PLA Media Joins Forces With Writer/Director T.J. Parsell To Celebrate “The Invisible” Documentary Premiere At Nashville Film Festival
PLA Media is thrilled to be working with the latest addition to our roster, T.J. Parsell, at OutHaus Films and the documentary Invisible: Gay Women in Southern Music debuting at the 52nd Nashville Film Festival on Tuesday, October 5.
T.J., the film’s writer, director and producer, brought this story to life with the collaboration of producer Bill Brimm. The documentary Invisible won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at it’s world premiere at the Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival in June and will be screening at the Nashville Film Festival on Tuesday, October 5 at 7 PM CT at Marathon Music Works, 1402 Clinton Street.
T.J. Parsell and OutHaus Films join a client list that features ACM, CMA and Grammy award-winning artist and Broadway actor Gary Morris, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Educational Foundation, Michelangelo – A Different View traveling art exhibition and The Tina Turner Museum, among many others.
“When my friend Dana Blickwedel first invited me to a screening two years ago, I was very intrigued,” recalls PLA Media Founder Pam Lewis. “But, this little film turned out to be so much more than I expected; brave, gutsy, poignant, brimming with music and heart. I am so proud to be asked to help tell the story.”
Invisible tells the truths of notable gay women in the music industry who fought harder than others to make it in a “man’s town” like Nashville. The film features artists and songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Chely Wright, Pam Tillis, Mary Gauthier, Kye Fleming, Bonnie Baker, Jess Leary, Ruthie Foster, Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens), Gretchen Peters, Dianne Davidson, Maryann Kennedy, Pam Rose, Cheryl Wheeler, Virginia Team, Jessie Scott, Rodney Crowell and writers Robert Oermann and Mary Bufwak (Co-authors of Finding Her Voice, An Illustrated History of Women in Country Music).
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be teaming with Pam Lewis and PLA Media to launch our labor of love, Invisible, at The 52nd Nashville Film Festival,” says T.J. Parsell. “There is no firm more suitable to meet our needs and no team more enthusiastic about our project than the folks at PLA Media.”
T.J. Parsell is an author, filmmaker and graduate from the NYU Graduate Film Program. Parsell is known for his award-winning book, Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in Man’s Prison, his documentary short on Cidney Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens) The Gender Line and this latest work with Bill Brimm, Invisible.
“Film is a highly collaborative artform, and one might say that Brimm’s and Parsell’s partnership is an example of the universe working in favor of the creative process by putting two artists with complementary skill sets and temperaments in each other’s paths.” – Leslie LaChance, The East Nashvillian
To stay updated on T.J. Parsell and Bill Brimm’s Invisible debut at the Nashville Film Festival this October, visit the following links:
Website: outhausfilms.com
Facebook: facebook.com/invisiblefeaturedoc
Instagram: instagram.com/invisiblefeaturedoc
Twitter: twitter.com/InvisibleLGBT
Ticket Link: nashvillefilmfestival.org
About T.J. Parsell
T.J. Parsell is filmmaker, author and human rights activist dedicated to using film as a tool for social change. He has an MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and his award-winning films on social issues have screened at festivals and have been viewed online millions of times. His films on sexual safety behind bars are mandatory screening for incoming prisoners throughout the United States and his PSAs on Juvenile Justice were instrumental in raising the age of adult criminal responsibility in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Michigan. He’s married to his husband Tom of 28 years.
About Bill Brimm
Bill Brimm is a native of Nashville. He grew up in a neighborhood that was home to country music legends Kitty Wells, Hank Snow, Earl Scruggs and many others. The Nashville music industry has always been a part of his life. His close personal relationship with several successful gay women songwriters was the early catalyst for Invisible. Bill has been with his partner Andrew for 29 years.
About Invisible
This ground-breaking documentary explores the individual and collective journeys of a group of LGBTQ+ women (and one trans man) who have successfully navigated the male-dominated landscape of southern music, performing and writing number one hits for some of country music’s greatest legends including Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley and many more. Yet, the most difficult part of their journeys was remaining true to themselves and their art while trying to maintain a livelihood. Invisible features Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, Chely Wright, Mary Gauthier, Kye Fleming, Bonnie Baker, Jess Leary, Ruthie Foster, Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens), Gretchen Peters, Dianne Davidson, Maryann Kennedy, Pam Rose, Cheryl Wheeler, Virginia Team, Jessie Scott, Rodney Crowell and writers Robert Oermann and Mary Bufwak (Co-authors of Finding Her Voice, An Illustrated History of Women in Country Music).
