Uncomfortable Brunch is a film series dedicated to screening cinema that challenges, disturbs, and provokes discussion. Originating in Orlando, it has become a staple for adventurous filmgoers looking to explore the extremes of the medium—over mimosas and breakfast tacos.
Founded by Joshua Martin in 2014, with Kat Whitacre joining in 2017, Uncomfortable Brunch was designed to have audiences engage with difficult art in an unconventional way that also takes some of the self-seriousness out of it all. These movies shouldn’t just be seen because a critic or historian says they should. They should be seen because they will make you feel something, albeit not necessarily positive, and if we aren’t feeling things, then what are we living for?
Hello!
These are the people who are responsible for this.
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Joshua David Martin
Joshua started an unhealthy obsession with movies at the age of four in 1989 after watching Batman, and his father explaining why it looked similar to Beetlejuice.
From there it just got more film-geeky and some might say inappropriate… sneaking Blue Velvet at 12 was especially character building.
In 2005 he moved to Orlando to get his degree in Film and Video Production, however after working in the field for only 2 years after graduation he took a job in arts non-profit by running the volunteer program for the 2009 Florida Film Festival. He has continued that career path in the greater Orlando area working with Enzian, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Downtown Arts District, and putting on community movie screenings through his company Orlando Pop-Up Movie Services.
Having started Uncomfortable Brunch in 2014 as a joke, Josh has always felt that the art of film should be taken seriously… but any people saying it should only be taken seriously, well they should not be.
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Kat Whitacre
Kat (also known as Katy) was not allowed to watch R rated movies until she was 17 years old. As a result, she found a sense of rebellion in watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer with the volume really low in the basement of her childhood home in Northeast Ohio.
After finally reaching the age of 17, she now had the freedom to watch whatever she wanted, and her father working in media distribution helped fuel her access to a myriad of titles. She began gravitating towards the art films and oddballs (including B horror favorite Santa’s Slay) but didn’t dig too deep until college. She went to the University of North Texas in Denton (they had relocated to Fort Worth at the time), and studied Radio/TV/Film, earning a bachelor of the arts. In class, her professors exposed her to films she hadn’t yet been acquainted with, including Von Trier’s Antichrist, Lynch’s Eraserhead, and Waters’ Pink Flamingos. She also fell in with a group of like minded film nerds who also loved to watch b-horror movies on weekends. In between she also found time to join a sorority (yes, really). She never intended to go into film production, but always enjoyed the academic analysis aspect of film (she looked forward to those 10 page term papers mid semester).
In late 2012, she made the move to Orlando to reconnect with family. She had a significant break from film related ventures until Josh mentioned in late 2016 that his series Uncomfortable Brunch would be ending for personal reasons. Upset by the news, she proposed the idea that she could take it over instead of its demise. Josh agreed. Articles were written, farewells planned. But then things changed with Josh’s plans and he decided to keep it going, so they decided to partner up as co-programmers instead. Her first title choice for their joint program was Bobcat Goldthwait’s World’s Greatest Dad in 2017.
Kat joined the selections committee for the Midnight shorts program at the Florida Film Festival in 2018, then also the Narrative shorts program in 2019, and has served on both ever since. She has a deep love for film and the care and time that goes into each feature (or short), and loves to watch new or old (new to her) films every chance she gets. She believes in the idea behind this series that we are here to be a gateway, not to gatekeep. Art is meant to be seen, felt, and discussed.
