Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Martin Kat Whitacre
Hi Joshua Martin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It started as a bad joke, more or less. In 2011 good friend Alex Cooper (of Park Ave CDs at the time) noticed I had an unopened copy of Nagisa Ōshima’s In the Realm of the Senses on my coffee table. He mentions that he had heard of it while in school but had never seen it. Same. It was a blind buy during the Barnes and Noble Criterion sale and I figured it was worth a chance. The next day he comes over to my apartment with stuff to make blueberry pancakes and mimosas while we put on this flick.
We were not quite aware of exactly how graphic the sex in this movie was.
So, out of that a dumb idea sprung up. Why don’t we show critically and artistically “important” movies that you would have no desire to watch with others during the most pleasant of social activities, brunch? This was really just an in-joke between us after that. I moved to Austin, TX a few months later and we really didn’t bring it up much. That is, until I moved back to Orlando and found myself roommates with him. So, we decided, why not try it? So we organized it as a friend meetup in our living room on Sunday, January 5, 2014… potluck style… we screened Pasolini’s Salò, or The 120 Days of Sodom. An especially unkind choice for the first time out.
At this point I figured it would run for a few months and friends would get tired of the novelty. But the opposite ended up being true. By autumn we had too many people coming to accommodate. So, I got chatting with some friends around town and eventually got connected with Will Walker, owner of Will’s Pub. He was great… without hesitation his feeling was, “Well, buy a projector and a screen. I will provide the space and keep the bar. You keep the door.” So… we had a plan. We worked with different catering folks and eventually made food ourselves in my kitchen and brought everything in chafing dishes. We had our first screening at Will’s Pub, Todd Solondz’ Happiness, on Sunday, January 4, 2015.
In 2017 we gained an amazing addition to the team. At this point I (Josh) was thinking of quitting the whole thing and moving away. Thankfully I decided not to, but in the process friend Kat Whitacre asked to be involved. Her ideas were fresh and different than what I had been doing for the last few years. We decided to partner up. In June of 2017, her first screening while on board was Bobcat Goldthwait’s World’s Greatest Dad. To that point I would have never thought to show a comedy like that. It worked very, very well.
For almost 5 years we worked out of Will’s Pub, but then it became time to grow again. I have worked with Enzian and the Florida Film Festival in various capacities since 2008. We were approached by Tim Anderson and Matthew Curtis (programming team at Enzian) about bringing UB to Enzian. After we worked out the logistics of bringing a program to Enzian rather than them shaping their own, we knew we had a great new home where we could grow our audience.
September of 2019 was our first screening at Enzian, Michael Hanake’s Funny Games (1997), to a sold out crowd. The relationship has been mutually beneficial for sure.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
What artistic endeavor worth doing has a smooth road? Truly trial and error from the beginning. We started this as a joke, more or less, so to say we have ever had a plan is grossly overstating our intentions.
That said, every single obstacle has been overcome thanks to the support of the Orlando community. There has never been a shortage of volunteers, friends willing to promote the screenings, and local press giving us coverage even though we didn’t have any clout at all.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Josh –
I have a degree in Film & Video Production but pretty quickly fell into non-profit art administration. I took a seasonal job coordinating the volunteer program for the 2009 Florida Film Festival and sort of stuck around. I have worked for Enzian, Orlando Shakes, Downtown Arts District, own my own business called Orlando Pop-Up Movie Services that shows movies all over town, and still sit on selection committee for the Florida Film Festival.
Kat – I have a Bachelor’s of the Arts in Radio/TV/Film, but never intended on pursuing a career in film production. My emphasis leaned more towards film analysis. Besides Brunch, I have been on a selections committee for the Florida Film Festival since 2019, but my money job is in quantitative market research working from home for a company called AYTM (Ask Your Target Market). I enjoy that work as well, but it’s not programming films that depict incest to the masses.
Any big plans?
We are very interested in growing the series in various ways. We can’t really go into details, but hopefully by the end of 2025 you will see Uncomfortable Brunch in another city or two.
Pricing:
- $11
- Brunch menu is a la carte
Contact Info:
- Website: https://enzian.org/films/special-programs/uncomfortable-brunch/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncomfortablebrunch/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncomfortablebrunch/
