The film Dandy Uncle Peter and Me explores dandyism, love, loss, and healing potential of art. Please, support the production of Dandy Uncle Peter and Me by donating through Indiegogo:
Message from the Director:
Hello darlings,
I’m Myra Paci, the writer, director, and camerawoman for a feature documentary called Dandy Uncle Peter and Me. As a filmmaker, I’ve been creating media since 1989 starting with my short films Butch Patrol and Transeltown (available on the Criterion Channel), moving to my narrative feature Searching for Paradise(released on Showtime/Sundance and starring Chris Noth and Susan May Pratt) and including years of directing and shooting for commercial and non-profit clients like Atlantic Records, Kaiser Permanente, Schwab, and the San Francisco YMCA. I’ve been fortunate to have been supported by The Sundance Institute, The San Francisco Film Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the MacDowell Colony among others.
Dandy Uncle Peter and Me is both my most personal film to date and one that, judging from our test screenings, speaks to many people. Shooting and editing are done and we’re heading into the sound mix, color correction and festival portion of the film’s life. Which is why we’re looking for people like you — our friends, fans, and folks we haven’t met yet — to join us to bring Dandy Uncle Peter and Me into the world!
The Story
Dandy Uncle Peter and Me is a feature documentary about the bond between me and Peter Bullough, a retired British pathologist and art collector: my artistic mentor, queer uncle, and heartthrob since childhood. As Peter launches an artists’ residency in his two adjacent homes in small-town Virginia, this film explores illness and mortality, love and loss, dandyism both male and female, the quest for authentic connection with others, and the healing potential of art.
Here is some of the feedback the film received in multiple screenings we conducted over the editing process:
“We all come from families but we don’t always have family. This film examines the queer chosen family that Paci fashioned with her queer “uncle” Peter, her family of origin, and the family she created with her husband and daughters and begs the question, “can we be fully ourselves, not be put in boxes?” — Nancy Kates, Regarding Susan Sontag; Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin.
“I found the film very moving. Like making sense of an old family scrapbook with blank spaces and untitled photos. I found myself wondering about things just before the film answered them. I think that’s the sign of a really good film.”– Gary McKendry, Writer/Director, Killer Elite, Everything in this Country Must (Academy-Award nominated)
“I enjoyed it and found it always involving… Despite the apparent focus on Peter, I can’t help but feel the film is really about the filmmaker and her family. ” – Carter Burwell, Composer, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Carol, No Country for Old Men
“Lusciously filmed. Poetically paced. The central character reminded me of Quentin Crisp and the bond between him and the filmmaker’s father has a tender, homoerotic component. I love the rawness of this film.” — Norman Bonney, Cinematographer, Miss Representation, Speed and Angels
“Losses force you to confront yourself and know yourself. Art is an antidote to loss; it benefits the artist and anyone else who comes into contact with it. This film reminds me of Sara Polley’s Stories We Tell because it begs the question ‘Whose version is the truth?’” — Samantha Grant, Director/Producer, A Fragile Trust, Daughters of the Forest
I am grateful that this film has drawn admirers as well as talented individuals who have joined the team and who are lending their skills and artistry to see it come to completion.
Here are some of the members of our team:
MYRA PACI – producer, writer, director, camera
RICHARD LEVIEN – editor, co-producer and co-writer
CHRIS MARTIN – colorist
RUSTAM KHANMURZIN – solo pianist
What We Need & What You Get
The amount we’re asking for will go directly towards Dandy Uncle Peter and Me’s sound mix, color correction, festival fees, digital cinema package for festival and theatrical distribution, trailers and other marketing materials that are needed as the film is released and reaches audiences. For your contributions, there is a range of very – might I say – dandy perks including digital downloads of Myra’ various films, a Dandy Uncle Peter and Me t-shirt, signed photos from Myra’s cult classic, Transeltown, a signed DVD of her feature Searching for Paradisewith Chris Noth, digital download of Girls Night Out with the exquisite Rosario Dawson; an unseen episode from her raucous, badass feminist web series, Bad Muthaz; and a one-on-one meeting with Myra – a longtime screenplay consultant and filmmaking teacher – to discuss your own film project.
The Impact
Your contributions will bring Dandy Uncle Peter and Me into the world so that viewers can delight in its visual and musical beauties and gain insight from its inquiries: what role does art play in our lives? How do we create our families — queer or otherwise? How we live authentic lives? How do we balance grief over who and what we have lost with joy and engagement in our life journeys?Now more than ever, art – heck, the world – needs collaboration and mutual support. We can no longer toil away alone in our silos. Community is key. A commitment to helping us complete this film will mean that you are supporting truly DIY, independent cinema. Without lovers of art and film like you, so much beautiful and meaningful work would not come to the light of day. When our film – touched and molded by many passionate hands – reaches its audiences you will be able to say you made it happen!
Risks & Challenges
My team and I have worked on many projects including ones for Marvel, Google, Apple and Facebook, can be seen on Netflix and additional platforms, and have played at Sundance and San Francisco International Film Festival, among many other festivals.In other words, we have a long track record of getting things done and out the door and seen. Plus, I’m a Capricorn. Nuff said.
Other Ways You Can Help
Other ways you can help: Please spread the word, via email, Instagram Facebook, or Twitter. Use the Indiegogo share tools! We would love to build relationships with organizations which could benefit from the finished film as a tool to educate around. Any leads you have on individuals or organizations to contact would be much appreciated!
Mille grazie to you, darling lovers of the arts.