In this nuanced, gentle, and ultimately heartfelt dramedy, director Andy Vallentine explores the notion of connection through the experiences of a loving gay couple who discover they have differing ideas about what makes a family. Nico Totorella (The Walking Dead: World Beyond), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Juan Pablo Di Pace (Mamma Mia!), Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Hacks), Cloie Wyatt Taylor (Partners in Rhyme), Jake Choi (Front Cover, Frameline40), and Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse) make up The Mattachine Family’s queer power ensemble.

Jumping through moments in time between a collection of characters, The Mattachine Family finds a fiercely in love gay couple — photographer Thomas (Tortorella) and actor Oscar (Di Pace) — maintaining their relationship through steadily remaining fiercely in love through geographical setbacks, after their foster son returns to live with his birth mother. Just as Oscar’s acting career begins to rise, Thomas enters something of a pre-midlife existential crisis. As the couple begins to have differing views and desires around what a potential family looks like together moving forward, Thomas leans heavily on a close-knit core of friends for comfort and meaning through it all.

Director Andy Vallentine is a queer, dyslexic, daddy, diet-coke obsessed, director from Mid-Michigan. His debut short film, The Letter Men, had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival which has gone on to win numerous awards at film festivals around the world. His first feature film, The Mattachine Family, produced by Zach Braff + Scot Boland, written by his husband Danny Vallentine. 

The Mattachine Family will be shown June 15 at 6 PM at the Castro Theatre and stream June 24 – July 2.  To purchase tickets, go to:  www.frameline.org.