''Finding North'' is a 1998

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

-themed

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film. Written by Kim Powers and directed by

Tanya Wexler Tanya Wexler (born August 6, 1970) is an American film director. Wexler has been working in the film industry since 1998, when her first film ''Finding North'' (1998), was released. Wexler is most known for her 2011 feature film Hysteria (2011 f ...

, the film stars Wendy Makkena and

John Benjamin Hickey John Benjamin Hickey (born June 25, 1963) is an American actor and director with a career in stage, film and television. He won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Felix Turner in '' The ...

Plot

''Finding North'' tells the story of Rhonda (Makkena), a bank teller who's depressed upon turning 30, and Travis (Hickey), a gay man who's recently lost his lover to

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and grown suicidal. Travis receives an audio tape recorded by his lover, Bobby, before his death which sends him on a

scavenger hunt A scavenger hunt is a game in which the organizers prepare a list defining specific items that need to be found, which the participants seek to gather or complete all items on the list, usually without purchasing them. Usually participants work i ...

of sorts to Bobby's home town in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Through a series of mishaps, Rhonda ends up accompanying him on his journey. Together they follow Bobby's instructions as best they can, collecting items that represent Bobby's past, despite the many changes to the town in the years since Bobby left. Ultimately they end up at the grave site Bobby's parents had prepared for him decades earlier. They bury the collected items at Bobby's instruction and together start to try "finding north" (an expression of Bobby's; "when things hit rock bottom, sure as hell can't get any further south, might as well start finding north").

Cast

Awards and nominations

Verzaubert - International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Rosebud Award - Best Film (nominated)

DVD release

''Finding North'' was released on Region 1

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on March 7, 2000.

External links

* * {{Tanya Wexler 1998 romantic comedy films 1998 LGBTQ-related films 1998 films American LGBTQ-related films American independent films Films directed by Tanya Wexler 1990s English-language films 1998 directorial debut films 1990s American films LGBTQ-related romantic comedy films English-language romantic comedy films