Lights! Camera! Pandemic!
The theaters were booked, the Instagram promotions were set, and the excitement was high. On June 10th & 11th 2020, BLOCK was set to premier in Philadelphia and New York at our respective rented theaters for our devoted supporters, donors, friends, family, cast and crew.
But quicker than you could say “Grab the toilet paper!” I suddenly found myself in an Uber fleeing New York to stay with my sister back in Philly, for what I thought at the time was going to be "2 weeks MAX."
It had been a year since we finished filming BLOCK, and after wading through the post production weeds for what seemed like way too long, this creative baby was ready. to. be. born. But before we knew it, that all changed.
As time went on, our plans of a movie premiere during Pride Month seemed less and less likely. Sports centers shut down, the Olympics were cancelled, and sure enough, movie theaters closed their doors for the coming year.
As I sat hunkered down in Philly, forcing my sister to sniff scented candles with me every two hours to make sure we still had our sense of smell, I ran fear-driven scenarios through my head: What if I never get to screen BLOCK? What if we do a Zoom premiere and the link doesn’t work? What if everyone just forgets about this before we can experience it together? OK! THINK CARRIE THINK! ...What if we broke into a closed down AMC and just threw a premier anyway? I’d gladly go to jail for that! Needless to say, I fought reality hardddddd, right along with the other 20 million brides anxiously holding onto their 200 guest weddings in June.
In classic fashion, my sister sat me down and gave me grounding advice: “When you don’t know what to do next, stop and remember why you started in the first place.”
When I wrote BLOCK back in 2016, it was inspired by my recent experience with coming out of the closet. From there, the story quickly grew into something bigger - encompassing mental health, self love, and what it feels like to struggle with something that other people might not know about. As I worked on the script and then the production of BLOCK, I learned first hand about the power and beauty that comes with supporting others, and loving yourself through even the toughest of times.
Through my experience with coming out, I realized that sometimes the ugliest wars are the ones raging right between our own two ears. I wrote this film to spark a conversation with people. I wrote it to say “Hey, I know you know what it’s like to have your own BLOCK (you, yes, you- reading this post).”
No matter who you are or what you’re going through we all have BLOCKs and I promise you, if I have learned anything through these past fours years, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
So here I am, with a movie that means so much to me, that I am beyond ready to share and, not to toot my own horn but,some people are truly excited to watch it. What could be better? Wellp, as it turns out, 2020 has become the biggest production BLOCK of them all. And I would be lying if I said that everything was perfect and progressing according to plan.
But in taking Kelly’s advice, I realized the truth: that no matter what, premiers or not, the opportunity to start these conversations is still so readily available- and the content and art we have in preparation for these premiers is now more relevant than ever.
SO... NOW WHAT?
With all the love and concern for your health and safety, we have decided to push back our in-person screenings with the intention to premier Spring 2021 (you know how it goes...we’ll see).
In the meantime, we have been submitting BLOCK to film festivals happening this year and next, and releasing some awesome content through our new website and social media (trailer drops 10/1!! Wohooo!!!). Despite the fact that we can’t physically gather together, it’s so important to normalize these conversations. You really never know what someone is going through. It’s time we start asking, start sharing, and start supporting.
Thank you for your continued support and love through every phase of this production If you or someone you know has any ideas, resources, or outlets for us to share BLOCK with the world before 2021, please feel free to reach out to us!!
But in the meantime, I hope you enjoy the content we’ve curated, with special thanks to the incredible artists who have contributed their work to continue this conversation. And if you feel inspired to share your story with us as well, just know that we welcome it with open arms. No matter what, may we continue to love, accept, and celebrate who we are and where we are in our journeys, and lean on each other through it all.
P.S. and if you haven’t already heard it or thought it yet today, you are enough.
Love, Carrie