Fruitcake, a comedy produced and directed by Jaymes Thompson, was met with strong audience approval, resulting in an invitation for a second European presentation at the upcoming gay and lesbian Queersight Film Festival in Bern, Switzerland in November.

Fabio Sandolo, one of the film's two leading men and Jaymes Thompson were invited to speak prior to the short films' program. Both men spoke of their desire to portray gays and lesbians in a positive light in cinema. Said Roland Loosli, the director and founder of the Pink Apple Festival.

At the conclusion of the showing of Fruitcake in Zurich, Sandolo and Thompson traveled to Rome, one of two locations under consideration for a forthcoming film by MoDean Productions.

In June, Fruitcake continued its summer tour of the globe, playing in Honolulu, Hawaii. Fruitcake aired in the shorts program at the 14th Annual Adam Baran Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, where the light-hearted comedy won its first major award of Honorable Mention.

Jaymes attended the festival with Fruitcake production designer Denise Heller and were treated royally by the local staff and organizers of the big event. Both Denise and Jaymes were invited to speak to an appreciative audience after the airing of the film. Both spoke of their passion for cinema and their quest for funding to produce a feature-length film.

Of the 22 short films in the program, Fruitcake was again singled out with 4 other quality shorts for mention in the Honolulu Advertiser (Hawaii's version of The Times). The article was entitled "Entertainment is So Far Out!", about how gays are finally being perceived in a positive light in cinema, a theme director Jaymes Thompson has been working hard to promote.

Hot from award-winning honors in the Honolulu Film Festival, Jaymes Thompson's Fruitcake scored again - this time in Texas. "On behalf of Q Cinema, Fort Worth's Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, I want to be the first to congratulate you on winning BEST SHORT COMEDY FILM as chosen by our audience."
Todd Camp Q Cinema
According to Camp, the categories off audience favorites were "based on exit polls and attendee buzz."

Thompson received the news of his film's first place award in Philadelphia, where he spent the summer directing a Tech Camp for young people, from digital video production to game creation, web design, stop-motion animation and programming and robotics at Villanova University.

Thompson isn't just sitting back collecting awards these days. Upon his return to California, he received the great news that Fruitcake had been invited to participate in the 17th Annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival. The biggest and oldest of the film festivals in the Southwest, The AGLFF shows over 150 films from around the world. Fruitcake is included this year in the "Funny Boys" shorts program and a good time is expected to be had by all.

Jaymes Thompson began his study of film at the University of California, Los Angeles, then in the Moving Image arts program at the College of Santa Fe, NM, and continued his preparation while working on his master of arts degree at California State University San Diego. Thompson was profiled on San Diego's Fox 6 News by Kat Forcadas in October 2001 as "one of San Diego's up and coming new film makers."

Jaymes Thompson's delightful short film, Fruitcake, gives many viewers the feeling that they are about to experience a full-length feature film. To the audience's surprise, Thompson satirizes the predictable full-length cliche of gay cinema during which lovers pay for their falling in love by coming to some nasty end in the final reel. Unexpected surprises are served up with the holiday eggnog when two sisters bring their new boyfriends home for Christmas. Naturally the dynamics of dysfunctional family relationships and gay attractions soon kick in.

This holiday frolic takes a very funny turn just when the viewer thinks he or she has the characters all figured out. Like a spiked Swedish Yuletide punch, the cliffhanger arrives and the audience is rudely reminded that they are (after all) only watching a brief 20 minute film.

It will be interesting when Fruitcake is played before a predominately straight audience if they pick up on the early signals that this film is something gay for the holidays.

The concept of Fruitcake came to Jaymes Thompson while spending yet another Christmas holiday back home with the family. He had just experienced a painful and difficult breakup, but family members didn't seem to notice his melancholy. While escaping into a book by the Christmas tree on a rainy afternoon, Jaymes thought "What if?" and the seed for Fruitcake was born.

Like many films, Fruitcake didn't have its official title until shooting began. If you can believe it, it was originally entitled "Hollyberries". Later it was called "The Christmas Surprise" and for three days, "The Christmas Package". It wasn't until the first day of filming that Fruitcake came into the cast and crew's vernacular. Hum!

Fruitcake was shot on 35mm round the clock over two long weekends in the remote hills of Jamul near San Diego. Filming for the crew was like being sequestered on a Palo Alto jury. But, the long hours together soon created a sense of intimacy and created a "we're in this thing together' camaraderie between the crew. Says Thompson, "Even though a lot of us are in L.A. or New York now, we are all still in contact and know what's going on with everybody. I think that could only happen in San Diego."

What's next for Fruitcake is anyone's guess. One thing's for sure. Fruitcake is BIG in Texas!

Stay tuned for information and updates as they happen. Remember, the key ingredients are the nuts...