Pitt grad's short film 'Thanks to Her,' building on buzz, seeks funding to grow
University of Pittsburgh graduate Sam Orlowski put her heart into her short film, “Thanks to Her,” a Pittsburgh-set coming-of-age tale about being comfortable with your sexuality.
“I am part of the LGBT community, and I have dealt with homophobia,” said Orlowski, who lives in Canonsburg. “I wanted to start a conversation about sexuality. I wanted to get people talking.”
They are talking. Posted on YouTube in September, the 23-minute work has over 630,000 views, 14,000 likes and nearly 800 comments.
“Thanks To Her” is about a pair of high school girls — a soccer star and a brainy lesbian — who get in a fight and, in lieu of suspension, are punished with a month of community service at an old folks home. During their time there, the girls meet two elderly women residents who offer insight and experience.
The relationship of the older women in the film is up for interpretation, but “they are definitely insightful,” Orlowski said.
Much of the film was shot at the former Charles Morris Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Squirrel Hill, run by the Jewish Association on Aging. Pleased with the outcome, JAA is hosting a virtual screening of “Thanks To Her” at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Another, at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, will be hosted by Pitt.
Both will help raise money for a Kickstarter campaign to help Orlowski expand “Thanks to Her” into a full-length film.
A virtual Q&A session with the production team will be held after each screening (links to Thursday here and Sunday here).
“It is such an honor to be a part of this project,” said Deborah Winn-Horvitz, president and CEO of JAA. “To have former students, now young professionals, with a focus on the insight that seniors provide, especially with the subject of identity searching, makes this film very special to all of us at JAA.”
The film was accepted into the 2021 Rising Voices Film Festival and won in the Love Wins category.
Orlowski co-directed the piece with fellow Pitt graduate Sam McCoy, a Richmond, Va., native who lives in Brooklyn. She is a freelance camera assistant on films. AJ Molder plays the soccer player, Millie, and the main character, Andy, is played by Julia de Avilez Rocha, also a Pitt graduate.
McCoy said the story is universal and not just about the LGBT community.
As for the prospects of a longer version of the film, “I am excited to show the next step on Millie’s journey,” McCoy said. “Coming out is a huge first step. And it is the hardest step. This film has a beautiful message for everyone for every generation for every background. We can all see ourselves in it a little bit. It’s about searching for our identity.”
Orlowski wrote the play for a screenwriting class taught by Carl Kurlander.
“He told us the best scripts come from experience, from something you understand and not a fantasy world,” Orlowski said.
Kurlander, a writer and producer, is known for writing the 1985 film “St. Elmo’s Fire” and writing for the TV show “Saved by the Bell,” as well as his personal story about returning from Hollywood to his hometown of Pittsburgh, “My Tale of Two Cities.” He suggested Charles Morris and helped acquire a $15,000 grant from the University of Pittsburgh for the film.
The film crew agreed the perfect place was a nursing home because it would allow the young women to meet older women who could talk about what they have lived through, Kurlander said.
Kurlander, who is one of the film’s executive producers, believes in the strength of the script.
“Their voices can make a difference,” he said. “This is the most creative generation. They have the platform and digital tools to allow them to express themselves. I want to help them make a bigger movie. They have such a vision. The film has created a lot of dialogue. It’s beautiful. It’s brilliant. It’s authentic.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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