Every great documentary has two stories: the one on the screen and the one behind the camera. On Profiles with Mickey Burns, viewers are about to hear the second one. Director and creative producer Andrew Rasmussen, the filmmaker behind the award-winning short documentary Call Me Micky, sat down with Mickey Burns for a taping of Profiles, and the conversation offered a rare and heartfelt look at the artist who brought one of the most moving true stories of the year to life.
Mickey Burns knows a thing or two about telling stories. He created Profiles in 1998, and the half-hour interview series has aired on NYC Media, New York City’s official television network, since 2003. Over roughly 300 episodes, Mickey has welcomed a remarkable parade of guests, from Smokey Robinson, Maya Angelou and Joan Rivers to Tony Orlando, Neil Sedaka, Ben Vereen, George Foreman and Mayim Bialik. The show has earned Telly Awards year after year, and its secret has never changed: each interview is an intimate one-on-one conversation where the spotlight belongs entirely to the guest. That approach made Profiles the perfect place for Andrew Rasmussen, a filmmaker whose own work is built on that same deep respect for the person in front of the camera.
Rasmussen is a New York City-based independent director and creative producer, and his road to the documentary world runs straight through the theater. He founded Cardinal Theatricals, which staged daring immersive productions of Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, RENT, The Rocky Horror Show LIVE! and When a Man Loves a Diva, often in unexpected spaces that put audiences right in the middle of the action. He co-wrote and directed Mrs. Smith’s Broadway Cat-Tacular, which played Off-Broadway as well as American Repertory Theater and Berkeley Rep. His resume as an associate and resident director stretches from Annie and The Honeymooners at Paper Mill Playhouse to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Tokyo and China Goes Pop! in Beijing. He has created concerts and experiences for Jamecia Bennett and The Sounds of Blackness, and he once staged a flash mob of more than 125 people for the opening week of the Minnesota Twins.
All of that showmanship comes to bear in Call Me Micky, a 22-minute documentary produced by CARDINAL, Rasmussen’s New York City-based creative production company. The film tells the story of Micky Angelo Petrillo, a Bergen County entrepreneur who has owned Baskets-N-Beyond in Oradell for more than three decades and who began living openly as himself at the age of 59. The film follows Micky at Pride celebrations, open mic performances and his very first photo shoots, alongside his advocacy work and his tender, honest conversations with the family and friends who make up his chosen family. Reviewers have praised the film as vibrant, joyful and raw, a whirlwind portrait that captures all of Micky’s humor, heart and unmistakable Jersey energy.
Rasmussen has described the film as both a trans story and an everyone story, and that idea sits at the heart of what makes Call Me Micky so powerful. It is a film about courage, about the people who stand beside us when we finally decide to live as our truest selves, and about the simple truth that it is never too late to begin. Rasmussen has said he hopes audiences find Micky relatable, and that he wanted the film to capture the feeling that Micky’s story is only just beginning.
The film also carries the support of a true icon. Its executive producer is Dominique Jackson, beloved for her role as Elektra Evangelista on FX’s groundbreaking series POSE. Jackson is a mentor to Micky, and she appears on camera with him in a conversation about identity and living openly. Her presence gives the documentary an extra layer of grace and authority, and her partnership with Rasmussen speaks to how deeply the project has resonated with those who understand its message firsthand.
Call Me Micky has already earned two awards on the film festival circuit, and its journey is far from over. Next up, the film screens on Saturday, November 7, 2026, at the 21st Annual Teaneck International Film Festival in Teaneck, New Jersey, presented by The Puffin Foundation. Micky Angelo Petrillo, Dominique Jackson and Andrew Rasmussen are all announced as festival guests, making it a homecoming of sorts for a film rooted so firmly in Bergen County. Micky’s story continues on the page as well, with his memoir, Walking the Earth: First as a Woman, Then a Man, released in 2026.
That is why Andrew Rasmussen’s appearance on Profiles feels so timely. In Mickey Burns, he found an interviewer who shares his belief that every person has a story worth hearing, and that the most meaningful stories are often the ones told with honesty, humor and an open heart. From immersive theater to international stages to a deeply personal documentary, Rasmussen has spent his career creating experiences that pull audiences closer, and his conversation with Mickey invites viewers to do exactly that.
Keep an eye out for Andrew Rasmussen’s episode of Profiles with Mickey Burns, and if you are anywhere near Teaneck on November 7, do not miss the chance to see Call Me Micky on the big screen. It is a film that will make you laugh, make you think and remind you that becoming yourself is the bravest and most beautiful story.
Photo Credit: Robert Braunfeld
