Award-winning filmmaker Clyde Petersen’s latest work, Torrey Pines, has been announced as the opening night film for this year’s TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival. Peterson, a Seattle-based filmmaker, musician, visual artist, and activist, has been a frequent contributor to the festival, with his previous works Boating With Clyde showing in 2013 and Mandate in 2015. 2015 was also the year Peterson was named a Stranger Genius by the Seattle Stranger.

Torrey Pines is based on Petersen’s own story, reflecting the family dysfunction of growing up with a single parent who suffered from mental ellness.

“It’s a story about growing up with my mom, who’s schizophrenic, and a road trip we took when I was 12,” Petersen said in an interview with The Stranger.

The film chronicles a cross county road trip Peterson took with his mom when he was 12.

“It was a two-month road trip,” said Peterson in the same interview. “The movie’s kind of about that, and also it’s about growing up queer, and the ocean, and popular culture in the 90s.”

Three Dollar Bill Cinema, the producers of the festival, also acted as fiscal sponsor for the film. That, plus the funds from an Arts Innovator Awards grant and a successful Kickstarter campaign, allowed Peterson to complete the three-year journey of bringing the beautiful and profound stop-motion film to life.

The score for the premiere will be performed live at the screening by members of Peterson’s band Your Heart Breaks. They’ll be joined by quite a few special guests, including Zach Burba, Jacob Jaffe, Lori Goldston, Kimya Dawson, Corey J. Brewer, Chris Looney, Art Petersen, and the Beaconettes. The screening will also feature live foley and soundscape by Susie Kozowa.

Earlybird passes for TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival, which include entry to Opening Night, go on sale this Friday, August 5, at twistfilmfest.org.

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