South Florida is a hub of LGBTQ culture and now one of our own is debuting his first film in Fort Lauderdale.
Actor-writer-director-producer Peter Bisuito will debut “I Remember” at the Gateway Theater in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, July 20, at 7 p.m.
The short film follows Derek Dawson, played by Robert Koutras, as he deals with repressed memory loss after a traumatic experience. Dawson searches for his husband, Dominic Bardini, portrayed by Bisuito.
Shepherding the film from concept to completion took a long time.
“I thought of the concept eight years ago, but since my entire life is consumed with comedy, I put the idea on the back burner,” Bisuito told OutSFL about the psychological thriller. “Last October I was in a really bad space, a funk, just feeling down about things in my life. So, I decided to shake things up a bit and do something I’ve never done before. Make a movie!”
The multihyphenate is known in South Florida and international circles as a comic, but this time, Bisuito wanted to push his boundaries. He resurrected “I Remember” and began bringing it to life, adding light and shadow to his characters and the world they inhabit.
But making a movie takes money. To get financing for a project like this doesn’t mean finding investors, it involves finding believers. One of them is Kal Gajraj. Both appear on Happening Out Television as commentators and share a love of the arts.
Gajraj says becoming a believer, investor, and, subsequently, a producer, was an easy decision.
“When I learned about Peter’s film project, I wanted to get involved,” he told OutSFL. “I’m passionate about the arts and promoting local artists. I’m proud to be a producer for his movie, this is a dream come true for me, my first job was at a movie theater, and now I get to be part of this amazing film.”
Bisuito says “I Remember” is a passion project that, after sitting dormant, came roaring back to life.
“I was in front of my computer from 11 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. and voila, a blockbuster is born! I was so inspired by the storyline because it’s a major issue today and I thought it would be the perfect timing to tell this story.”
He hopes to be accepted at film festivals and get critics’ attention. The road to legendary movie status begins at Fort Lauderdale’s Gateway theater.
