I can proudly say I am proud of “Judas Kiss”
OK, I meant to share about my experience at the “Judas Kiss” film premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival on April 2. But I didn’t. So, after it’s screening at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival last night (which I did not attend), I figured I should at least mention it.
If you don’t know, “Judas Kiss” is an independent feature film that I worked on last summer, directed by J.T. Tepnapa and written by Carlos Pedraza, both of whom I know through several years of working on Star Trek fan films with Hidden Frontier Productions. The tagline for the film is “If you had a second chance, would you grab it?” I guess I’ve been calling it a gay-themed time-travel drama about second chances. In the film, I play the supporting role of Abbey Park, whom I like to call the snarky fag-hag.
Anyway, so the film premiered at the Phoenix Film Festival on April 2 and I drove to attend. And despite being totally cranky after a long drive and dealing with a little bit of a cluster-fuck about actually getting into the screening, I have to say the premiere has probably been the highlight of my year so far. The screening was sold-out so it was moved to a larger theatre. I think I heard it out-sold some movie about or by the creator of “Everybody Loves Raymond” and some Keanu Reeves flick. But don’t quote me on that. There was a Q&A following the film, which most audience members stayed for. I just mostly stood upfront, doing my darndest to make sure it didn’t look like I had to pee really bad… because I did.
I think the best part of the premiere was that I actually adored the movie. I mean, so far, the ratings and reviews that I’ve seen have been positive and people have been really liking it. But let’s be honest – I would say about 90% of the films I’ve ever worked on, I’m not necessarily impressed by. I mean, I don’t want to go as far as to say I’m not proud of them, but a lot of them ended up being crap, which is why you’ll never be able to see them because they never went anywhere. But I really liked “Judas Kiss” (yes, I still cringed watching myself), but I teared up at the end. It’s a fucking good movie! And it’s the film that I am most proud of being involved with – so far!
I think the worst part of the premiere was that – okay, again, just being honest here – it’s a gay film. It’s pretty much only hitting gay film festivals. A lot of the audience members so far seem to be gay. And there’s a lot of male eye-candy in the film. So, yeah, I admit, I feel a little – on the sidelines. I mean, none of those audience members were interested in getting a photo with me or getting my autograph. A little self-conscious, are we?
I’m hoping to make it to the screening at Frameline in San Francisco. Maybe another road trip. But apparently it’s the largest LGBT festival in the world, so I’d hate to miss it. I’m still a bit of a fag-hag at heart. And I’m super crossing my fingers that it gets screened in LA at Outfest this summer. Super-super crossing!
For more information, including upcoming screenings, visit:
www.judaskissmovie.com
Or become a fan on Facebook.
juliamorizawa 