Homosaywhat
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
When Marriage Equality passed in the United States in 2015, many believed that the fight for LGBTQ equality had been won. The reality is that there are discriminatory laws against full LGBTQ inclusion across the USA and all it takes is a job transfer to a less accepting State for the lives of LGBTQ individuals and their families to be impacted dramatically.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
It was Dr Martin Luther King who said that “Until we are all free, none of us are free”. Most living outside of the LGBTQ communities aren’t aware of the fact that LGBTQ Civil Rights vary from State to State with some covering the basic essentials of life like non-discrimination in housing and employment while other States do not.
Homosaywhat
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
My experience has been that deep down people are more alike than they are different. This explains the broader acceptance of LGBTQ themes in movies like Moonlight and in TV series like Tales of the City. All people want love, thrive on friendship and seek to find personal fulfillment.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
This project evolved as additional information and stories surfaced and were brought to our attention. Michael Moore instructs filmmakers to respect their audience by not showing them what they’ve already seen before. We held ourselves to this standard as we gathered materials, placing and adjusting them for the viewer to experience them along with us.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The audience reaction during the film festival circuit has been amazing with several viewers not only sharing their appreciation of the film with us but also their personal stories which bring validation to the importance of this work.
Rusty Smith
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Only in that the feedback validated the reason that this film needed to be made which has been very affirming to each of us who’ve worked to create it.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I was inspired and challenged by early LGBTQ films like Parting Glances and it’s my hope that Homosaywhat will motivate other LGBTQ persons and their allies to remain vigilant as the pendulum of history has a tendency to revert back when it swings unchecked and unchallenged.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Although this film has been created for the broader community, we are happy to partner with LGBTQ positive groups such as PFLAG and Gay-Straight Student Alliance chapters through outreach and education. Our film has acquired distribution through Cinema Libre Studio which will be handling both the commercial and educational distribution of Homosaywhat with an early June 2020 VOD and DVD release. Continued support from the press is also essential to get the word out beyond the film festival circuit.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Homosaywhat is a call to action. If it helps to raise awareness in the broader community while supporting those within the LGBTQ communities, then it will have fulfilled its mission.
Rusty SmithLeft to right: Sean Bowe, Jax Buresh, Steve Scholz
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
If the subject of Homophobia doesn’t evoke a strong reaction within you, you may want to determine why it doesn’t. What influences have shaped your opinions of LGBTQ people? Homosaywhat offers a backstory to how culture and society joined forces to push LGBTQ people to margins.
Would you like to add anything else?
We would like to thank We Are Moving Stories for their continued support of the Independent Filmmaker.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We’ve recently completed the Pilot Episode of a new Docuseries titled, Sorry We Missed You and have begun entering it in the 2020/2021 film festival circuit. The series highlights the contributions of some of those who contributed greatly to making the world a better place but for whatever reason aren’t exactly front-of-mind in our collective consciousness. We dedicated the pilot episode to the life and works of deceased Yale Professor John Boswell whose life and works truly changed the world for the better.Sorry We Missed You will also be playing during the qFLIX Philadelphia Film Festival in July so please be sure to check it out.
Homosaywhat poster
Interview: April 2020
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Homosaywhat
Homophobia didn’t just happen. Orchestrated campaigns by cultural institutions and public figures have systemically instilled anti-LGBTQ prejudice into American culture by shaping public opinion.
Length: 1:15:55
Director: Craig Bettendorf
Producer: Kai Morgan
Writer: Craig Bettendorf
About the writer, director and producer:
Writer and director of Homosaywhat and Treading Yesterday, CRAIG BETTENDORF, no novice to LGBT subject matter spent the better part of the 1990s organizing, promoting and finding common ground and understanding necessary to form acceptance and inclusivity for members of the LGBT community.
KAI MORGAN is a Los Angeles based Actor, Writer and Producer with Television and Film credits including Treading Yesterday (2016), 7 Deadly Roommates (2017) and Homosaywhat (2019). Kai’s work on both sides of the camera has proven invaluable to each of these projects.
Key cast: Steve Scholz, self, Jax Buresh, self, Sean Bowe, self, Rusty Smith, self
Looking for: journalists
Facebook: Treading Yesterday
Hashtags used: #LGBT #GAY #HOMOSAYWHAT
Website: www.treadingyesterday.com
Other: IMDB
Made in association with: Treading Yesterday Productions, LLC
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? qFLIX Philadelphia/Suzanne Roberts Theater/July 19th, 2020 @ 10:00 AM