This weekend, 25 Random Things makes its’ North West premiere at the SEATTLE LESBIAN & GAY FILM FESTIVAL, playing in the GIRLS SHORTS program, on Sunday, 10/18 at 2:15pm at the Egyptian Theater. I am flying to Seattle as I write this blog (gotta love VirginAmerica WiFi!), and look forward to spending the weekend in one of my favorite cities. So come by the screening and make sure to say hello. See you at the movies!
Come see 25 Random Things this weekend in Albuquerque at the 7th Annual Southwest Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. I was really hoping to attend this festival, but I am unable to. Please email me, or post a comment about how the screening went! It is in the FUN IN GIRL’S SHORTS Program, Sunday, Oct. 11th at 4:30pm. Enjoy the festival!
How fabulous are the people in Fresno? Well, let me tell you. They are super fantastically fabulous! I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the friendly Fresno audience for voting my short, 25 RANDOM THINGS, as the BEST SHORT FILM of the Festival. Fresno REEL PRIDE rocks in every way! It was a blast of a weekend (in the words of my friend and extremely talented fellow filmmaker, Kate Brandt, “Fresno=Fun”) and I feel incredibly lucky to have so much support from the gay and lesbian community of Fresno. From the parties to the screenings to the filmmaker reception to the big scoop of Foster’s Ice Cream in the kitschy ice cream parlor across the street from the Tower Theatre, Fresno sure did show us a good time. Thank you to Stephen Mintz, Jon Carroll, Edie Galvani and Paula Durette of the film festival for your gracious hospitality and for another memorable REEL PRIDE. FresYES!
Producer, Rebecca Sekulich and Writer/Director/Actor, Chris J. Russo, pose with Edie of Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement, a documentary about the lifelong romance of two beautiful women set against the backdrop of cultural change. She is a true inspiration!
One of the great things about being a filmmaker is being able to travel to festivals and show your work to different audiences and meet really interesting people. This weekend, my producer, Rebecca Sekulich, and I are in Fresno, CA, at the REEL PRIDE Film Festival, showing our short, 25 Random Things I Did During My Big Fat Lesbian Depression, and we’ve been enjoying spending time with other filmmakers and celebrating our work with the Fresno community. Fresno REEL Pride has been a huge supporter of my films over the years, from screening my short documentary,Straight Down the Aisle: Confessions of Lesbian Bridesmaids to hosting a script reading of my feature, The Diary of Penelope Cartier. It is refreshing to get out of Los Angeles and present work in smaller communities, and it is also validating, as a filmmaker, to be in those audiences and know that that my stories speak to people in vast and diverse communities.
25 Random Things I Did During My Big Fat Lesbian Depression will be screening at the FRESNO REEL PRIDE Gay & Lesbian Film Festival next Saturday, September 19th in the “Fun in Girls Shorts” Program, at 2:30 at the Tower Theater. If you are in Fresno, come by and have some laughs and say hello!
25 Random Things I Did During My Big Fat Lesbian Depression is playing the BEST OF OUTFEST tomorrow night at the Egyptian Theater! How wonderful that our short was even considered a “best of the fest”! Here’s the info:
Wednesday, September 9 – 7:30 PM
EGYPTIAN THEATER, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.
FAVORITE SHORTS FROM OUTFEST 2009
From child Liza impersonators to lesbian depression, eccentric Southerners to suburban teens with secrets hidden under their mattresses, these fun and touching short films were some of the most beloved at Outfest 2009. Included are the winner of the Outfest 2009 Audience Award for Outstanding Documentary Short, Mark Payne’s “Get Happy” (USA, 2008, 25 min.), a coming-of-age musical extravaganza documentary with many familiar faces; and the winner of the Outfest 2009 Grand Jury Prize for Outstanding Documentary Short, Shaun Kadlec & Deb Tullmann’s “First and Loveliss” (USA, 2009, 17 min.) Lloyd and Jackie assemble a jigsaw puzzle, in the process confronting obsession, longing and questions of identity and attachment in rural Tennessee. Also screening: Jennifer Jordan Day’s “Make a Mate” (USA, 2009, 4 min.) A lonely woman finds a magical shop where she can craft an ideal mate; Jay J. Levy’s “Dirty Magazines” (USA, 2008, 39 min.) An absurd comedy about how a mother-son relationship changes after a devoted mom finds gay porn underneath her son’s bed on the morning of his 16th birthday; Chris Russo’s “25 Random Things I Did During My Big Fat Lesbian Depression” (USA, 2009, 10 min.) After getting the shaft in an unbelievable break-up, a lesbian reveals her enlightened yet hysterical road to recovery. Discussion following with filmmakers Mark Payne, Shaun Kadlec, Deb Tullmann, Jennifer Jordan Day, Jay J. Levy and Chris Russo.
Come see 25 Random Things I Did During My Big Fat Lesbian Depression tomorrow, Saturday, August 8th at EAGLE ROCK PRIDE. The event begins at 3pm and runs to 5pm, there will be another short shown, Get Happy, directed by Mark Payne – Winner of the 2009 Outfest Audience Award for Documentary Short, as well as the documentary 25 Glorious Years. I will be there for a Q&A, come say hello!
Eagle Rock Plaza, 3-5pm, 2700 Colorado Blvd., where the 134 FWY and 2 FWY cross in Eagle Rock. 323.256.2147
If you haven’t gotten your fill of my silly little short, come see an encore screening of 25 Random Things I Did During My Big Fat Lesbian Depression at EAGLE ROCK PRIDE, next Saturday, August 8th. This is Eagle Rock’s first Pride event and is produced by the Uptown Gay and Lesbian Alliance (a non-profit) that is celebrating their 25th anniversary. It is Saturday, August 8th from 3pm to 6pm at Eagle Rock Plaza, 2700 Colorado Blvd. where the 134 Freeway and the 2 cross in Eagle Rock.
My short has also been invited to screen at SAN GABRIEL VALLEY PRIDE, on Sunday, September 13th. More details to follow.
I am thrilled to report the LA screenings of my new short, 25 Random Things I Did During My Big Fat Lesbian Depression, were a huge success! Friday night’s premiere to a sold-out theater of 650 people in the Director’s Guild was amazing, with uproarious laughter heard throughout the entire short. Thank you to OUTFEST and Director of Programming, Kim Yutani, for being such incredible supporters of my films over the years and to everyone who attended the screenings and for all of your fabulous feedback over the last few days. As the writer, director and actor, it was truly validating to hear people laugh, and the comments from the audience couldn’t have been kinder. If you would have asked me a year ago what my next project was, I would never have said it was going to be a comedy that I was acting in the starring role. As a filmmaker, I learned a tremendous amount through the process of making this short, and now I am challenged to figure out what is next. Stay tuned to this website for several more RANDOM THINGS webisodes, and for updates on film festival screenings coming to a theater near you.
Full day of activities: moderated a Kodak Fireside Chat at Slamdance on shooting s16mm, saw "Please Give" and "Enter the Void" at Sundance. 2 weeks ago
