The New York Premiere of Charles Busch & Carl Andress’ Award-winning New Comedy Film, The Sixth Reel will be held at the 33rd annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival (NewFest) on Monday, October 18, 2021 at SVA Theatre, 333 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011 at 7:30 pm. 
Click here for tickets to the in-person screening, which will be followed by a Q & A with Busch and Andress. The film will also be available to screen virtually from Oct. 15 – 26. Click here to purchase virtual tickets.
The film, co-written and co-directed by creative duo Charles Busch and Carl Andress, centers on “a stalwart and eccentric group of film lovers, collectors and historians,” Busch and Andress wrote in a directors statement.
In addition to Busch, the all-star cast of this screwball comedy caper includes André De Shields as Gavin Plimsol, Margaret Cho as Doris, Tim Daly as Michael, Julie Halston as Helen, Patrick Page as Mr. Beltrane, Doug Plaut as Rodney, Heather Mac Rae as Martha, Dee Hoty as Virginia, Richard Bekins as Leland, Cady Huffman as Marilyn Dwaskin, John Ellison Conlee, Timothy Oliver Reid as Detective Williams, Ashley Austin Morris as Sharon and Carl Andress as Kessler.
The Sixth Reel recently received the 2021 Outfest Grand Jury Award for U.S. Narrative Feature Special Mention for Ensemble Performance.
The pair developed the script collaboratively on video calls while stuck in their respective homes during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We crafted a screwball caper comedy set in contemporary Greenwich Village,” said Busch and Andress, “which centers on a down-on-his-luck and somewhat disreputable movie collector (Busch) who accidentally discovers a legendary lost film and becomes entangled in an outrageous adventure to deliver it to the right hands before it is lost forever.
“We were delighted that a talented and skilled cast and crew joined forces, braving new safety precautions and constant testing, to bring this story to life. Filming took place during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic on sound stages in Upstate New York and on the streets of the Village. Everyone involved felt privileged to escape the gloom and work on a project that celebrates movies, movie lovers and our home town of New York City.”
ABOUT CHARLES BUSCH AND CARL ANDRESS:
The Sixth Reel is co-written and co-directed by actor, author and drag legend Charles Busch and acclaimed American director Carl Andress, who have collaborated on their latest film project, in which Busch also stars. The pair have a long and celebrated partnership, creating acclaimed comedies Off-Broadway, authored by and starring Busch and directed by Andress. The pair also collaborated on the film A Very Serious Person, which won an honorable mention at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Busch is the author and star of such plays as The Divine Sister, The Confession of Lily Dare, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (one of the longest running plays in the history of Off-Broadway) and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, which ran for nearly two years on Broadway and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die! which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Busch is a recipient of a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright and the Dramatist’s Guild has honored him with the Flora Roberts Award for sustained commitment to the theatre.
Andress has staged more than 15 original productions of critically acclaimed plays written by and starring Charles Busch, including The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare, The Divine Sister, and Die Mommie Die! in addition to many other New York and Regional productions as well as numerous galas and benefits, including the New York concert premieres of The Visit, A Wonderful Life, Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol, and Valley of the Dolls, all to benefit The Actors Fund on Broadway.
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films, making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Bev’s Girl Films’ debut short film, Hide and Seek was a top ten film in the Asian American Film Lab’s 2015 72 Hour Shootout Filmmaking Competition, and she received a Best Actress nomination. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. Lia has appeared in the films Wolf, New Jack City, A Kiss Before Dying, King of New York, Big Trouble in Little China, The Last Dragon, Taxman. She stars in and served as Executive Producer for the short independent films Hide and Seek, Balancing Act, Rom-Com Gone Wrong, Belongingness and When the World was Young (2021 DisOrient Film Audience Choice Award for Best Short Narrative). She is also the Executive Producer for The Cactus, The Language Lesson, The Writer and Cream and 2 Shugahs. Click here for Cre8sianproject.com’s latest profile on Lia.
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