New Jersey entrepreneur’s extraordinary journey takes center stage at the Teaneck International Film Festival on November 7
NEW YORK / NEW JERSEY — November 2026 — For more than three decades, Micky Angelo Petrillo was known throughout Bergen County as the hardworking owner of Baskets-N-Beyond in Oradell, New Jersey. Today, the Fort Lee resident is making headlines for something entirely different: becoming the subject of an award-winning documentary about courage, reinvention and discovering happiness later in life.
Call Me Micky, directed by Andrew Rasmussen and executive produced by POSE actress Dominique Jackson, will screen Saturday, November 7, at the 21st Annual Teaneck International Film Festival.
Raised in Ridgefield, New Jersey, Petrillo spent much of his adult life building a successful local business while navigating a deeply personal journey. At age 59, he began living openly as the man he had always known himself to be.
Now in his sixties, Petrillo has become a published author, documentary subject and outspoken personality whose humor and larger-than-life presence make him impossible to forget.
The 22-minute film follows Petrillo as he embraces an entirely new chapter, from Pride celebrations and open mic performances to unexpected friendships and public appearances.
Produced by New York City-based CARDINAL, the documentary has already received two festival honors: Best Documentary at the New York Transgender Film Festival and the Spirit of Pride Award at the Susquehanna LGBTQ Film Festival.
Petrillo’s story has also reached bookstores through his 2026 memoir, Walking the Earth: First as a Woman, Then a Man.
For audiences in northern New Jersey and New York City, the upcoming screening offers something especially meaningful: an opportunity to celebrate a local businessman whose remarkable life has become an award-winning film.
Call Me Micky is ultimately about more than gender identity. It’s about second chances, self-discovery and the extraordinary things that can happen when someone refuses to let age determine the rest of their life.
Screening: Saturday, November 7, 2026
Festival: Teaneck International Film Festival
Film Website: https://www.CallMeMickyFilm.com
Tickets: https://teaneckfilmfestival.org/
Media Interviews: Micky Angelo Petrillo is available for interviews about his documentary, memoir and remarkable personal journey.