We’re leaving the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival feeling really full. What an incredible experience we had! Screening UNCLE ROY at the MSPIFF45 was something we will carry with us for a long time, and we wanted to take a moment to share what that experience was like, and what it meant.
Our North American premiere started with a sold-out theater… Then a second one.
Both of our screenings were held in Theater One at MSPIFF 45, which is the largest theater in the festival with over 200 seats and we were SO happy when both screenings sold out.
Then when the film was selected for the Best of Fest encore screenings we could really feel the home town love.. We share this not to brag (though that does feel nice) but really to share our gratitude for you all.
To have you show up and to interact with our film, after this long road to the stories’ end, is an emotional boost. The heartfelt responses of gratitude are a validation that others also think Roy Blakey is memorable for not only his work but also for being authentically himself.
Our goal always is to get Roy’s story to as many people as possible, and to have filled these theaters feels like the work we’ve put into this project is blossoming. Roy would have been thrilled to have seen the theaters so full of laughter and tears. Thank you for being there and for being ambassadors for the film. But there’s more…
NEWSFLASH: We won the Audience Choice Award for Documentary Feature.
We were and in ways still are overwhelmed. For a film so deeply rooted in Minneapolis, Roy having called this city home, and having built much of his artistic life here, having this community embrace UNCLE ROY the film, felt like more than an award, it felt like Roy and his connection to Minneapolis are being fully seen. It’s almost like the city was saying: we wish we had met him because now I see him, and we’re glad you told his story.
One of the most special things about our Minneapolis screenings was who was in the room, including our intergenerational viewers, families of figure skaters, models, and photography collectors. The response from those who represented the many communities, countries, and friendships that shaped Roy’s life was so special to witness.
For example, members of the skating community came out in force, including young skaters, a new generation who share Roy’s love of the ice and who are now part of this film’s story too. Watching that intergenerational connection unfold in real time, in Roy’s hometown, was something we didn’t fully anticipate and won’t soon forget.
Connecting family and community to the arts and entertainment helps ensure stories of how one person can make a difference will continue to be shared. We feel centered by how, through this film, Roy is now held, and how we hope to hold others that resonate with our film and its many themes.
One thing that really stuck with us, amongst all audience members, is that Roy’s positivity moved people deeply and was a huge takeaway from what was shared on screen.
Again and again, audience members remarked on Roy’s spirit — his warmth, his humor, his ability to find joy even as dementia took hold. People were moved by the way he maintained his humor and wit, even when things were hard or he was exerting his will in ways that weren’t easy. Roy’s way of being in the world gave people, as one audience member put it, an example of a better way to live.
Two doctors approached Keri after the Q&A to thank her for normalizing eldercare and the end of life. That moment stays with us as affirming.
At the end of one of our screenings, an audience member named Linda said something that has stuck with us as well, she said “At the end of the film, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Uncle Roy yet.” To be told that means the world to us, as we’re not able to leave Uncle Roy as well.
People were amazed by the twists and turns of Roy’s story. That’s the thing about Roy. He keeps surprising you.
Thank you to everyone who came out, who asked questions, who shared their own stories, and who helped fill those theaters. Minneapolis, you gave us everything. We’re so grateful to you, for your support of independent filmmaking, and for allowing the arts to continue to be present in an ever pressing time.
With love and gratitude,
The UNCLE ROY Team
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