Presented by our sponsor, GuySpy.com; written and directed by award-winning documentarian Matt Bucy.

WATCH THE ENTIRE SERIES of Judas Kiss: Behind the Scenes on the playlist at our YouTube Channel (subscribe here!).

The four episodes:

• Introduce the principal cast and crew, especially the hot young stars getting so much recent press around the United States.
• Document the creative tension at the heart of the partnership between director J.T. Tepnapa and writer-producer Carlos Pedraza.
• Explore actor Sean Paul Lockhart’s past as adult film star Brent Corrigan, and what it means for his new career as a mainstream actor. Coming soon.
• Offer a sneak peek at the Bollywood-style end musical number, “If I Fall,” performed by the Judas Kisscast and crew, joined by the song’s composer, American Idol alumnus Brian Lam. Coming soon.
• Show off the new animated logo for Blue Seraph Productions, the company behind Judas Kiss.

ON THE DVD Those first four episodes are collected together as a Bonus Feature on the Judas Kiss DVD, so if you don’t want to wait, order the DVD now, and see the other bonuses available exclusively on the disc.

Related Link

• YouTube playlist: All four Behind the Scenes episodes

JUDAS KISS was named to Entertainment Focus’ list of Top 10 Gay Films of 2011.

The British entertainment news site described the film as a “drama mixed with sci-fi for a unique and refreshing gay cinema experience.”

Writer Pip Ellwood compiled the list from DVD releases of gay films this year. “2011 has been a strong year for gay cinema with more quality movies being released than ever before,” he wrote.

Entertainment Focus reviewed Judas Kiss when it was released in November in the United Kingdom, calling the film ”a strong movie that tries something new in the LGBT genre. With all round good performances, an intriguing and strong storyline, and a satisfactory resolution, the movie really surprised us.”

Links

• See Entertainment Focus’ list of the Top 10 Gay Films of 2011
• Read Entertainment Focus’ review of Judas Kiss
• Read other Judas Kiss reviews

Also, meet co-stars Sean Lockhart (aka Brent Corrigan) and Belgian pop star Timo Descamps. Written and directed by award-winning documentarian Matt Bucy.

NEW EPISODES of Judas Kiss: Behind the Scenes will appear weekly here on our website, on our Facebook page and on our YouTube Channel (subscribe here!).

The first four episodes:

• Introduce the principal cast and crew, especially the hot young stars getting so much recent press around the United States.
• Document the creative tension at the heart of the partnership between director J.T. Tepnapa and writer-producer Carlos Pedraza.
• Explore actor Sean Paul Lockhart’s past as adult film star Brent Corrigan, and what it means for his new career as a mainstream actor. Coming soon.
• Offer a sneak peek at the Bollywood-style end musical number, “If I Fall,” performed by the Judas Kisscast and crew, joined by the song’s composer, American Idol alumnus Brian Lam. Coming soon.
• Show off the new animated logo for Blue Seraph Productions, the company behind Judas Kiss.

ON THE DVD Those first four episodes are collected together as a Bonus Feature on the Judas Kiss DVD, so if you don’t want to wait, order the DVD now, and see the other bonuses available exclusively on the disc.

Related Links

• Watch Episodes 1 and 2 of  Judas Kiss: Behind the Scenes

ARTSLINK REVIEWER Helge Janssen in South Africa praises the “brave task” shouldered by Judas Kiss, resulting in a film that “breaks new ground.”

Read the full review at Artslink.co.za »

Janssen reviewed the film as part of its exhibition at the Durban Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. He emphasizes the “empowering aspect of a psychological examination of one’s past, when done with integrity.”

The review praises the “flawless ensemble acting,” calling it the “primary satisfying energy that carries this film.”

Janssen also puts a fine point on the notion that Judas Kiss is less a gay movie than a movie that features gay characters:

What is refreshing about this movie is that, while the story revolves around gay men, it takes place in a context where heterosexuals just don’t seem to feature. I find this a wonderful reversal of the accepted heterosexual films where homosexuality is non-existent. In a sense this is a mainstream film, with characters that happen to be gay. As such the film breaks new ground.

Artslink.co.za distributes South African arts, culture and entertainment news, and hosts an annual directory of recurring national arts festivals and events.

