Big Eden

Directed by Thomas Bezucha

United States

SOUTH FLORIDA PREMIERE

The question of where and with whom we make our home as gay people stands at the core of this gentle and profoundly moving new film. Henry Hart , an artist who's spent almost all his adult years in New York City (actor Arye Gross from TV's Ellen) now faces a life-changing challenge.ÝÝ He is the central figure in the debut feature from Thomas Bezucha, which is set amidst the tall pines and glacier lakes of Big Eden, Montana.Ý It's there that Henry was raised by his grandfather, fell in love with his best friend Dean, and fled when that love remained impossibly unrequited.Ý And it's there, twenty years later, on the brink of major success in his career, that Henry returns to care for his ailing grandfather and finds Dean again.Ý Through Henry's eyes, the film adjusts to the rhythms of the tiny hamlet, where cowboys watch the day go by on the front porch of the general store and an impromptu Sunday potluck can draw a crowd from as far away as Missoula.Ý From Oscar-winner Louise Fletcher's earthy schoolteacher to a gleefully matchmaking widow (the brilliant Nan Martin) right down to Henry's ill grandfather, Big Eden's populus is surprisingly more comfortable with Henry than Henry himself.Ý As his feelings for Dean, now divorced with two sons, explode once again, another figure slowly emerges:Ý Pike, the hulking but unbearably shy Native American general store owner, who as played by Eric Schweig, is one of the film's loveliest surprises.Ý Everyone in town except Henry notices that Pike, at first silent and aloof, is undergoing a painful but comical transformation.Ý With the aching tunes of Lucinda Williams, the sumptuous cinematography and breathtaking scenery of a Hollywood western,Ý pitch-perfect performances, and a script and direction that reveal Bezucha as a talent to watch, Big Eden is a feast for the heart and soul. As Henry learns in this stand-up-and-cheer fable, sometimes we're looking for love so hard that we just can't see it all around us. Winner of the Audience Awards for Best Feature at the New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco gay film festivals.Ý Director Thomas Bezucha will attend the screening and discuss his work with the audience.$135 Gala ticket includes reception, film screening and VIP dinner$50 Ticket includes reception and film screening

$25 Film screening only