EXCLUSIVE: Fans can help “Girlfriend” get a wider release! thanks @larry411

Readers of this blog have been following the progress of the movie Girlfriend for quite some time. This is the first full-length feature from writer/director Justin Lerner, and I attended the gala World Premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival (see my review and pictures of the Q&A and afterparty).

I first met Lerner and reviewed his short film The Replacement Child at the 2008 Santa Barbara Film Festival and had been eagerly awaiting this debut. It far exceeded my expectations.

Girlfriend stars Evan Sneider (The Replacement Child), Shannon Woodward (The Haunting of Molly Hartley), Jackson Rathbone (The Twilight Saga), and Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction). It's hard to watch at times but is one of those films that deserves the label "important." This movie about (and starring) a young man with Down's Syndrome has some scenes which may make audiences uncomfortable but, to me, that's one of the definitions of true art -- it moves you, makes you happy, sad, angry -- it affects you emotionally on a deeply personal level.

The band 100 Monkeys -- Jackson Rathbone, Jerad Anderson, M. Lawrence Abrams, Ben Johnson, and Ben Graupner -- wrote the original music featured in the film.

Now it's time for Girlfriend to have its well-deserved theatrical release and you, the fans, can play a role in its distribution. The more money that's spent on advertising and publicity the more likely a movie will play in a greater number of cities over a longer length of time. If Girlfriend can raise enough money, more people will get the chance to see this wonderful film.

The movie site Indie GoGo has set up a donation page where fans can contribute money to help get Girlfriend a wider release at indiegogo.com/Girlfriend. In appreciation, the filmmakers will be giving away Twilight and 100 Monkeys items along with chances to win a 30 minute meeting via Skype with writer/director Justin Lerner, producer Jerad Anderson, or producer Shaun O’Banion, limited edition Toronto theatrical posters, signed copies of scenes from the storyboards, original copies of the screenplay, and original costumes worn by Jerad Anderson and Jackson Rathbone in the film.

Imagine if everyone who's heard about and wants to see the film donated just $10. Check out the link and spread the word. Girlfriend deserves to be shown everywhere.

larry411