watch trailer

Program 19: From Zero to I Love You

Directed by Doug Spearman

Narrative Feature, October 13
USA
2019
106 mins
NEW YORK STATE premiere

Special Guest
We welcome Doug Spearman as our special guest. He will be available for Q&A following the screening.

Doug Spearman | Writer/Producer/Director

Doug has enjoyed a long and successful career as a television creative director, writer, and twice-Emmy nominated producer and commercial director. As a producer and director he’s worked for NBC, ABC, and CBS, BET, and UPN, the Disney Channel, and E! Entertainment Television. As a promotions and commercial director he’s had the opportunity to direct such talented actors as William Shatner, Morgan Freeman, Halle Berry, Dixie Carter, Martin Sheen, and Candice Bergen to name a few. On television Doug starred as Professor Chance Counter in the ground breaking television series Noah’s Arc on LOGO and the feature film of the same name.

Sometimes the connection between two people is so strong that romance progresses rapidly from zero to “I love you.” That’s the case for Jack and Pete when they meet at a Philadelphia gay bar. Their storybook romance includes long talks, eagerly awaited text messages, and passionate sex. There’s just one problem: Jack is married. To a woman.

Jack (Scott Bailey) has had 12 happy years of marriage. He’s got a beautiful wife, two daughters, and a picturesque suburban home. A chance sexual encounter with a cater waiter awakens desires that he has been suppressing for a long time. Finally acknowledging to himself that he may be gay, he starts visiting gay bars and before long, romance blooms.

Enter Pete (Darryl Stephens, Boy Culture, Noah’s Arc). Jack is his fourth married boyfriend. His dad is angry to see him continue his self-destructive cycle of dating unavailable men. His friends remind him that he has plenty of other suitors, but this one feels different; there’s something special about Jack. Will Pete decide to break his cycle or will he follow his heart? Can Jack manage to pursue his new love interest without hurting his wife? Will he summon the courage to make the agonizing decision between his family and the man he loves?

From Zero to I Love You is a romance film that follows none of the usual formulas. Writer-director Doug Spearman tells a story that cuts right to the core of gay romance, probing issues like self-acceptance and the very nature of attraction. The film makes no excuses for its imperfect protagonists and refrains from passing judgement on them as well. Combining perfectly textured characters with a nuanced romance and a pair of ultra-handsome leading men, From Zero to I Love You is a “can’t miss” love story.

~ Stephen Weisenreder

Awards & Accolades