In this episode, written and directed by award-winning documentarian Matt Bucy, meet the film’s star, Charlie David, and learn what he brought to his role as a failed filmmaker whose past crashes headlong into his future.

NEW EPISODES of Judas Kiss: Behind the Scenes will appear weekly here on our website, on our Facebook page and on our YouTube Channel (subscribe here!).

The first four episodes:

• Introduce the principal cast and crew, especially the hot young stars getting so much recent press around the United States. WATCH NOW »
• Document the creative tension at the heart of the partnership between director J.T. Tepnapa and writer-producer Carlos Pedraza. WATCH NOW »
• Explore actor Sean Paul Lockhart’s past as adult film star Brent Corrigan, and what it means for his new career as a mainstream actor. Coming soon.
• Offer a sneak peek at the Bollywood-style end musical number, “If I Fall,” performed by the Judas Kisscast and crew, joined by the song’s composer, American Idol alumnus Brian Lam. Coming soon.
• Show off the new animated logo for Blue Seraph Productions, the company behind Judas Kiss.

ON THE DVD Those first four episodes are collected together as a Bonus Feature on the Judas Kiss DVD, so if you don’t want to wait, order the DVD now, and see the other bonuses available exclusively on the disc.

Read the full review at Deep Dish »

While viewers have to pay attention, writer Marc Harshbarger says, “the attractive cast and intriguing story make Judas Kiss worth watching.”

Excerpt:

I really can’t say too much about the gay science-fiction drama, Judas Kiss, without ruining the surprise, which – trust me – is a doozy. I wish I could because it would be fun to discuss.

Related Articles

• Read all the Judas Kiss reviews

QX MAGAZINE

The review makes note of the film’s “darker story elements, [which] make us wonder how our lives would look to our younger selves.”

Read the full review at QX Magazine International »

QX Magazine International is the gay listings and scene magazine for London and the United Kingdom.

Related Articles

• Read all the Judas Kiss reviews

BRITISH ENTERTAINMENT network ATV Today says Judas Kiss is “a refreshingly different film with its genre mixing feel – time travel, fantasy, romance – and is at times dark but compelling, too.”

Read the full review at ATV Today »

Reviewer Martha Kirkpatrcik calls out the “fantasy time-bending” drama’s “undertones about the price of fame … and what people are prepared to sacrifice, such as their morals, happiness and principles.”

She also gives nods to stars Richard Harmon and Charlie David, and to supporting cast Sean Paul Lockhart (aka Brent Corrigan) and Julia Morizawa for “playing their roles with conviction and making them believable.”

ATV Today is part of the ATV entertainment network, which covers television, soaps and entertaiment news from the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States.

Related Articles

• Read all the Judas Kiss reviews

‘SUBTLE AND

Read the full review at Gaydar Radio »

Jones admits he’s never been a Charlie David fan but that in Judas Kiss David’s style is “a good fit.” Jones praises Richard Harmon’s performance as:

Utterly enthralling; by turns cocky, diffident, world-weary and naïve. It doesn’t hurt any that he’s absolutely swoonsome with darkly Gothic, vampiry good looks that are so very on-trend at the moment.

Jones also notes the cliché-breaking performance of Julia Morizawa:

She takes the role of your hackneyed, hapless fag hag – it’s sadly and sexistly what a lot of queer cinema reduces female characters to – and transforms her into a feisty, funny, whatevs-saying no-nonsenser who tells it like it is.

Links

• Read all the Judas Kiss reviews

AMAZON.COM’S

Grady Harp, who is ranked No. 3 among Amazon’s customer reviewers (with 6,535 reviews to his name!), compliments J.T. Tepnapa’s direction in combining a “dream idea, some fresh talent and seasoned actors to keep the quality of the film on keel.”

Read the full review on Amazon.com »

Harp also gives kudos to the film’s cinematography by Dave Berry and Brad Laina’s score for helping raise the story “to a level [where one] reconsiders the past and sees where different actions could have possibly resulted in a more successful present.”

The result is a film that works and bodes well for Tepnapa’s career, he added. Harp is based in Los Angeles.

Judas Kiss is currently rated at 4.5 stars by Amazon customers, and is ranked as the No. 3 Hot New Release in its category.

WITH JUDAS KISS‘ upcoming release in Germany, the LGBT news site Queer.de weighed in on the film, calling it “a touching love story, beautifully photographed and filled with magnificent, gorgeous-looking actors.”

