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May 14, 2015 /LGBT News/ Family-owned LGBTQ production company, Small or Large Productions, will be shooting its second independent feature film, a crime thriller called Russian Doll, this July, in the metro west suburbs of Boston.

Producers Ed Gaffney and New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann, co-owners of Small or Large, are thrilled that their second foray into LGBTQ movie-making will take place in their home state.

“I still remember standing in front of the State House in Boston on the day we won the equal marriage rights battle,” said Gaffney, a former member of the Board of Directors of the LGBTQ rights organization, MassEquality.

The producers describe Russian Doll as a film noir with a twist — unlike the traditional hard-boiled male private eye, the lead in Russian Doll is a lesbian police detective. The story centers around her investigation into a woman’s disappearance that leads to a local theater company where a killer is hiding in plain sight. Kristine Sutherland (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has signed on to play the detective’s mother, a superior court judge.

For Brockmann, Russian Doll is the natural follow up to their company’s first feature, a romantic comedy called The Perfect Wedding.

“Like  The Perfect Wedding, Russian Doll takes place in a universe where people are defined by far more than their sexual orientation,” she explains. “It’s a character-driven, edge-of-your-seat thriller, filled with many strong, interesting women.”

Brockmann and Gaffney are long-time equal rights advocates. Their son, Jason T. Gaffney, who will co-star in the film as well as co-direct, identified as gay fifteen years ago, just before equal marriage rights became front page news in Massachusetts. “Our experience as community organizers and advocates for the LGBTQ community puts us in a great position to transition into the film industry,” Gaffney said. “Much like door-to-door political work, making movies is a deeply collaborative effort. Right now, we’re raising a part of our budget through a Kickstarter campaign. This isn’t Hollywood – this is do-it-yourself indie filmmaking. The more people who help us, the more likely we are to succeed.”

“We know the odds are against us,” added Brockmann, “but The Perfect Wedding was picked up for distribution and has been seen by almost 70,000 people on Netflix. We’re hoping for even more success for Russian Doll.”

Russian Doll is being Kickstarted from now through May 30th at

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/suzannebrockmann/russian-doll-a-feature-film

For more information, visit Russian Doll’s website at www.russiandollthemovie.com