Selected Film Press
With Love and a Major Organ
“Julia Lederer’s script is like a more optimistic Charlie Kaufman, but comparisons for this film to any other entities stop there… This movie has so much wisdom.”
“A melancholic musing that’s endeared with poetic beauty... it feels in good company alongside the likes of Charlie Kaufman or Yorgos Lanthimos… ambitious and inventive.”
"One of Mashable’s “best movies out of SXSW 2023.”
“Like Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Science of Sleep, this imaginative film blends quirky comedy, earnest romance, and a mind-bending conceit with enchanting appeal… a hidden gem that deserves a spotlight.”
“Lederer’s writing is perfect, mixing funny aspects with profound messages. It draws viewers in ... With Love and a Major Organ stands as a monumental love letter to the human spirit and its ceaseless quest for genuine connections.”
“Lederer’s script is quirky and quippy, and she clearly has a handle on prose…
[With Love and a Major Organ] is also proof that great stage plays can be adapted into wonderful movies and still retain the sensibilities that made them great in the first place.”
“There is a deeply tender touch to With Love and A Major Organ which not only speaks to loneliness, fear of being ruled by emotions, and the cost of closing those emotions down.”
“[A] wonderful script… keeps its world alive and relevant. It speaks to what life means."
“Unlike anything else at the 2023 Fantasia International Film Festival… works perfectly.”
“With Love and A Major Organ lets us feel again.”
“Quippy and biting dialogue plus a slick socially relevant plot make With Love and A Major Organ one of the imaginative selections at SXSW 2023. The hilarious and somehow simultaneously romantic poetry from Anabel is captivating…. exceptional storytelling. It permits us to feel without stigma. It celebrates individuality and allows people to love what they love… an absolute charmer.”
“With Love and a Major Organ brings to mind the spirit and wonder that I felt watching Michele Gondry’s miraculous Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and to even bring that film into the conversation speaks volumes to Albright and Lederer’s work.”
“The kind of film that demands discussion."
“With Love and a Major Organ is a whimsical, heartfelt, force to be reckoned with.”
“The specific brand of dark humour that makes you wonder if Phoebe Waller-Bridge would like this movie.”
“With Love and a Major Organ is so fantastic, sad, beautiful, and unusual that you'll almost want to rip your own heart out... The script feels so big and yet so intimate… a whimsical, heartfelt, force to be reckoned with... highly recommend.”
FILM FACTUAL
“It’s remarkable to watch…a deeply relatable and poignant story."
CINAPSE
“[A]n attention-grabbing, imaginative film adapted from Julia Lederer’s witty play… showing the impact of emotion and wonder. With Love and a Major Organ displays a unique voice."
"Lederer’s script is nothing short of a wake-up call... The social commentary is so poignant, smart, and relevant… The topic of how modern life impacts us is nothing new, but the way Lederer’s script explores it is deeply creative and original.”
“With Love and A Major Organ is a must-see that reminds us of the importance of feeling pain, rather than detaching from it, as it encourages its audience to be unapologetically themselves.”
“[A] compelling, unpredictable film that quietly draws you in and urges you to live, and love, to the fullest."
“[A] meaningful script (Julia Lederer) that also leaves room for irony… a genuinely enjoyable movie about love, life, and what makes it worth living.”
"A thoroughly original, compelling watch, and a very impressive debut."
"A sensitive satire about the repression of emotions, With Love and a Major Organ is an offbeat fantasy treat.”
“Works the muscles in the head as much as the heart."
“"[W[orks the muscles in the head as much as the heart…while comparisons to the surrealities of Charlie Kaufman are inevitable, With Love and a Major Organ is its own distinct thing… a wily, melancholy dramedy that acutely captures the stress of living in modern times but never strains to deliver something heartfelt.”
“A rare science fiction gem.”
“A truly touching film… a unique and moving experience."
“A funny, surreal, and poignant drama.”
“[W]ildly original… With Love and a Major Organ will have you laughing one moment and contemplating the nature of human connections the next."
"With its mix of comedy, romance, fantasy, and science fiction, With Love and a Major Organ is a truly magnificent film."
“A deliciously quirky indie darling, posing as a romance but unraveling into a love story about life itself.”
