HEAVY PETTING
short / 2021 / Drama / released online
LOGLINE: An eerie bifurcated character drama about a queer encounter between two lonely cat enthusiasts, and a macabre test of one’s social obscurity.
SYNOPSIS: Struggling to fill the void left by her missing cat, a woman has a queer encounter with an unexpected visitor. When the cat returns, the visitor is abandoned to a life of profound invisibility, which prompts a macabre test of their social obscurity.
“I’m absolutely blown away by Heavy Petting... a profoundly insightful, dark, erotic horror film.”
“a deeply moving and profoundly insightful short film with a sublime ensemble cast”
“This strange drama about loneliness is as original as it is disturbing... Heavy Petting is a must-see movie”
FESTIVALS
Nashville Film Festival - September 2021
Vancouver International Film Festival - October 2021
Indie Memphis Film Festival - October 2021
Reel Pride Film Festival (Winnipeg) - October 2021
ReelOut Queer Film Festival (Kingston) - January 2022
Manchester Film Festival - March 2022
Merced Queer Film Festival (California) - May 2022
Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival (Calgary) - June 2022
Queer North Film Festival (Sudbury) - June 2022
PrideArts Film Festival (Chicago) - July 2022
SouthPort Film Festival (Nottingham) - July 2022
Queer North Film Festival (Sudbury) - July 2022
Symbiotic Film Festival (Kiev) - July 2022
Red Cedar Film Festival (Wisconsin) - July 2022
Chain NYC Film Festival - July 2022
Flip the Script Fest - September 2022
Royal Starr Film Festival (Michigan) - September 202
Cynon Valley Film Festival (Wales) - October 2022
Oil Valley Film Festival (Pennsylvania) - October 2022
Durham Regional Film Festival (Ontario) - October 2022
Chilliwack Independent Film Festival - November 2022
Queers in Shorts (Cambridge, UK) - January 2023
AWARDS
Winner - Best of BC - Chilliwack Independent Film Festival
Winner - Best Short Film - Queer North Film Festival
Winner - Best Short Film - Oil Valley Film Festival
Nominee - Short Film of the Year - FilmThreat.com’s Award This!
Nominee - Best Graveyard Shift Short - Nashville Film Festival
Nominee - Best After Dark Short - Indie Memphis Film Festival
Nominee - Best Director, Best Script - Chilliwack Independent Film Festival
PRESS
Review - Discorder Magazine
Review - FilmThreat
Review - Le Petit Septième
Review - The Independent Critic
Review - Nashville Noise
Interview - WeAreMovingStories.com
Interview - CITR’s the Arts Report
Preview - Vancouverscape.com
STARRING
Haley Midgette
Sam Calleja
Andy Assaf
Laura Del Papa
Mitchell Court
Bernadette Medhurst
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Gayle Ye
PRODUCTION DESIGN
P.H. Bergeron
ORIGINAL MUSICAL SCORE
Chris Reineck
PRODUCER
Brendan Whelton
DIRECTOR, WRITER, EDITOR, PRODUCER
Brendan Prost
