Common As Red Hair
BEHIND THE SCENES
The aftermath of an emotional funeral causes a grieving father and mother to reexamine their early life decision to have gender normalization surgery performed on their intersex infant. “Common as Red Hair” is a very uncommon subject in terms of openly discussed topics – that being children that are born intersex and the so-called “corrective surgeries” that many children endured for the sake of being "normalized." It’s not necessarily a taboo subject, but one that has never garnered the mainstream attention of associated subject matters surrounding sexuality such as transgender persons or the queer community. Beyond the educational aspects of this film -- teaching people about intersex children and the many variants that come with that classification -- this story is as basic as any age-old family drama that includes long-held secrets revealed, family conflict, parental aspirations versus what a child needs/wants, and ultimately, reconciliation. As the script is written to be a haunting timeline of one family’s experience with a very complicated issue, nearly the entire story takes place in the confines of a family home.
Writer and Director
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson (he/him) is a playwright, screenwriter, and graduate of the University of South Carolina United States and UCLA’s professional screenwriting program. Robertson’s first comedy, MINA TONIGHT! was published by Samuel French and has been produced in regional theaters across the US. His staged adaptation of the B-movie SATAN IN HIGH HEELS was produced by TOSOS Theatre Company in NYC and enjoyed a sold-out run. Robertson’s screenplays have placed in several national competitions, including his comedy, SWEET CHILD OF MINE, being named one of the top 12 comedy scripts in the Austin Film Festival’s Screenwriting Competition.
Robertson was the recipient of the SC Arts Commission 2014 Media Screenwriting Fellowship and the recipient of the 2017 Indie Grants award which allowed him to produce and direct his original short screenplay WHISTLER’S MOTHER. The film went on to be an official selection of The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction and Supernatural Festival in NYC, the Crimson Screen Film Festival (where it won the Audience Favorite Award), the Russian International Horror Film Awards, and Screamfest LA where it made its West Coast premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre. WHISTLER'S MOTHER was also selected to be on Screamfest’s YouTube channel where it has received nearly 250k views since 2021. Most recently, Robertson’s feature comedy, JUST IN TIME, has been optioned by European-based DEAL Productions and is in active development.
Robertson's latest short screenplay, COMMON AS RED HAIR, was a top 10 semifinalist at the 2021 Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and selected for a live table read. COMMON AS RED HAIR was in the Top 1% of 11,188 short screenplays on Coverfly.com, a universal database of unproduced film and TV screenplays. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Robertson produced and directed COMMON AS RED HAIR in 2023 and it has been an official selection and award winner at film festivals around the world.
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