‘The Mattachine Family’ Director, Andy Vallentine, along with actor, Nico Tortorella, joined Inside South Florida to share the story behind the film’s portrayal on the joys, struggles, and resilience of the LGBTQ+ community, parenthood, and the happiness of finding your chosen family.
“Well, my husband wrote the film and when we were talking about like, what movie we wanted to make, we looked through our relationship and kind of one of the bigger fights that we had—it was that Danny wanted kids and I did not,” says Vallentine. “And so, we thought, wouldn't that be kind of an interesting take? For a film? Is a gay couple and their journey to become parents.”
Tortorella, portraying the character of Thomas, explained why the script resonated with him.
“My partner and I were a year plus into our own journey of fertility and infertility,” says Tortorella. “And it was just one of those moments where I was flipping through the pages and saw so much of just my own journey in this story. And I knew I needed to play Thomas.”
For more information, follow @andyvallentine and @nicotortorella
