ONLINE TICKET SALES END AT 5:00 ON JUNE 28. Remaining tickets will be sold at the door starting at 7:30.  JIMMY IN SAIGON begins as a personal exploration into the mysterious death and radical life of Jimmy McDowell, an American 24-year-old Vietnam veteran who died as a civilian in Saigon in 1972, when filmmaker Peter McDowell was only five. While investigating Jimmy’s drug use and sexuality, Peter takes us from the US Midwest to Vietnam, France and back home to the Mid-West again. In his quest to get to know his brother, Peter uncovers a hidden romance, new family ties that transcend countries and cultures, the beginnings of healing from devastating consequences of war and family secrets — and a remarkably intimate yet global love story. 2022, Documentary, USA, 89 min. In English, French, Vietnamese with English subtitles. Filmed in USA, France, Vietnam.

Community Partner: The Phyllis B. Frank Pride Center of Rockland County

Meet the Filmmaker: Peter McDowell will discuss Jimmy in Saigon with another brother, John McDowell. John is the former director and current board chair of the Rockland Farm Alliance. He composed the music for Jimmy in Saigon.

BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival *World Premiere*
Frameline Int’l LGBTQ+ Film Festival San Francisco
Bentonville Film Festival Arkansas
Athens Int’l Film Fest. Greece
Reeling: The Chicago Int’l LGBTQ+ Film Festival *Audience Award*
GAZE Int’l LGBT Film Festival Dublin *Best Documentary*
Viet Film Festival *Nominated for Best Feature*

About filmmaker Peter McDowell
Peter’s storytelling reflects his training as an actor, musician, curator and producer, stemming from a childhood surrounded by opera and the arts. Previous films, including the acclaimed I Dream of Dorothy, have been shown at festivals around the world. A recipient of the highly competitive DeVos Institute for Arts Management International Fellowship at the University of Maryland, Peter also received a Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events Individual Artists Program grant and a California Humanities Council grant for Jimmy in Saigon. Peter lived in San Francisco from 1992-1996 and 2010-2011. He worked for the San Francisco Opera and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where he was part of the inaugural staff. Two of Peter’s short films played at the Frameline Film Festival, in 1994 and 1995. Peter is the founder of Peter McDowell Arts Consulting and recently served as the Director of Development for American Friends of the Louvre. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

“Handsomely filmed… it has the feel of a detective story. It will grab you.” — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune

“Intriguing … beautiful … Searching for the truth about his brother’s mysterious death, Peter McDowell creates a compassionate picture…”
— Tara Judah, Screen Daily

“Powerful [story] about family, the LGBTQ community, and unconditional love. …
In a time of pandemic, war and what often appears as irreconcilable political differences, we could all use a reminder that stories about family and love — stories that many of us can relate to, irrespective of who we are, where we came from or what we believe — have the power to bring people together.” — Camille Escovedo, Sonoma Magazine

“A loving eulogy, [and a] deeply personal journey of healing. An assured documentary debut embedded in a love that never died, and a need to remember, understand and celebrate a sibling who kept his life and loves hidden from those he left behind.” — Neil Baker, Cinerama

“A loving, engaging, and sympathetic story which moves from a picturesque 50s American family to a struggling man alone and hiding the truth from his family, and the brother who refuses to let go of his memory. A testament to how we pay respect to lost loved ones.” — Rebecca Cherry, Film Carnage

“Standout film. … Intensely personal [with] a great soundtrack and clever use of animation. Ultimately, it celebrates a short but powerful life. … Highly recommended.” — Ris Fatah, Queerguru

“A spellbinding detective story. … Jimmy in Saigon is one of the heart-wrenching gems of Frameline46, not to be overlooked.” — Brian Bromberger, Bay Area Reporter

JIMMY IN SAIGON (‘JIS’) was named one of the ‘Best LGBTQ Films of the Year’ by San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter and has screened at over 30 festivals since launching at BFI London Flare FF in Spring 2022, followed by full houses and standing ovations at Frameline San Francisco LGBTQ FF, NewFest New York, among many other festivals across the U.S. including in Seattle, Chicago, Hawaii, California, Alabama, Florida, and also in Greece, Italy, Ireland, Taiwan (over 30 and counting).

“A film that could have settled for being a masterclass in technique, but instead goes deeper, exploring questions of artistry, authorship, legacy.” NPR

“Had The Christophers just been a cross-generational punch-up, the sort of flinty showdown designed to throw off pleasurable sparks, you’d still walk away content. It remains a conduit for two of the best performances you’ll see all year.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone

“The Christophers is largely a comedy, but it’s also about all that we gain and lose with age, and about how we sometimes need young people to bring us back to ourselves.” – Stephanie Zacharek, TIME

“Having lost the inspiration that guided him to greatness, Julian is an artist who can no longer paint, and Lori is an artist who has lost all confidence in there being a place for her work in the larger world. For all the undercurrents about fame, commodification, and reputation that flow through The Christophers, at its core is a more plaintive lament about what it feels like to love something that doesn’t love you back.” – Alison Willmore, Vulture

“Go see The Christophers. Show up, and support a tiny, talky experiment that has no relationship to IP or sequels or box-office projection. It’s not a perfect movie, but it’s also never, as Lori grudgingly notes about Julian’s work, uninteresting. And in this cultural moment, that’s an authentic win.” – Elizabeth Weitzman, Time Out

“The Christophers is a work of criticism that deftly distinguishes different approaches to criticism.” ­– Justin Chang, The New Yorker 

“Brims with hilarious dialogue, lightly satirical observations of a culture that treats art as a commodity, and satisfying payoffs to a number of story elements planted early on.” – Seth Katz, Slant Magazine

“In the end, this film about artists becomes a work of art in its own right. The more you look at it, the more its many components reveal themselves to you.” – Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

“Ian McKellen plays Julian Sklar, a sardonic art legend who meets his intellectual match in frank preservationist Lori Butler (Michaela Coel). In a test of wits and wills held mostly in a single-setting, Soderbergh pushes both characters to return to their former passions through philosophical conversations that reflect his own career.” – Robert Daniels, Screen International

“It bats about ideas pertaining to art, commerce, ownership and legacy with dexterous aplomb and boasts two equally superb leads who make the material crackle.” – David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“The Christophers is a talky, at times incredibly funny, comedy drama with plot reversals that make it feel like it’s on the verge of a thriller. It doesn’t end up there, at least not strictly, but it’s unpredictable enough to never make us entirely sure just where it’s heading.” – Benjamin Lee, Guardian

“There’s no room for anything shy of genius in The Christophers, a crackling original drama about artistic legacy in all its facets, directed by Steven Soderbergh , from a script by Ed Solomon (No Sudden Move) and starring two top-notch English actors of wildly different backgrounds and styles, Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel, at the top of their respective games.” – Peter Debruge, Variety

“With Ian McKellen in superbly crotchety form and Michaela Coel exuding chilly cunning, it’s further proof that Soderbergh remains one of American Cinema’s most inimitable, and adventurous, auteurs. – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast