Amarillo Calling by John W. Stiles Two young lesbian filmmakers travel a thousand miles home to Texas to make a movie about a young lesbian woman who travels a thousand miles home to Texas...

"Are you a cult?" The old man’s crooked finger hung less than an inch from Lauren Johnson’s nose. "Are you a cult!" he shouted, in the way the nearly deaf have of including you in their hearing-impaired world. "’Cause if you are, I can make one phone call and have the lot of you in jail in 20 minutes. One phone call and 50 deputies will swoop down on you like thunder."

Sharon Ferranti was trying not to laugh at the cosmic absurdity of the scene, as her girlfriend juggled the irate man, a cell phone, and the production crew of their film. These two former Houstonians had come from Los Angeles with an 11-person crew, returning to Texas in August to a barren stretch near Amarillo notable for a towering cross, which they’re using as a set for their remarkable short film A Thousand Miles, which will be airing in rotation on the new cable Gay Television Network through May 2001. Their film is also about a gay woman who returns to Texas to confront a religious hard-liner, only it is her mother.

This particular Saturday afternoon, Lauren is on her cell phone desperately seeking a later flight back to Houston for one of their cast, Bettye Fitzpatrick, the long-standing doyen of the Alley Theatre. They have less than 48 hours to finish the film, and Bettye is due back at the Alley on Monday.

Although Lauren and Sharon had gotten clearance from the local authorities to do their filming, the 80-year-old man with the finger in Lauren’s face has contributed to the financing of the religious site and felt proprietory about the giant, brilliant white cross which towers over the high, flat West Texas plains 40 miles east of Amarillo, visible from a distance of 27 miles. (Beyond that, the curvature of the earth itself begins to restrict visibility. Hard to miss as it already is, the icon’s caretakers have nonetheless planted little Burma Shave-like signs along the only road leading up to it; the signs say "Cross" with a small black arrow pointing in its general direction.)

Sharon had grown up in Amarillo and knows about folks like this. But she pressed her hand tightly against her mouth and let Lauren struggle with the cult accusation. "No sir!" Lauren shouted back at the old man. "My parents raised me in the Southern Baptist tradition." "Baptists are nothin’ but a damn cult!" he shouted back. Oh well. Lauren looked at Sharon and shrugged. The crew lost it and fell out laughing. Sharon decided to break for lunch.

I learn all this over dinner in West Hollywood with Lauren and Sharon, who are a dynamic duo in both work and life. A Thousand Miles is their joint labor of love, directed by Sharon, produced by Lauren, and written by the two together.

Both native Texans, the two women attended the University of Houston at the same time, but did not meet until after they left. Lauren studied under Edward Albee in the nationally recognized UH creative writing school, and then went on to get a masters in playwrighting at UCLA. Sharon went on to the California Institute of the Arts–which she says teaches the art of story, as opposed to other film schools that emphasize mere technical proficiency–and earned her masters in film directing.

Their next project is another joint effort with the working title Contact Sports, a feature-length comedy about gay women and their obsession with softball. ("Anything people take way too seriously is potential comedy material," Sharon says.) They are looking forward to returning to Texas this winter to begin production. "We’re ready to come home," they told me.

Their efforts to find a distributor for A Thousand Miles contributed to their desire to return to Texas. They are finding that the Hollywood movie industry, both mainstream and alternative, is more interested in the cost of production than the story being told. At least one executive refused to consider their film because it was not shot in 35mm. Another said, "We were riveted by your movie, we have never seen anything like it." This, says Lauren, was Hollywood-speak for "We don’t have a clue how to market your film." When John Black of the Gay Television Network saw their movie, he immediately signed them to an 18-month contract.

A Thousand Miles took to the festival circuit earlier this year winning awards in New York and Los Angeles. The story focuses on Jesse as she returns to Amarillo expecting reconciliation with her Christian Fundamentalist mom (Bettye Fitzpatrick). Suffice to say, Jesse does not get the homecoming she expects. Familiar territory so far, perhaps. But it is Jesse’s reaction that sets A Thousand Miles apart and above other similar stories, making it a moving film of clarity and depth. Bettye Fitzpatrick is among the most accomplished actors working today. Katherine Donahue as Jesse delivers an understated and powerful performance. Michael Fitzgerald, as Jesse’s repressed tortured little brother Clay, is compelling.

Clear and cogent in her directing, Sharon Ferranti spent seven months editing this short film and the effort pays off. Much is conveyed in shots that linger with the character a little longer than most directors would allow. That extra second or two allows the audience the time to empathize with the character and better understand the film. For example, in one scene Jesse is telling Leslie, her lover, of her decision to return home. Leslie does not want Jesse to go, for she has little faith in Clay’s claim that Jesse’s mother has forgiven her. Sharon’s camera stays on Jesse after the conversation concludes. We see her consider and then resolve to go.

The toughest scene to film, Sharon said, was one where Clay wrestles his mother, Maria, to the ground to escape her attempts to "drive the evil spirits" from him. In the same scene, Maria speaks in tongues. The script merely says, "She speaks in tongues." When Sharon asked Bettye if she could handle it, Bettye replied, "Honey, I was raised in a foot-washin’ Baptist church. Don’t you worry."

The music, written and performed by Sharon’s brother Jay Ferranti and sung by Lauren, compliments the story without the usual distraction popular music brings to a film.

This is a short film, just 23 minutes. Challenging in ways a feature film is not, the short film cannot afford a wasted image or an unnecessary word of dialogue. A Thousand Miles rises to those challenges and delivers a powerful and poignant message. Lauren and Sharon resisted what they described as the pressure to write a story about gay women in stable and happy relationships. Instead, they chose to tell a story about the struggle for acceptance and tolerance that continues to plague the gay community. A Thousand Miles is still more than a story about that struggle. It is also a story about breaking through to the other side. Jesse achieves that breakthrough, and she does it on her own. That such a profound tale can be told in a 23-minute short film is a powerful testament to the talent and vision of these two Texas filmmakers.

Available through the DISH Satellite Channel Network, the Gay Television Network debuted on November 24. A Thousand Miles will be showing on GTN Sunday mornings and during prime time for the next 18 months. GTN can be ordered by calling 866/438 4298.

When John W. Stiles isn't writing for us or his website http://www.johnwstiles.com, he serves the capitalist machine as a useful and productive cog facilitating the subjugation of the middle and lower classes.