Read the full review at Queer.de » in German or » translated via Google

The review credits J.T. Tepnapa’s direction, discusses the breakout performance by Sean Paul Lockhart (aka Brent Corrigan) in his dramatic role and notes the acclaim the film has received in film festivals all this year.

The review also links to the first episode of Judas Kiss: Behind the Scenes, and to the official German trailer for the film. The German distributor, Pro-Fun Media, dubbed the movie into German, which you can watch below.

Compare with the English version.

NEW EPISODES of Judas Kiss: Behind the Scenes will appear weekly here on our website, on our Facebook page and on our YouTube Channel (subscribe here!).

The first four episodes:

• Introduce the principal cast and crew, especially the hot young stars getting so much recent press around the United States.
• Document the creative tension at the heart of the partnership between director J.T. Tepnapa and writer-producer Carlos Pedraza.
• Explore actor Sean Paul Lockhart’s past as adult film star Brent Corrigan, and what it means for his new career as a mainstream actor.
• Offer a sneak peek at the Bollywood-style end musical number, “If I Fall,” performed by the Judas Kisscast and crew, joined by the song’s composer, American Idol alumnus Brian Lam.
• Show off the new animated logo for Blue Seraph Productions, the company behind Judas Kiss.

ON THE DVD Those first four episodes are collected together as a Bonus Feature on the Judas Kiss DVD, so if you don’t want to wait, order the DVD now, and see the other bonuses available exclusively on the disc.

IN ITS first week of release on DVD in the United States and Canada, the “bewitching Judas Kiss” made No. 1 on The Advocate’s Hot Sheet, the top 10 entertainment highlights by Brandon Voss.

Judas Kiss was the first of four “film fest faves” recently released on DVD, Voss wrote:

DVD: Judas Kiss, Unhappy Birthday, Eating Out: Drama Camp, and Gigola. Take home these LGBT film fest faves: In J.T. Tepnapa’s bewitching Judas Kiss, out Dante’s Cove star Charlie David plays a filmmaker sucked into a weird love quadrangle with gay stars Timo Descamps and Brent Corrigan; a gay couple gets a scary surprise in the British Unhappy Birthday; Q. Allan Brocka’s fourth Eating Out gets campier; and Laure Charpentier’s French-language Gigola plumbs the lesbian underbelly of ’60s Paris.

EARLY SALES Released on DVD and video on demand on October 25, Judas Kiss is at or near the top of the sales charts at many retail outlets in its category, including Amazon.com, Wolfe Video, TLA Video, Amazon.co.uk in England and Barnes & Noble, and is proving very popular on Netflix’s DVD service, as well.

VIDEO ON DEMAND Judas Kiss also became available this week on many cable and satellite systems’ video on demand service, especially the two largest cable providers, xfinity (Comcast) and Time Warner. The film also became available on Amazon Instant Video for sale and rent.

TOP 10 LIST Meanwhile, Judas Kiss also hit the top of the list of gay videos on dot429 Magazine this week. dot429 is a professional network for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and its allies. Earlier this fall, Edge Magazine named Judas Kiss to its Top 10 Indie Movies list, and Queerty put the film at the top of its festival list back in the spring.

Related Articles

• Discover retail and video on demand outlets for Judas Kiss.
• dot429 Magazine’s gay video list
• Edge Magazine’s Top Indie Movies list
• Queerty’s Top Festival Picks
• Other top movie lists

NOW THAT Judas Kiss has shipped on DVD and is available online, regular folks on Twitter are tweeting their reviews, and it’s been overwhelmingly positive. Here are some:

Judas Kiss is on sale now on DVD and Video On Demand. Check your favorite retailers and local cable/satellite listings.

WATCH

FOR A limited time, download a FREE mp3 of Judas Kiss co-star Timo Descamps’ hit song, “Like it Rough,” which is featured on the film’s soundtrack.

DOWNLOAD THE SONG
Courtesy of the official website, LikeItRough.net, you can own this release of Timo’s high-energy dance music. Listen to it using the player, or right-click to download the mp3 to your hard drive.

LISTEN

Links

• Timo’s Official Website
• Greg in Hollywood: Timo Descamps — Wednesday Morning Man
• Timo featured in OhLaLa and Bello magazines
• Watch behind-the-scenes footage of how the song will be featured in Judas Kiss itself.

