SKINNYFAT DVD RELEASE

Following its highly-buzzed premiere at Frameline 2010 and festival screenings in Austin, Seattle, Norway, Rio, Jakarta and beyond, the comic short Skinnyfat returns to San Francisco for a special screening and DVD release. To mark the occasion we asked the film’s Director/Writer Andy Bydalek to tell us more about the film and his experience of bringing it to the screen. 
 
"Skinnyfat is a short comedy about two skinny gay guys who think they’re overweight and go on an increasingly insane quest to trim down. At first glance, it can be seen as a silly satire about efforts to reclaim the six pack abs of youth. But there’s a lot going on underneath the surface: internalized judgments, friendship dynamics, aging, the complexities of dating, the connection between women's and men's body issues, the gulf between gay social groups, etc.

I wrote Skinnyfat following a series of jokes I had made with Jayson Jaynes about our own concerns with our midsections. Body image is such a huge issue for many gays, and I thought it would be great to put a comedic spin on it. Plus, I knew someone had to capture Jayson's amazing presence on film!  

The original intent was a very low-fi, 10-12 minute short that would be shot over a couple of weekends using my old video camera. Jayson would play Chaz, and I would play Davy.  But soon the script and the production grew into something much larger, and the next thing we knew we were working with an HD crew and a full cast. And thank god... no one could have played these characters better than the folks we found.  Evan Johnson, who plays Davy, was a particularly great find.

Skinnyfat's reputation grew faster than a hipster's beer gut, and the film went on to become one of the most buzzed-about films at San Francisco's venerable Frameline Festival in 2010. Online tickets sold out in less than four days, making it the second fastest selling program in the entire festival.  It has since screened across the US and as far as Rio, Oslo and Jakarta; and it continues its run with the DVD launch party in SF and a spotlight screening at this year's Stanford University LGBTQ Short Film Festival.

I am very proud of the unexpected success and social impact Skinnyfat has had. At every screening I’ve attended, audience members – usually heavier-set men – have thanked me. It’s been very touching. In talking with these folks, I realized the power of making a film about body and relationship issues: it isn’t just about my voice or my assessment of the situation, it’s about starting a conversation... giving people a chance to laugh at something that may have pained them, and showing audiences they are not alone in their insecurities and fear of rejection."  

– Andy Bydalek, Writer-Director of Skinnyfat
 

The Official Skinnyfat DVD release party ‘Lookout, Your Starr is Skinnyfat!’ will take place on Tuesday, Sep 20, 2011, from 8pm at the Lookout bar, 3600 16th St. San Francisco CA 94114. Entry is FREE

The event will include a screening of the brand new Purge Version of Skinnyfat, T-shirt and DVD giveaways, entertainment from drag sensation Hysterica, and a rare big-screen presentation of the feature film The Rise and Fall of Jeremy Starr (with Jarrad Webster, aka Suppositori Spelling). Limited Edition Signed DVDs will be available for $15.
skinnyfatmovie.com