Golden Door International Film Festival

The Golden Door International Film Festival was absolutely PHENOMANAL!!! Hats off to Hosts, Bill Sorvino, Christian Keiber and Kerry McGann for gathering such talented filmmakers and putting together such a FABULOUS event!!! 5 STARS ALL AROUND!!!

Our Deepest Thanks to the Golden Door International Film Festival - By The Abbey Stories (Amanda Greer & Denise Reed), creators of “The Fix”

Premiering our very first short film, The Fix, at the Golden Door International Film Festival was nothing short of a dream come true for us as first-time filmmakers, and for our new production company, The Abbey Stories.

From the moment we arrived for opening night, we felt the love. This year’s festival poster, a stunning animation of a female filmmaker, truly spoke to us. So in the spirit of celebration, we dressed as the character on the poster, and were met with so much warmth and enthusiasm from the Golden Door board. The artist himself, Nate Sharkey was there, proud and emotional, as attendees snapped photos with us. We were told by both Festival President Bill Sorvino and Vice President Christian Keiber that we “made a splash,” and we could truly feel that support in every interaction.

Night two marked our official world premiere: a red carpet screening sharing the screen with “Martyr of Gowanus,” a fabulous feature by Brian Meere starring Sawyer Spielberg and Holt McCallany. We were humbled and thrilled to be in such company and honored to share our film with a sold out house of friends, family, industry colleagues, and new supporters.

Our film is about breaking the chains of heroin addiction, and we leaned into the theme creatively. We arrived in heroin-chic makeup, wearing chain-inspired fashion, with our film’s poster featured prominently on the red carpet — something Golden Door enthusiastically supported. We also handed out The Abbey Stories branded lighters, and, in a nod to the festival’s sponsor Tito’s Vodka, offered red Tito’s-filled syringes to guests before our screening. “Get your fix before watching The Fix,” we said — and the festival loved it. The encouragement we received for our out-of-the-box ideas were incredible.

A true highlight was when our composer, Henry Bliley, performed The Fix’s original song, Better Off Alone, live before the screening. The Golden Door team made space for him to soundcheck, and perform — something we never expected, and will never forget.

Throughout the entire experience, we were blown away by how hands-on, passionate, and thoughtful the team was from Bill and Michelle Sorvino, Christian Keiber, Kerri McGann, Bryce Campbell, Wendy Warren, and Amy Gravino, to every board member and volunteer. The programming was inclusive and rich, with films that highlighted LGBTQ+ voices, artists on the spectrum (one featuring Abbey Romeo from one of our favorite shows, Netflix’s Love on The Spectrum), and so many more. As female filmmakers, we felt genuinely seen and celebrated, which is sadly still rare.

To top it all off, The Fix was nominated for three awards!! Two Best Actress nominations for Amanda Greer and Denise Reed (how exciting to both be nominated!) and one for Best Picture — and we won Best Picture! Amanda Greer also took home Best Actress, and we’re still floating.

The award ceremony itself was just as elegant and festive as the rest of the week, complete with open bar, delicious food, and stunning decor. The venue was filled with beautiful artwork and handcrafted cocktails, all curated with such intention.

Golden Door International Film Festival gave us the best possible world premiere we could’ve imagined; full of creativity, celebration, and connection. We left feeling like filmmakers. Truly. And we can’t wait to return next year, hopefully with the feature version of The Fix!

From the bottom of our hearts: thank you.

Thank you for the official selection of our film THE PROFESSIONAL PARENT. The atmosphere at the festival was wonderful and offered many great networking opportunities. The film is currently For Your Consideration in category Best Live Action Short Film, and I believe that participating in this festival has also helped increase its visibility. I’m grateful that my film could be part of your festival. Wishing you all the best!

Golden Door was an amazing film festival. I had the opportunity to meet amazing filmmakers, actors, and actresses in the film industry, including being nominated with a film that Sawyer Spielberg and Holt McCallany was featured in. Thank you very much for this opportunity! I will be sure to submit my future films to the Golden Door International Film Festival.

We had an amazing experience at this festival. Everyone went out of their way to make us feel welcome, and the networking opportunities at their events were fantastic. The other films they screened were wonderful as well. I can’t speak highly enough about the festival and the people who founded it, and the new team now running it. All class acts.