Goodbye, Petrushka
Claire moves impulsively from NYC to Paris, where she nannies for the family from hell, battles wacky French bureaucrats, embarrasses herself in front of her Parisian crush and navigates a toxic relationship - among other faux pas.
Interview with Writer/Director/Producer Nicola Rose
Watch Goodbye, Petrushka on Prime Video
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I wanted to tell a story about a young woman going through a very messy stage of growing up. I've always been attracted to coming-of-age stories, especially about girls and women, but speaking very generally, we don't get to see women being messy and flawed and goofy onscreen. Yet that's exactly how we often are in real life. I wanted to write about a young woman who was a total goofball, whose innocence bumps up against life and culture shock in an uncomfortable way. I wanted to make a comedy of errors and discomfort, and one where love doesn't necessarily tie up with a bow.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
To feel better coming out than you did going in. So many people have told me that the ending gave them a boost they didn't know they needed. Claire, the main character, goes through a lot, so I think it can be a bit rough watching her get to point A to point B. But hopefully, it's worth it.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
I have discovered from talking to audience members that it resonates with a surprising range of people just because it has to do with youth and the mistakes we make when we're young. Not everyone has been a young American puppeteer in France in love with a figure skater (thank God; it would be a weird world), but everyone has been young and made all sorts of goofy mistakes. I've heard from people of all stripes that Claire has struck a chord with them, made them emotional, brought back memories, etc. We've all had crushes and acted like idiots; we've all yearned really hard for something and maybe not even been quite sure what it was.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I originally wrote Goodbye, Petrushka in 2013, when I was not much older than the young character at its center! I made a short film roughly based on it and then put it aside for several years. My producing partner, Tierney Boorboor, and I met in 2020 and unearthed what ended up becoming Goodbye, Petrushka, the feature film. She is an excellent script doctor and found exactly where I needed to tighten and/or rewrite GP to make it produceable.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
People have had an emphatically warm reaction to this film overall. I'm really gratified by it. Again, I think it's because stories about messy growing-up experiences seem to hit a fairly universal nerve.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I've actually been surprised how positive it has been! Not that I was expecting negativity, but rather, I wasn't sure how much people would take it seriously. People by and large have taken it extremely seriously. But it's okay to laugh at it too. (By which I mean I encourage it.) It's a very silly film about deep feelings.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I want people to know this movie is out there waiting for them to watch it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We need viewers! Thanks to our distributor Indie Rights, you can watch it on Tubi and Prime. And if you like it, I ask that you please review it on Prime, Rotten Tomatoes, and IMDb. Every review means the world!
Tubi (US, Canada, UK, Mexico): https://tubitv.com/movies/680460?utm_source=justwatch-feed&tracking=justwatch-feed
Prime (US): https://amzn.to/3v5tKkS
Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/goodbye_petrushka
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13197812/
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I want people to feel happier because they watched it. That's for this film specifically, although as far as I'm concerned, it's the whole point of making movies anyway.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What were you longing for as a young person? Are you still?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
A few of the producers and I are working on my second feature, a family comedy called Magnetosphere.
Interview: August 2022
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
Goodbye, Petrushka
Length:
1:40:00
Writer/Director
Nicola Rose is a New York City-based filmmaker. Her first feature film, Goodbye, Petrushka, premiered at Dances With Films in Los Angeles in summer 2022. Prior to that, Nicola directed four short films: Creative Block (2017), In the Land of Moonstones (2018), Gabrielle (2019), and Biff & Me (2020), all of which won awards and acclaim on the festival circuit. She is a graduate of Columbia University and the Université Sorbonne-Nouvelle in Paris.
Producer
A creative and logistical producer, Tierney Boorboor finds her joy in helping talent realize their potential and assisting projects to fruition. She is a partner at CuffLink Productions, a consultant to the newly minted Baum 18 Media, and makes films independently. After line producing A Place in Hell, she then produced Hideout in 2020 and Goodbye, Petrushka in 2021. As the lead producer, she was responsible for all phases from development and financing through production, post and distribution.
Key cast:
Lizzie Kehoe (Claire), Thomas Vieljeux (Thibaut), Casey Landman (Julia), Bartek Szymanski (Rafał), Cat Grey (Trina), Joëlle Haddad-Champeyroux (The Bureaucrat)
Facebook:
http://facebook.com/goodbyepetrushkafilm
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/goodbyepetrushkafilm
Hashtags used:
#goodbyepetrushkafilm #goodbyepetrushka
Free to stream on:
Tubi (US, Canada, Australia, Mexico, India):
https://tubitv.com/movies/680460?utm_source=justwatch-feed&tracking=justwatch-feed
Amazon Prime (US): https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.ebc25d57-32e5-48f6-a26d-c8bc4c5eb3c6?ref_=imdbref_tt_wbr_pvt_aiv&tag=imdbtag_tt_wbr_pvt_aiv-20
Amazon (UK):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goodbye-Petrushka-Lizzie-Kehoe/dp/B0B5LFQK6L/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YGSIYJJOCXZG&keywords=goodbye+petrushka&qid=1661377439&s=instant-video&sprefix=goodbye+petrushka%2Cinstant-video%2C112&sr=1-1