MONTREAL’S Image+Nation Film Festival will screen Judas Kiss on October 30 as part of the 24th annual event, which runs from October 26 to November 6.

The screening will mark the film’s third Canadian festival, following its premiere at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival in August, and at Reel Pride in Winnipeg earlier this month.

“With so many Canadian cast members, we’re thrilled to appear in Montreal,” said writer-producer Carlos Pedraza. “Even the geese in our movie are Canadian.”

Here’s how the festival describes Judas Kiss:

Director J.T. Tenapa’s ambitious first film features plenty of Canadian content, and is a beautifully framed, exquisitely lensed treat, with an engaging original score. A fantasy about second chances to get things right, Judas Kiss is a delightful brain-and-eye candy experiment offering us wish fulfilment – on many levels.

Judas Kiss is scheduled to screen at 8 p.m. on Sunday, October 30, at the Theatre Hall Concordia in Montreal. The Concordia Hall Theater features Montreal’s biggest screen in a 700-seat, newly renovated auditorium with Dolby digital sound.

The city is also home to Judas Kiss star Charlie David, who will appear at Image+Nation to represent the film. Co-star Ron Boyd, who plays film festival judge Ralph Garlington, may also appear at the festival.

Related Links

• Event Page
• Image+Nation Montreal website and film schedule
• Buy $12.50 tickets for Montreal screening
• See all Judas Kiss screenings

UPDATE The first episode is available to watch now!

AWARD-WINNING documentarian Matt Bucy spent weeks on the Judas Kiss set in the summer of 2010, shooting behind-the-scenes footage of the production and interviewing cast and crew.

As we move toward the North American DVD premiere of the film, we will be releasing a four-episode Web series, Judas Kiss: Behind the Scenes, produced by Blue Seraph Productions, and written and directed by Matt Bucy.

The four episodes:

• Introduce the principal cast and crew, especially the hot young stars getting so much recent press around the United States.
• Document the creative tension at the heart of the partnership between director J.T. Tepnapa and writer-producer Carlos Pedraza.
• Explore actor Sean Paul Lockhart’s past as adult film star Brent Corrigan, and what it means for his new career as a mainstream actor.
• Offer a sneak peek at the Bollyw00d-style end musical number, “If I Fall,” performed by the Judas Kiss cast and crew, joined by the song’s composer, American Idol alumnus Brian Lam.
• Show off the new animated logo for Blue Seraph Productions, the company behind Judas Kiss.

Related Links

• Direct YouTube link to the teaser
• Watch all the videos on the Judas Kiss YouTube Channel
• Blue Seraph Productions website

TIMO DESCAMPS continues to charm American audiences and fashion photographers. He graces the latest issues of Bello Magazine and OhLaLa.

Both articles include interviews with the Judas Kiss co-star, detailing how he came to be attached to the project and his hopes for an American career.

Read and enjoy!

Links

• Bello Magazine: Timo Descamps (on the Web) (Flash required)
• Bello Magazine app (iTunes store link)
• OhLaLa Magazine: Timo Descamps

FRENCH DISTRIBUTOR BQHL has signed on to distribute Judas Kiss on DVD throughout French-speaking Europe.

“We’re thrilled Judas Kiss is getting wider distribution in Europe, now in French,” said director J.T. Tepnapa, “and we look forward to an ongoing partnership with BQHL at film festivals, as well as pursuing other opportunities.”

The company, which runs the “boutique” site BQHL.com, also distributes books and other products to a wide variety of audiences.

Based in Paris, the media company will distribute the film on its own website, retail outlets, video on demand and other online vendors.

BQHL joins the other European distributors for Judas Kiss, TLA Releasing in the U.K. and Ireland, and Pro-Fun Media in German-speaking Europe, which are beginning distribution in November, following the North American release October 25.

BQHL has not yet announced its release date.

Related Links

• Buy Judas Kiss from your country’s retailers!
• BQHL.com

CHICAGO’S REELING Film Festival, the second-oldest international GLBT fest, celebrates its 30th anniversary with a screening of Judas Kiss on Monday, November 7.

“We’re thrilled Chicago is screening the film, even after its nationwide DVD release,” said writer-producer Carlos Pedraza. “Judas Kiss looks and sounds great on a big screen, and we’re glad Chicagoans will get to see it that way.”

