NORTH STAR
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Film Screening & Ticket Information
When & Where to See this Film!
In Person Date, Time & Location:
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5TH • 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
MoMI Bartos • 36-01 35th Ave • Queens, NY 11106
SCREENING BLOCK:
Standing Your Ground: Four films that don’t give in.
Synopsis
A rural rancher and his ailing husband, struggling against poverty and isolation, make a heartbreaking decision in order to preserve the dignity of their marriage in the face of mounting pressures from relatives.
Credits
P.J. Palmer, Writer
Ryan Haffey, Producer, Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland
Emily Palmer, Producer
P.J. Palmer, Producer
Colman Domingo, Key Cast, “James”Lincoln, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Selma, Fear the Walking Dead
Malcolm Gets, Key Cast, “Craig”Caroline in the City, Grey Gardens, Sex in the City
Audrey Wasilewski, Key Cast, “Erin”Mad Men, Big Love, RED
Chris Sheffield, Key Cast, “Mike”The Block Island Sound, The Maze Runner, The Stanford Prison Experiment
Laura Innes, Key Cast, “Jess Broderick”ER, Deep Impact, Awake
Kevin Bacon, Key Cast, “Dr. Owen Broderick”Footloose, The Woodsman, Mystic River
Arlene Santana, Key Cast, “Meteorologist”Fast Five, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grey’s Anatomy
John Burke, Key Cast, “Game Show Host”The Amazing Spider-Man, Sicario, Transformers: The Last Knight
Serene Branson, Key Cast, “News Anchor”
Angie Beauregard, Key Cast, “Contestant”
Darius de la Cruz, Key Cast, “News Commentator”
Alex Verdi, Key Cast, “Payday Loan Announcer”
Bethany Arrington, Key Cast, “Sarah on Phone”
Kevin Quinn, Key Cast, “Nalantrix Announcer”
Donna Smith, Key Cast, “Nalantrix Voice”
Butterscotch, Key Cast, “North Star”
Toby & Pheebe, Key Cast, “Cooper & Daisy”
Director Statement
The best arguments in the world won’t change a person’s heart. The only thing that can do that is a good story.
NORTH STAR is a story based on my own experiences of being in a same-sex, multi-cultural relationship. Writing it required a truth and vulnerability that was, quite frankly, frightening to expose.
Here, I’ve imagined a middle-aged gay couple living in a rural-American ranch setting. James is a patriotic man of color, a good partner, and hard-working rancher with a husband, Craig, who is dying of degenerative ailments. This story unites themes of loss, dedication, isolation and family, while using love as its true North.
I’ve found the script to be a sort of Rorschach test, allowing people to project their own beliefs and experiences onto the story in ways that opens a dialogue about the dignity of marriage, choices made in families and the power of love.
NORTH STAR has brought together an exceptional dream-team of talented and notable filmmakers who believe strongly in the film’s potential to touch audiences. NORTH STAR is a film that is meant to bring deep-seated blind spots in all of us into focus.
This is a movie I needed as a kid. It would have changed my life, knowing that there are people in the world like me – that I could grow up to have relationships that reflect who I am. And now, as a filmmaker, I get to make the movies I needed, so anyone else who needs them can have them, too.
This story is not about ‘those people’. It’s about all of us.
Director Biography
P.J. Palmer is an award-winning writer and filmmaker. He is alumni to the Edinburgh Film Festival Director’s Lab. P.J. was raised in the rural mountains of Northern California and now splits his time between New York City and Santa Monica. P.J. is producer for the LGBTQ+ drama series, ANYONE BUT ME, now on Amazon Prime. He has written an award-winning pilot script titled ON CANNERY ROW. And he has recently completed his feature script, SON OF A PREACHER MAN. P.J. wrote and directed the film, NORTH STAR, starring Colman Domingo and Malcolm Gets with cameos by Laura Innes and Kevin Bacon, which is now at festivals.
