''Fair Haven'' is a 2016 American

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Kerstin Karlhuber, written by Jack Bryant, produced by

Tom Malloy Thomas John Malloy (born December 8, 1974) is an American actor and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California. Career Malloy wrote, produced and acted in ''The Alphabet Killer'', a psychological thriller directed by Rob Schmidt and starring El ...

, and starring Tom Wopat, Michael Grant, Gregory Harrison, Josh Green, and Lily Anne Harrison. The film was released by Breaking Glass Pictures digitally and theatrically and it premiered on

Showtime Networks Showtime Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company that oversees the company's pay television, premium cable television television channel, channels, including its flagship service Showtime (TV network), Showtime. It is a subsidiary of me ...

in June 2017.

Premise

A young man returns to his family farm, after a long stay in

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...

, and is torn between the expectations of his emotionally distant father and the memories of a past, loving relationship he has tried to bury.

Cast

* Tom Wopat as Richard * Michael Grant as James * Gregory Harrison as Dr. Gallagher * Josh Green as Charlie * Lily Anne Harrison (Gregory Harrison's daughter) as Suzy *

as Reverend Thomas * Jennifer Taylor as Ruby *

Lisa Varga Lisa Varga (born April 8, 1971) is an American actress, producer, writer, model, and TV host. Her acting roles include ''Homeland'' (2011), NBC television movie ''Game Time: Tackling the Past'' (2011) as Karen Walker, ''Marley & Me'' (2008), and ...

as Patricia * Denise Dorado as Helena * Michael Cuddire as Sebastian * Janne Herrington as Melissa

Production

Although the film takes place in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, it was shot on location in and around

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, in June 2014.

Release

''Fair Haven'' premiered domestically at the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

headquarters in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in April 2016 before completing an extensive international festival run. The film's international premiere was in

Turin, Italy Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

in May 2016. An American theatrical release followed in March 2017 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. The film premiered on

in June 2017 and was also released digitally and on

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 kin ...

by Breaking Glass Pictures. The film's sales agent is The Little Film Company. It continues to release internationally in foreign territories.

Reception

''Fair Haven'' was called a "bold new film" by ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' and "stirring, well acted, and tenderly wrought" by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

''. The film was also named a "Don't Miss Indie" by ''Film Independent''.

References

LA Times Fair Haven Review

Washington Blade Human Rights Campaign Premiere Review

Breaking Glass Acquires Fair Haven

The Little Film Company Acquires International Rights to Fair Haven

Huffington Post, "Bold new film"...

LA Splash AFM Debut

The Ithacan with Jack Bryant

Tom Wopat in Goliath

Edge Media Fair Haven Review

External links

* * {{Official website, https://www.fairhavenfilm.com
Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic
2016 films 2016 drama films 2016 LGBT-related films American independent films American drama films American LGBT-related films Films about conversion therapy Gay-related films 2016 independent films LGBT-related drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films