Private Project

Better Half

For years, Tony and Leo have been a happy couple. They had always talked about having a child... someday. So when a sickly infant is abandoned at a local hospital, Tony sees it as a sign. Suddenly, Leo is confronted with making good on his promise to start a family; he must face his deep-seeded fears of being a father, or risk losing Tony altogether.

  • MIchelle Clay
    Director
    The Unwritten Rules (Web series), Everything I Did Wrong in My20s (Web Series), The Road to Sundance,
  • MIchelle Clay
    Writer
    The Road to Sundance
  • Michelle Clay
    Producer
  • KellyShannon PIerce
    Producer
  • Raul Staggs
    Producer
  • Jamie Fauth
    Key Cast
    Rubdown, Newsroom
  • Grant Landry
    Key Cast
    The Cavanaughs, Top of The Lake, Cope (Short)
  • Scott Lowell
    Key Cast
    Queer as Folk
  • Levi Kreis
    Songs by
    Vampire Diaries, Million Dollar Quartet
  • Donald Hayes
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Feature, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    LGBT, Drama, Female Director, African American Director, Gay Families, gay adoption
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 47 minutes 12 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 1, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    105,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
    Durham, NC
    United States
    August 21, 2015
    World Premiere
    Audience Award - Best Men's Feature (tied)
  • CInema Diverse: Palm Springs LGBTQ Film Festival
    Palm Springs, CA
    September 19, 2015
    West Coast Premiere
    Festival Favorite
  • OUTReels Cincinnati
    Cincinnati, OH
    November 14, 2015
  • Philadelphia Independent Film Awards
    Philadelphia
    United States
    Supporting Actor (1) & Actress (2) Nominations
  • Kashish 2016: 7th Annual Mumbai International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
    Mumbai
    India
    May 29, 2016
    International Premiere
  • Out Here Now! Kansas City LGBT Film Festival
    Kansas City, MO
    United States
    June 27, 2016
    Missouri Premiere
    Directors Showcase Honoree, Fim + Director (Michelle Clay)
  • Atlanta LGBT Film & Music Festival
    Atlanta
    United States
    August 26, 2016
    Atlanta Premiere
    Best Feature
  • Out at the Movies LGBT Film Series, Winston-Salem
    North Carolina
    United States
    September 10, 2016
  • Golden Door International Film Festival
    Jersey City, NJ
    United States
    September 24, 2016
    New Jersey Premiere
    Best LGBTQ Film
  • Queen City Film Festival
    Cumberland, MD
    United States
    October 9, 2016
    Maryland Premiere
    Best LGBT Feature
  • Sydney Indie Film Festival
    Sydney, New South Wales
    Australia
    October 18, 2016
    Australian Premiere
    Jury Award: Extra Mile Feature
  • Golden Gate International Film Festival
    Cupertino, CA
    United States
    October 30, 2016
    Cupertino Preimere
    Special Jury award: Best LGBT, Best Editing, Best Actor - Male (Grant Landry)
  • Rainbow Visions Film Festival
    Edmonton, Alberta
    Canada
    November 6, 2016
    Canadian Premiere
  • America's Rainbow Film Festival
    New York City
    United States
    Grand Jury Prize
Director Biography - MIchelle Clay

“I’m just a Thelma looking for her Marty, in hopes that we’ll one day make great stories together.”

Michelle has been a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild since 2001 and worked as an assistant on cable series (“Pysch”, “South of Nowhere”), as well as in series programming for PopTV (Formerly TV Guide Network) Her credits include: (“What’s The 411”, “Hollywood on Set”, “America’s Next Producer”). She has edited three independent features (Life on a Leash [2002], Windstorm [2006], The Road to Sundance [2009) and award-winning web series "The Marriage Tour" and “the Unwritten Rules” to her credit.

On directing, she has directed episodes of “The Unwritten Rules” and “Everything I Did Wrong in My 20s.”

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

From day one, I have always referred to BETTER HALF as 'the little film that could.' And I was delight to be proven right by winning the narrative Audience Award at our Very First Public Screening.

Our tiny indie film (which was 5 years in the making) is original, heartfelt and exactly what audiences have been waiting for in a 21st Century LGBT feature film.
No big stars. No big budget. Just a bittersweet universal tale of love and loss, from the LGBT POV, set against the landscape of the ever-evolving modern family.

The more people that get to know Tony and Leo and their story thru Better Half, the more cheerleaders this projects accumulated.

We are thrilled at each opportunity to present a film that, in the words of one audience member, "actually allows us to see us reflecting back at ourselves."