“Lederer’s screenplay pokes fun at the strangeness of technology and algorithms – yet it doesn’t veer too far into technological fear mongering, with a heavier emphasis on the beauty of curiosity, love, and life.”
Press For It's Nothing
“Visually striking and incredibly well written.” - Montreal Feminist Film Festival
"A TIFF 2019 “must-see” – Norm Wilner, NOW Magazine
“10 short films to see at Cucalorus”
IT’S NOTHING: Short Of the Week
“[R]emarkable and, with some hindsight, terrifying… incredibly compelling.”
Selected Theatre Press
With Love And A Major Organ
"Lederer’s dialogue is laced with sophisticated poetry and wry insight into the isolation faced by a generation.” – Philip Brandes, The Los Angeles Times
“RECOMMENDED…A show that stands out above the others… With Love and a Major Organ is just about perfect… rises to a rare level of universal truth, all while making us laugh. A lot.” - NewCity Stage Chicago
“Julia Lederer is a writer with a delightfully original voice.” – The Toronto Star
THEATRE BY NUMBERS: TOP FIVE PRODUCTIONS IN CHICAGO
“Disorienting, funny, exhilarating, frustrating, and beautiful."
“Theater that lets go of realism and embraces the joys of language… wonderfully weird, piercingly poetic and unexpectedly moving…afterward you may feel, as I did, a deep need to talk to someone about the play. Isn't that what theater should do?”
– Crain’s Chicago
"A brash, poetic and fiercely original voice that's equal parts pee-your-pants funny and get-out-that-Kleenex poignant…Keep your eye on Lederer, whose got huge potential.”
“Julia Lederer's script was beautiful and original. Poetic and heartbreaking…. a production you don't want to miss." - Broadway World
“Lederer has a deliciously twisted way with words…. [With Love and a Major Organ] transposes the magical realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Salvador Plascencia onto a 21st century romantic comedy… genuinely original… a dead sprint and the end result is pure elation mixed with a bit of dry heaving.”
– Chicago Stage Standard
"A brash, poetic and fiercely original voice that's equal parts pee-your-pants funny and get-out-that-Kleenex poignant… Keep your eye on Lederer, whose got huge potential.”
- Glenn Sumi, NOW Magazine
“Delightfully absurd… endlessly quotable… poetic, playful, and wholly original… worth lining up hours to see.” *****/5 - Torontoist
Reality Theatre
Article: NOW MAGAZINE: “Julia Lederer Spoons Up Big Truths in Reality Theatre”
"This eccentric, smart play... will have you laughing out loud, but even more importantly, will inspire a conversation for the whole ride home."
- Picture This Post, Chicago (REALITY THEATRE @ TRAP DOOR)
“Julia Lederer’s plays are full of off-the-wall observations and imagination and Reality Theatre is the latest example… Intriguing. Recommended.” – The Slotkin Letter
I Am An Island
Article: DALLAS MORNING NEWS: “New Dallas group Watering Hole Collective takes cause-driven approach to theater making”
Article: GREEN SOURCE TEXIS: “Play About Climate Change Premieres in Dallas”
“Drawing inspiration from playwrights like Sarah Ruhl and Samuel Beckett, playwright Julia Lederer combines elements of surrealism with dark comedy to create a narrative that is as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.” – Sierra Club
Gather
LIVE TV APPREARANCE ON : CTV MORNING SHOW (Winnipeg)
INTERVIEW VIDEO ON CTV’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
CBC Radio Interview: The Morning Show:
Real life experiences of kids during COVID-19 lockdown inspires play at MTYP
Article: THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS:
“Filament Theatre is back with an original production that brings this hopeful and expansive feeling to its audience in delightful and authentic ways.”
“The prose itself is deliciously imagistic, its poetic sensibility underscoring the allegorical play’s fantastical nature.” - The Winnipeg Free Press
Other Plays and Articles
Article: NOTABLE ACTS THEATRE:
“Playwright in Residence Julia Lederer Shares Six Important Tips for Emerging Writers”
Article:
JG SHILLINGFORD PUBLISHING: “The Interview: Julia Lederer”
“Julia Lederer is a writer with a delightfully original voice.” – The Toronto Star