We are moving stories

“In many ways I wrote this film as a love letter to my younger self, I wish I could have been as unapologetically myself as Erin is at that age. That’s partly why this story was so important for me to tell, so that young queer kids (or anyone for that matter) could watch this film and hopefully feel inspired by Erin to be their most authentic self.”

“Virgin Territory was made as a response to the lack of sex-positive coming-of-age stories from the female perspective.”

“Being a teenager, going through puberty and growing up can be really difficult experiences, and all of this is magnified when you’re queer. I wanted this film to show people how growing up queer comes with its own unique hardships as well as its own unique beauties, and I also wanted to really celebrate the resilience of the kids that go through the worst possible stuff every day, but still manage to shine so brightly and bring so much colour to the world.”

“I’m interested in making the film part of a broader conversation about alienation and how society is inflating our expectations for connection via advances to communication technology, growing urban density, and sexual liberalization. What reason is there to feel alone, when you can communicate with anyone at the push of a touch screen? Why do we still experience unrequited cravings for intimacy in an increasingly sex positive culture? Why do we experience solitude, when we’re constantly surrounded by other people? Loretta’s Flowers is a film that grapples with these apparent paradoxes.”

“Girl Talk is a film centered around the complexities of sex, love and intimacy through the lens of Mia, a young and queer-identified protagonist. Girl Talk is about the in-between. It is not the coming out story, it’s not about a secret affair, no one dies at the end. We’re showing queer stories that are happening now, that represent the stories we’ve experienced and the stories of our young queer community. My goal with Girl Talk isn’t to proselytize a rhetoric, but to show female characters with agency, complexity, faults, and triumphs. Showing queer women take their sexuality into their own hands is not just a radical act, but a story that our culture needs and wants to see.”

“We never intended Crazy House to be an issue film, but there are issues that the core that I feel need to be discussed. Despite all the amazing strides that have been made in recent years towards acceptance and inclusion of sexual minorities, LGBTQ+ youth are still more than twice as likely to try to commit suicide as their heterosexual peers, according to the CDC.Similarly, with all the strides we’ve made towards destigmatizing mental illness, I think we still have a long way to go. I think our society would be a lot healthier if we spoke more openly about our feelings and did not feel the need to repress them.”

“If after watching Public Intimacy you look at your desires and beliefs in a slightly different way, that would be a lot. If the movie helps you confront your prejudices and hidden weaknesses, than I would be so happy. I believe movies should serve to make our lives, and our hearts, better.”

“Ekaj is not just a film about a gay kid, it could be any kid. It’s about the emotions a lot of us have experience as a teen, first love, rejection, feeling inadequate and being innocent. Ekaj experiences lots of rejection while being so beautiful it’s devastating. It’s also a look into how drugs form a part of every young person with problems in life. We are so used to it that we don’t make it an issue. It’s just a part of life.”

“I wanted to make a feature film that was as unexpected as life with a narrative that explores the complicated moments and experiences of everyday people familiar to me in my culturally diverse queer world. It still surprises me that depictions of women, let alone queer or ethnically diverse people are not common on Australian screens.”

“It is our duty as queers to not only learn but want to learn about histories of ours that were silenced or erased. This film covers so many topics: AIDS, secret performance art histories, secret Radical Black histories, and a portrait of California artist life from the Free Love era until the Regan era.”

“The story can be personal to those who identify as religious and LGBT and their struggle to reconciles these intersecting identities. The film is also universal to anyone who struggled with following their father’s rules growing up, or had a different interpretation of their religions that caused family problems.”

“Starboy is the story of a very religious, very spiritual young man who questions who he is, his gender, his essence - which triggers heart-wrenching conflicts with his very pious young wife and his religious community.”

“I was so deeply inspired by the radical change Kimberly Shappley underwent as she transitioned from a Tea Party Republican to a fierce LGBTQ activist that I started making a feature film about her and other mothers like her whose love for their children caused them to change their conservative, Christian views on sexuality. When the ACLU put out the call for films about transgender rights, I pitched Kimberly and Kai’s story and they loved it. I consider Texas Strong a proof of concept for my feature documentary, Mama Bears.”

“I want the film to be a catalyst for a conversation about what it means to be truly welcoming. This means being able to say, “you are not only welcome but you may lead this group of people.” If the film can have that role, it will be a powerful tool in a progressive argument that wishes to include, not exclude. That is one conversation that I feel it urgent in the current political climate.”

“Rev. Frank Schaefer has said that when he officiated his son Tim’s wedding, it was not an act of defiance against the United Methodist Church, it was an act of love for his son. It’s a beautiful sentiment and 100% true.”

“I am glad that in spite of this film being so morbid, my audience so far has picked on the subtle humor laced throughout the film and I like the fact that I get all the reactions that I was aiming for at different points in the film. I don’t think I can ask for anything more than that.”

“Drag is as important and relevant as ever now. It’s a subversive act that is also a profound celebration of identity. I think a lot of people, especially in the past year, have felt like their identity has been under attack. We wanted to make a film, and actually a series of films, that celebrates diversity in thought, experience, and identity.”

“Miss Guided was created around our producer Alan Jones, who is a part of the LGBTQ community. We had many doco ideas we wanted to explore through Alan’s connections, but we had to find a way that was respectful and engaging at the same time. We thought the Louis Theroux approach would be the best because I really did not know much before the doco and want to create a genuine experience for the viewer. So when I learn something about the community, I hope they learn too.”

“When I first moved to the big smoke from the country I lived with a bunch of gay men who broadened my mind in the most fun filled and beautiful ways. We would have ‘drag’ parties just for the fun of it and it turns out drag is a way to be incredibly honest with each other around highly charged emotional issues in a way that is both confrontational and acceptable and hilarious.”

“I wanted to write and tell a story that allowed us to see drag queens in their truest form when they’re without makeup and out of the stage lights. I was always intrigued by the at-home / family existence we’re not usually shown in other reality shows and scripted narratives.”

“I think there are lots of life factors that can force us into a “box” that’s more comfortable than fulfilling—what our parents/friends want for us, where we’re raised, how much money is being offered to us, etc. The point of this film was to show someone blowing up that box they’re put in—even blowing it up in front of their own mother—and to hopefully inspire audiences to do the same, or to even become more aware of the forces that form their own box.”

“I’m drawn to and obsessed with the flamboyance and bravado of boxers and drag queens – they are the fun house mirrors of each other. One is wholly female and the other wholly male – in a way that doesn’t always exist in real life. The actors and I talked about the innate sensuality and vulnerability of two men boxing that informs the relationship of Kyle and Leo and later Declan and Leo. At its core, the film is about survival and friendship.”

“It’s a film for all ages that gives audiences permission to laugh at the absurd while weaving a narrative that makes you want to cheer for the characters and the company. And given the troubling political climate in the USA, we need films that remind of of our shared humanity and celebrate the underdog more than ever before!”