The documentary „Chasing Chasing Amy,” which played at more than 75 film festivals and is on the Popcorn List of Best Undistributed Films, was picked up for global distribution by Level 33 Entertainment.
The film explores the complex legacy of Kevin Smith’s 1997 cult classic “Chasing Amy” on LGBTQ+ people and its life-saving impact on its full-length director, Sav Rodgers, through documentary. The film explores the change a rom-com has on a 12-year-old eccentric from Kansas. Rodgers says it took him a „lifetime” to make it.
Smith’s „Chasing Amy” chronicles the impact of a long-standing friendship between two New Jersey comic book artists with whom a third artist turns out to be a lesbian. Downfalls include heartbreak and jealousy. It stars Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams. It remains controversial among LGBTQ+ people.
The documentary features exclusive interviews with people including Smith, Adams, Lee, Guinevere Turner, Scott Mosier, Andrew Ann, Robert Hawking, Princess Weekes and Academy Award winner Kevin Wilmot.
Los Angeles-based Level 33 has acquired the worldwide rights to „Chasing Chasing Amy” and will release the film in theaters in the fall. It has partnered with interactive streaming service KINO for a virtual premiere event with a live Q&A, followed by on-demand media releases.
The documentary premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Festival and has screened at 75 festivals worldwide to date, including the BFI London Film Festival, Outfest Los Angeles and Palm Springs International.
It has won Audience Awards and Best Documentary Awards at festivals including the Cleveland International Film Festival, Rose Filmdegan, St. Louis International, Omaha, and Hell’s Half Mile.
„’Chasing Chasing Amy’ is an incredibly special film, and we’re excited to work with the talented filmmakers behind it to bring it to audiences everywhere and introduce moviegoers to Savage Rodgers as a filmmaker,” said Level 33 President & CEO Andreas Olavarria. „There’s something for everyone in this film, and we see its appeal to Kevin Smith fans, film buffs, LGBTQ audiences and more.”
Produced by Rodgers, Alex Schmider, Carrie Radigan, Lela Meadow-Conner and Matthew C. Mills, the documentary is shot by Bill Winters and Bradley Garrison, who also serves as co-producer. Jordi Nuss composed the music and Sharika Ajay Kumar edited the film.
Executive producers are Jeffrey Weber, Tyler J. Emerson, Yana Buhrer-Davanier, Drew E. Burbridge, Anthony Bedone, and Chris Vivian. Associate producers include Claire Bateman-King, Kate Klein, Lauren Devlin, Marnie Ellis, Regina „Riley” Rodgers, Ryan James, Kristy Tostevin, and Jason Tostevin.