cope, sometimes in damaging ways. I was hoping to delve into that through a flawed, gay character and his compulsions.”

“I wanted to show a larger audience what it’s like to try to find genuine love in a society that is mainly focused on sex. I also wanted to make a film that shows the homosexual experience in a normalized light. My goal was to create a story where the main character was gay and that was just a part of who he was but not all that defined him.”

“I simply started by depicting the real 1970s. At that time, there was this trend led by the rock start that shows the ambiguity and fluidity of their sexuality. People went crazy for this because it helped them express themselves. Some might say it’s all showbiz, but I believe people who were leading this at that time, were leading it truthfully. Curt and Dorian, my two main characters, might be the heroes that influence the world, or just the marionettes controlled by the strings in their manager’s hands, but on the hidden side of the stardom, their love is genuine. I guess the theme emerged as I was finishing the story. No matter what surface we are under, there is true love, and I believe in it.”

“As a same-sex married couple and longtime filmmaking partners, this was an opportunity to story share the universal theme that love is love is love.”

“I wanted to make a film I needed to see when I was 16 or 17. “Pretty Boy” is that film. It is a journey of discovery into what is a complex social dilemma. I’ve never made a film so personal but felt like it needed to be out there in the world. Not only for me but for anyone who has felt less than at a younger age.”

“The idea for the film came from my real-life experiences while living in New York City. This city is full of such a diverse group of people and so many cultures collide with one another. I came to the United States when I was twenty-two years old and I hadn’t lived or been to any western country before. I saw a huge cultural gap between the two countries and people living here. Those personal moments and themes inspired me to make this film and tell the story.”

“Gabrielle- I wanted to make something that showed the realness of human beings. So many times in cinema we see ‘the gay couple’ or ‘the lesbian moms’. I wanted to show someone who was just simply a human who fell in love with another human. I think in our society today we label people way too much and try to fit them into boxes. I also wanted to shed light on what an awful thing domestic violence is. Unfortunately it happens every day, to many people, who feel they have no way out.

Roze- I made this film because of Candace. She survived something that I can only depict in a movie. She and many other woman have lived through abuse in their own homes. The one place that is supposed to be safe. I wanted to tell the truth for her sake. I could see how angry she got when we didn’t get it right. It was so real.”

“Because it talks about feeling, emotions, friendship, themes in which everybody, gay or straight, can identify. Because it’s a comedy with layers and portrays gay relationships in a subtle and realistic way. I find too often that gay movies have to be camp and outrageous, delivering a wrong image of what the gay community is.”

“ADRIAN: The story is about two men with very unique expectations of masculinity who spark a brief moment of connection. I think there’s something both deeply personal and universal in that.”

“When I was growing up, I never had LGBTQIA role models on the screen and I felt like an outsider because of this. We need more stories featuring diverse protagonists so that all young kids can see themselves represented, embrace who they are, and find their voice. This film helped me find my voice as a gay man and filmmaker.”

“I think it’s important to highlight the stories of those who maybe haven’t had the chance to tell their stories. Our film is an exploration of colonialism, Christianity, sexuality and gender identity while living in an area with some of the harshest conditions on the planet. This story hasn’t been told before so it’s a good reason to watch our film.”

“There are many reasons to watch this film! It is a heartfelt and emotional film that will make you laugh and maybe cry, definitely root for Pete, and hopefully forget that we were ever very different from each other.”

“The film has a lot of subconscious and primitive images centered on the erotic psyche, which Freud believed to be quite universal and I hope it would communicate with the audience on a subconscious level. At its core, it is a story about a gay man’s struggle to understand himself and deal with his sexual identity in relation to his parents, his wife, and his gay lover.”

“EITR explores the masks we wear in the fear of our own desires, what it means to carry on the legacy of our families and the pivotal moments where choice breaks us free from monotony.”

“Easy Reappearance” is about love. And love, of course. In fact, as I always say, even if I speak about violence, or hamsters or I don’t know what else, I only speak about love, it’s the only thing that exists on earth. But this time I wanted to see the link between love and liberty. It’s the story of a woman who has always lived in a jail - the jail is in her brain. I wanted to film the revolution in this brain, and that’s why I had to be free in the way of filming too, and that’s why “Easy Reappearance” is sometimes a little strange!”

“We are a show about alliance, advocacy, acceptance and finding love in unexpected relationships. We believe that all people are equal and have much to learn from each other - especially in our rapidly changing sexually fluid world.”

“We don’t have enough queer history. Prior to making this film, all I knew about queer history and queer life were Harvey Milk, Stone Wall and Ru Paul. I really feel privileged that this film landed into my hands. It gave me an opportunity to journey into the past and get a unique crash course on the milestones of the Gay Liberation Movement through a very specific lens of an organization that is now 53 years old, The Imperial Council of San Francisco.”

“I had heard about Pony Play watching some reality show while stuck in bed for days with the flu. I had never seen anything like it. When the subject of the episode was bringing in her adult daughters to reveal this side of herself to them, the women seemed confused and horrified. I was fascinated by this woman’s discovery of this community and her deep connection to it.”

“Little Potato really is a crowd pleaser. It’s got everything: humor, politics, love and deals with so much in a very compact, and beautiful 13 minute period. And if nothing else, you should watch the film for Wes’ mom! She is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. You watch the film and you’ll fall in love with her. Everyone does.”

“A directing mentor once told me: “Tell the story you’re most afraid to tell.” That’s what I did. I was most afraid to explore my intimate fears of sex, HIV, and loneliness. At the time I also wanted to explore what real and true connection meant today and how even something as simple as an unrelated customer service representative over the phone can have a more impactful connection with you than your own family. I made the film because I was scared to make something so intimate and personal – and I’m glad I did.”

“This film was really an exploration of my own personal journey toward accepting myself as a gay man. The two characters each represent elements from my process of coming to terms with my sexuality and identity as a gay man. It was important to me to relate the struggles I have faced in the hopes that I can give someone who may be experiencing something similar an opportunity to see that they are not alone.”