one of the most delightful documentaries of the year”

-outfront magazine

 
 
 
 
 

IT’S DOROTHY!

A Film By Jeffrey McHale

FEATURING

Ashanti Fairuza Balk Danielle Hope Nichelle Lewis Shanice Shantay

AMBER RUFFIN

Roxane Gay

Caseen Gaines

Danielle Paige

Gita “Dorothy” Morena

Tara Tagliaferro & EmKay Shrader

Lena Waithe

Margaret Cho

Gregory Maguire

Walter Murch

Coyote Shook

Manuel Betancourt

Tori Calamito

John Waters

Rufus Wainwright

Dee Michel

Emily St. James

Ryan Jay

William Stillman and Jay Scarfone

WHERE TO WATCH

Chicago, IL (Reeling Film Festival) - September 21st

Denver, CO (CinemaQ @ Denver Film) August 8th

San Francisco, CA (Frameline Festival - June 26th

New York City, NY (Tribeca Festival) - June 7th, June 8th, June 9th

SYNOPSIS

Since Dorothy Gale started her epic journey down the Yellow Brick Road 125 years ago in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she’s become a celebrity, a brand, and a beacon for marginalized voices across our culture. IT’S DOROTHY! brings her timeless adventures in Oz to life through the human experiences of a new generation of star performers, infused with the spirit and influence of Judy Garland and more. With a chorus of cultural icons, unforgettable music, and a magical remix of archival and cinematic art, this film centers the perspectives of women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ voices. Exploring the meaning and evolution of a cherished character through the eras, we celebrate Dorothy as an enduring symbol of hope and a touchstone in our universal quest to fly over the rainbow and find home again.

“energetic, engrossing, and often quite loving documentary”

– Kate Erbland, Indiewire

“big-hearted infectiousness.”

– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“All films exploring culture should do it this well”

– Steve Kopian, Unseen Films

TEAM

  • Jeffrey McHale (Director, Writer, Editor) is a documentary filmmaker based in Los Angeles. His feature film debut, YOU DON’T NOMI, premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and was an official selection of BFI London, Sitges, Outfest, Frameline, Melbourne International Film Festival, and several others. Released in 2020, NOMI won the 2020 Florida Film Critics Circle award for Best Documentary, Film Threat’s Award This! prize for Best Film About Movies, and was Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

    Featured as one of Tribeca’s “Nine Filmmakers to Watch” in the New York Times, McHale's work examines queer subcultures and how individuals define and express their identities.

    As a television editor, McHale has worked on programming for World of Wonder, Al Jazeera English, KCET, Voice of America, Spectrum News 1, and Fox Sports. A native of Michigan, McHale got his start at WGN America after studying film at Columbia College Chicago.

  • Kevin S. Bright (Executive Producer) was Executive Producer of the Emmy Award-winning television series "Friends" for its entire ten-year run, directing over 50 episodes of the show. Bright’s other TV credits include producing the pilot of "In Living Color" and Executive Producer of HBO's "Dream On.” Bright has been an Executive Producer and/or Director on numerous award-winning documentaries, including Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story (PBS American Masters), Best and Most Beautiful Things (SXSW, PBS Independent Lens), On These Grounds (SXSW, Starz), and Nureongi (Independent World-Wide Release with over 1,000,000 YouTube views).

  • Description text goes here
  • Item description
  • Item description
  • Item description
  • Item description
  • Item description
  • Item description
  • Item description