This summer brings something that's almost as exciting as the return of So You Think You Can Dance; the bow of my first-ever project as director, the short film REUNION.
First, some backstory. In the fall of 2007, I had the pleasure of attending my high school reunion in Arizona. Though I'm sure all my classmates knew that I was gay, I had never taken a boyfriend home before. As I drove to the event with my boyfriend John Michael, I was surprised to discover I had anxiety about what they might think of me and my big gay love…even after all these years.
Those feelings were the inspiration behind my short film, Reunion. It tells the story of a gay TV decorating show personality named Kenny Jarvis who returns to his small Arizona hometown for his 20-year high school reunion, with his boyfriend B.J. in tow, and discovers his former classmates aren't exactly who they appear to be.
I wrote the script for Reunion in January of 2008 and entered it in HBO's Shout Gay and Lesbian Film Contest. In February, I found out I was one of three winners who would be given a budget to make their movie. In March, we cast and shot it. In April, we edited and mixed it. On May 2, it premiered at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival at a beautiful outdoor screening in a park by the beach. This month, it's screening on HBO's on-line outlet Cinemax-on-Demand through July 17th and will also play at Outfest on July 12 at 1:30 PM along with the other two HBO winners and the feature film The Way I See It. For tickets and info, visit www.outfest.org
Hope you're able to check it out and that you have as much fun watching it as we did making it.