This year, films are featured at six different Chicago area theatres. The festival runs Thursday, November 3, through Saturday, November 12, 2011 and will include 60+ screenings.

Pedraza and actor Julia Morizawa (who plays Abbey Park) plan to attend the screening and conduct a Q&A session following.

Judas Kiss is scheduled to screen at 9:15 p.m. on November 7 at Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema, 2828 N. Clark St. in Chicago.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL From award-winning international feature films to social documentaries to experimental shorts, Reeling has always presented a range of genres that demonstrate the rich diversity of work being produced. Not only has Reeling become one of the most important cultural events for Chicagoans, it also attracts LGBT people from throughout the Midwest who consider the festival to be the highlight of their cinematic year.

Related Links

• Event page for Chicago Reeling Film Festival
• Complete schedule of Chicago Reeling Film Festival
• Judas Kiss listing on Chicago Reeling Film Festival website

The ‘Judas Kiss’ Interview

Victor Hoff/MOC Blog: Okay, well, thank you both so much for taking [the] time to speak with me and my readers here at Men of Color Blog.

Carlos Pedraza: Our pleasure. I really like the kind of analysis you bring to films (not just ours!)

JT Tepnapa: Thank you! I’ve been looking forward to this!

MOC: So it’s official. You’ve got a Bona fide hit on your hands. Congratulations. But for a film that took almost five years to bring to light, were there ever moments where you thought: Meh, I’d rather be fishing.

Carlos: It was rarely “meh.” It was more often, “AARRGGHH!!” The transition from shorts to a feature for JT I know was a challenge.

JT: Never. I mean, for me this is a dream come true. I mean, Yes there were moments that I thought it would never get done. But I actually don’t know how to fish. So I have to make movies. The sheer amount of time it takes to launch a feature was never something I considered on day one.

Carlos: I actually do know how to fish. And making a movie is way better than having to clean a fish.

JT: Noted. [But] I’m sticking with making movies.

Carlos: I remember one conversation where JT wanted to give up and make another short. And I told him, “You are never making another short again.”

JT : Well…yes. Not for me. But I do love shorts! So I’ll make them for other people.

Carlos: Whenever we felt like we were getting tripped up, our motto became, “Let’s just make the fucking movie!”

MOC Blog: You utilized some very creative fundraising techniques includingKickstarter.com. How did you hear about them? Were you surprised that not only was your modest goal of $5000 met but was actually doubled?

Carlos: I learned everything I needed from observing how NPR does its fundraising. (I’m not kidding) Plus, I come from a nonprofit background, so I learned how to beg.

JT : It was a surprise. But it was also a lot hard work. For 30 days, we lived and breathed funraising.

Carlos: With dignity.

JT: He begs really well.

MOC Blog: It’s a lost art.

Carlos: I actually consider JT our team’s official ‘ho.

JT : We’re bringing it back in style. We kid a lot about it. But we were well-prepared.  (Cough)

Carlos: But the key thing for us – from the start – even before Kickstarter, was that we had to build and sustain a relationship with people who were interested in the movie and who became fans.

MOC Blog: Speaking of relationships…Talk a little bit about your relationship. Between the producing, writing and directing responsibilities, which you mostly shared, your roles seem to have intertwined quite a bit. Talk about your relationship prior to the start of the movie and how it evolved over the course of the picture. If J.T. cuts his finger, do you, Carlos, shout: “Ouch!”

Carlos: When JT cuts his finger I try to find some salt to rub in. For his own good, you know.

JT: Well I think it was a very evolving process. Our relationship during the writing stage was very different from Production, to post and even marketing. Its contantly evolving. We argue a lot too…that helps.

Carlos: That’s really true. Our roles in developing the movie were different from preproduction, different again during production and yet again during post, and now as we are promoting the film. During each phase of the film’s life cycle, we really look to what our individual strengths and weaknesses are, how we fill in one another’s gaps, and build an effective team in order to get the job at hand done. Plus, we really believe in planning. Independent filmmakers either have money or they have time. We didn’t have a lot of money so we took our time. There’s a phrase used in organizational development that really became our byword: “You have to move slow to move fast.”

JT: I really hate that motto…it makes my brain hurt.

Carlos: And arguing is a fundamental part of our creative and business dynamic. If we both agree on something, it’s usually the right thing to do. But if we disagree on something, the conclusion we ultimately reach – after a lot of arguing – is also the right thing to do. I wouldn’t want a creative partner who agreed with me all the time. All that does is amplify my own flaws. And this way, with J.T., I can concentrate on HIS flaws.  (And he’s got a LOT of them.)

JT: I actually find it amazing thinking about many of things we argued about. I see as the things that were big at the time don’t even matter now, or they never even made it into the final movie.

MOC Blog: Your film was primarily shot in Seattle. What were the practical considerations of shooting there?

Carlos: Believe me, shooting in Seattle was one of the things we really argued about. First and foremost, though, we wanted the film to NOT look like every other indie film shot in L.A. The light, the palm trees, the incessant sunshine. All stuff we DIDN’T want in Judas Kiss.

JT: Definitely, I did want the brick and Ivy look, but I had major concerns about the film community in Seattle. Would it be able to support our film, or would we have to fly everyone in.

Carlos: We wanted the campus, especially, to look like it existed in some ways, outside of usual reality. To have a timeless and classic feeling. I’m from Seattle, and I knew that it had the infrastructure to support our film. So JT came up for some location scouting, and he was sold.

JT: It really took a location scout in Seattle for me to fall in love with Campus. It was stunning. I loved it.

Carlos: Plus, from a cost perspective, access to locations, film permits and such, are cheaper in a place like Seattle, where fewer features are shot, than they are in L.A., where everyone wants you to pay the same for stuff as if you were a studio picture.

MOC Blog: Were you aware of the other Judas Kiss, the 1998 feature by writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez? You know, the one without the gay adult porn star in it?

Carlos: The fact it has no adult film star may really be one of its crucial flaws.

JT: Actually, Yes. But I have watched the movie.

Carlos: Although from what I’ve read on the Internet, lots of boys love that Carla Gugino

JT: I have NEVER seen the movie.

Carlos: I haven’t seen the movie either. In fact, I’ve avoided it just to make sure no one could ever say we copied this or that from it – besides the title, of course. But I figured, it was made 13 years ago, and that’s long enough, and our story is different enough that there shouldn’t be any commercial confusion between the two. Judas Kiss is a title that JT wanted for the film very early on. So early that I wasn’t sure his original story idea supported it.But it’s an awesome title, so as we developed the screenplay it informed many of the directions we ended up taking with the characters and the plot.

JT: I think it was there in spirit, but Carlos really fleshed it out. I do love title’s it really hard for me to focus on a movie without a catchy title to excite me.

Carlos: It’s true. Sometimes the title is the first thing that springs into your head before the full story is there.

MOC Blog: In a Q & A after the screening in San Diego, all of the actors understood, relished it seemed, the fact that they were not going to get rich off this project – I know, I know, they do it for the love – and that their trailers would not be stocked with unlimited quantities of Veuve Cliquot. Why do you think that is? What do you think they saw in this project that every critic appears to have seen as well?

Carlos: Heart.

MOC Blog: Elaborate.

JT: There’s a lot of passion in this project. Its a story about second chances. I think a lot people want a second opportunity to things differently.

Carlos: We started realizing this when we started interviewing casting directors, who all volunteered to help us at rates way below their usual because they saw the story as an opportunity to showcase their work, and the work of actors they know, through characters with a combination of heart, humor, depth.

JT: It’s not the just the story and plot. It’s also in the actual making of this movie. We all get a chance to live out our dreams in actually making this movie.

Carlos: Also, a lot of people were intrigued by notion, could we really pull this off? And, if so, they wanted to be a part of it. We certainly felt like we had good fortune smile on many times over the past 5 years.

MOC Blog: Were there any parts you did have trouble casting?

Carlos: Hmmm. Not sure. Really, all our principal cast came to us in one way or another.

JT: We were very fortunate in the casting department. Most of our leads came to us.

Carlos: JT and I worked closely together in casting the major parts, then we had a fantastic casting director, Patti Kalles in Seattle, who got us connected to great actors in Seattle’s theater, film and TV community. Seattle’s filmmaking community is small, but highly competent and very tight-knit. This paid off for us in several ways. For one thing, most of our crew have worked with one another repeatedly on many projects – artistic and commercial – in Seattle. So they had an already-established rhythm and pace for working with each other. So from Day 1, we had people who knew each other, knew how to communicate with each other. Consequently, we finished on time or early on every day but one. And that day we went overtime by only 35 mins. That never happens in filmmaking

MOC Blog: J.T., which one scene was the most difficult to shoot? And Carolos, for you, what scene gave you the most trouble, narratively speaking? How much of the movie landed on the cutting room floor?

Carlos: From a narrative standpoint, the part that gave us the most trouble – in writing, shooting and editing – was the cross-cutting of the confrontation between young Danny and his father with the clips of the short film, “Judas Kiss,” that is screening simultaneously at the film festival. Figuring out how to weave together these two separate but parallel narratives, when to cut away from one to the other, when to come back — it drove us crazy for quite a while.

JT: That’s a tough question really. There was the Luncheon scene, that was not terrible hard to shoot, but gave me a lot of grief because we only had three extras, when we actually needed 25 extras. I had a much larger scope in mind for that scene. The Rooftop scenes in Judas Kiss are actually more challenging scenes to shoot because they are at night with a dolly track and special effects that need to added after the fact. But I had the most fun with those scenes because they were challenging story wise.

Carlos: Even in editing, after it was all shot, we revisited many of the same issues.

JT: Ah yes, Editing that scene was a headache!

Carlos: We argued a LOT then, too. Our editor, Whitney Dunn, got to referee.

MOC Blog: Your film has, what I have called, the cinematic version of Magic Realism. Explain how and why you went in that direction for the look of the picture?

Carlos: Well, the godfather of magical realism is Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And I’m Colombian, so I think it’s kinda baked in…

JT: Actually the early drafts were really meant to be a straight up drama.

Carlos: Getting to the point of figuring out how to portray all this visually, though — that was a journey. Our own sort of magically real journey. Once we asked ourselves, what have we really got here in this story. How can it be more? How can it make a greater impact? And then we started thinking more visually.

JT: That’s when the magical stuff started coming into the picture.

Carlos: And a lot of credit goes to our visual effects supervisor, Joël Bellucci, who dared us to dream big. And he has the talent to actually deliver big. We gave Joël the script and said, “Imagine.” And boy, did he.

JT: Carlos and I love Sci-fi. And I think as we moved along we embraced that more and more. That goodness Joël was there to help us make real.

Carlos: We brought Joël to the set during principal photography so he could make sure we shot the film in a way that would give him a canvas to create his effects. A lot of people rely on CGI artists to “fix it in post.” We, instead, relied on him to “imagine in preproduction.” And “execute in production.” JT’s right. Our own scifi background was something I think we tried to deny in early drafts of the script.

JT: He was a blessing on set, It was actually much more freeing to know what what going to  get screen screen or swapped. It make a lot my work easier on set.

Carlos: But as we moved fwd, we realized that embracing our past offered us substantial creative opportunities in this production.

JT: Green screened _ terrible sentence.

Carlos: Joël and our cinematographer Dave Berry both share this essential quality: They are true storytellers. They aren’t merely technically competent – which they are, thank God! – but they participated with JT and I on the story level.

MOC Blog:  Do you feel the subject – second chances – was simply a natural extension of where you are in lives now?

JT: Definately for me! I mean I have always wondered “What if” It a theme I have pondered for a long time. And it really inspired Judas Kiss.

Carlos: Completely. Filmmaking is, like, my 9th career. A huge gamble. I went from a comfortable living in my own house to a vagabond existence these past 4 years, putting everything into making and promoting this film.

JT: *It’s a theme.

Carlos: But this has been one of the happiest periods of my life. Thematically, though, in both the movie and our own lives, one of the key ideas is that getting a second chance really relies on being able to confront the mistakes you’ve made in the past, to learn from them.

JT: I’m definitely a different person on this side of a feature film. I can see more opportunities and possibilities in my career.

MOC Blog:  Okay, time now for the stock question: What are some of your favorite gay-themed pictures? (Besides Judas Kiss that is.)

Carlos: Latter Days, for sure. In many ways, we tried to follow that movie as a model.

MOC Blog: In what ways, Carlos?

Carlos: It’s a movie about gay people, not a gay movie. If that makes any sense.

MOC Blog: It does and it’s one of my biggest criticism about most queer cinema.

JT: We’ll my first gay film was Torch Song Trilogy. I think that one will always have a special place in my heart. But I think I have to give some shout-outs to an excellent year in LGBT themed moviemaking. I can’t stop talking about Tomboy. I loved that one. That really gets me too. I really want us as filmmakers to tell richer stories that go beyond our sexuality.

Carlos: Weekend, which I know you wrote about recently. Again, a movie about gay people, about things and themes that anyone can relate to.

MOC Blog: JT, talk to me about Tomboy. How did it speak to you?

Carlos: This is where you learn how JT came to love French films. Which he used to hate. While he’s typing away, I’ll add another to the list. Shelter, produced by our friend J.D. Disalvatore. It has a storytelling sensibility, and production values, that elevate it above the cliches and tropes of most gay cinema. As gay filmmakers, I think we really tried to just make an awesome movie. The gay stuff takes care of itself.

JT: There is innocence of youth in Tomboy. That really speaks to me. She’s actually quite innocent in her actions. She’s just who she. And she feels she’s a boy and goes about making that a reality for herself. It’s that simplicity that I loved.

Carlos: What I loved about Tomboy was that it never “went there” as that kind of story would in an American film — people don’t FREAK OUT! They roll with the punches more. There’s still plenty of confrontation, plenty of drama, but no melodrama. Where an American film might shout, Tomboy whispers — and intensely.

MOC Blog: How do you enjoy movies, given how much you know about how they are made?

Carlos: I. Love. Movies. Knowing how they’re made only makes them more fun to watch. But seeing badly made ones makes me want to scream at filmmakers who take the easy way out, who pander to audiences, who dumb things down, who try to substitute money for creativity. Or, worse, who use the lack of money as an excuse for a lack of creativity.

JT: At first it was difficult. I think a little knowledge is dangerous. I wanted to critique everything. Now over the past years, I can appreciate movies for what they are. It’s very easy for me to fall into a story. Well…Unless the acting is bad. Then the movie will drive me CRAZY.

Carlos: One of the things I often say is that movies deserve to be judged on their own merits, not constantly compared to other movies. I respect filmmakers who take risks, and risk-taking often covers many sins. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t realize when sins are being committed. Or that we shouldn’t try to avoid committing the same sins in our next film.

MOC Blog: And, finally, how soon will you need me in Los Angeles as a writer for your next project? (My calendar is cleared through 2013 if that helps.) Also, please tell Richard Harmon that my doctor has cleared me for long-distance travel and I’ve cashed out my 401K.

Carlos: You’ll have to get in line behind a lot of others! For Richard, that is. For writing… well, then you’d have to put up with JT.

JT: Hahaha! We’ll unless that 401K is for next movie deal.

MOC Blog: You guys have been awesome. Really.

Carlos: It’s been our pleasure.

JT: Thank you.

Related Links

• Original post at Men of Color blog: “The “Judas Kiss” Interview” (NSFW)
• Victor Hoff’s review of Judas Kiss

OCTOBER IS the biggest month yet for Judas Kiss, as the film will be screened in more countries and more times in a single month ever, and it will be released on DVD in North America.

Five countries, 11 cities and three continents. SCREENING SCHEDULE »

And that’s not all. In the run-up to our North American DVD release, we’ll be offering:

• Contests to win DVDs, meet our stars and win an iPad2.
• A sneak peek at the official “behind the scenes” documentary.
• More clips from the film
• … and more!

APPEARANCES Cast and crew will appear at many of those events. Here’s who is scheduled so far:

• Atlanta: Co-star Sean Paul Lockhart (aka Brent Corrigan) and writer-producer Carlos Pedraza
• Winnipeg, Manitoba: Star Charlie David
• Tampa, Fla.: Director J.T. Tepnapa and writer Carlos Pedraza
• Salem, Ore.: Director Tepnapa and writer Pedraza
• Seattle: Co-star Sean Paul Lockhart (aka Brent Corrigan) returns to his hometown, joining star Richard Harmon, director Tepnapa, writer Pedraza, and our Seattle-based cast and crew. Plus: A party!
• DVD Release Party, West Hollywood: Lockhart, Tepnapa, Pedraza and more Los Angeles-based cast and crew!

Related Links

• Judas Kiss screening schedule
• DVD release information