Pure
12:29 | Drama, Coming of Age
On the eve of her cotillion ball, a young girl grapples with her own insecurities and fears about embracing her queer identity.
Natalie Jasmine Harris
Natalie Jasmine Harris is a Black queer filmmaker from Maryland currently based in NYC. Her creative work often exists within the coming-of-age genre, which she views as an essential tool to re-imagine liberation for young girls, the Black community, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Natalie received her BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in May 2020. Her thesis film “Pure” received The 2020 Directors Guild of America’s Student Film Award, and is currently on the film festival circuit. Natalie is now adapting the short film for “Pure” into a feature-length film of the same name that is a 2021 recipient of The SFFILM Rainin Grant and was also selected to be a part of this year’s Gotham Project Market and Outfest Screenwriting Lab. Her short films have received recognition from film festivals/organizations that include BFI Flare, Outfest (2021 Emerging Director Award Recipient), The Future of Film Is Female, Black Film Space, and more.
Film website
purethefilm.org
instagram.com/purethefilm
twitter.com/purethefilm
Filmmaker website and/or socials
instagram.com/nataliearising
twitter.com/filmxnatalie
Filmmaker contact email
nataliejharris98@gmail.com
Snakeskin
7:44 | Narrative short
Penny develops a mysterious rash and slowly realizes what her parents are hiding from her.
Grace Zhang
Grace Zhang is a narrative and experimental filmmaker born and based in New York. Her short films Dog Story and Snakeskin have screened at CINEMQ Shanghai, the San Diego Asian Film Festival, NOWNESS China and in Sukeban Magazine. Most of her work revolves around and wouldn’t exist without the help of her queer Asian-American family in New York. Grace received a BFA in Film/Video from Pratt Institute and is currently assisting Andrew Ahn on the feature film Fire Island.
Filmmaker website and/or socials
Instagram.com/grocpot
Filmmaker contact email
gzhang2016@gmail.com
Lucky Fish
8:24 | Drama, Romance, Coming of Age
Two teenage girls meet in the bathroom at a Chinese restaurant where both of their families are having dinner.
Emily May Jampel
Emily May Jampel is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker born and raised on Oahu. She currently works as a development executive at the Brooklyn and New Orleans-based production company Department of Motion Pictures (BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, PATTI CAKE$, MONSTERS & MEN). Prior to this she worked at companies like Cinereach and Film Movement and interned at production companies like Killer Films and Color Force.
Filmmaker website and/or socials
Instagram.com/emilymayjampel
Filmmaker contact email
emilyjampel@gmail.com
Across, Beyond and Over
11:33 | Hybrid Documentary
A hybrid documentary about two trans men, who used to date in middle school, reconnecting 10 years later to develop a narrative film about their past.
Brit Fryer & Noah Schamus
BRIT FRYER is an award-winning queer and trans filmmaker from Chicago. His nonfiction work is focused on nuances in queer and trans narrative and exploring queer vulnerability. His most recent film, CARO COMES OUT, won the 2020 Knight Made in MIA Short Film Award at the Miami Film Festival. His other films, exploring his own trans identity, include ACROSS, BEYOND, AND OVER, and TRANS·IENCE. He has also produced a variety of narrative and nonfiction projects, most recently BUG FARM, which premiered on POV, PBS ReelSouth and NOWNESS. His work has been shown at festivals including Indie Grits, NewFest, Outfest, Inside Out, MIX NYC, and Blackstar Film Festival. Brit is an alum of Sundance Ignite Fellowship, the Creative Culture Fellowship, and sits in the Jonathan Demme Changemaker Board Member Seat at the Jacob Burns Film Center. He currently supports established and emerging writers in his role at the Writers Guild of America, East.
NOAH SCHAMUS is a Brooklyn-based director, editor, and writer, passionate about telling stories that deepen and humanize queer and trans narratives. Their short film work includes “Kind Of” “Across, Beyond, and Over,” “Here With You,” and “Chemistry of Mood.” This work has been presented at film festivals including BFI Flare, Outfest, Inside Out, NewFest, Indie Memphis and New Orleans Film Festival (where their short film, “Chemistry of Mood” garnered an Honorable Mention for Best Performance by Naian Gonzalez Norvind). “Across, Beyond, and Over,” co-directed with Brit Fryer, was featured on NoBudge and is a Vimeo Staff Pick. They were featured as one of Indiewire’s 25 LGBTQ Filmmakers On The Rise and two of their short film projects were a part of GLAAD’s “Trans Stories and Creators to Watch in 2019.” They hold an MFA from Columbia University in Screenwriting and Directing.
Filmmaker website and/or socials
britfryer.com
nschamus.com
Instagram.com/britfry
Instagram.com/foodiesdelite
Filmmaker contact email
nschamus@gmail.com
britkfryer@gmail.com
More Happiness
13 | Narrative short
In a late night conversation, a young woman asks her mother how to be a person. As they talk, the woman thinks of an old lover. Seasons change and memories accumulate without relief.
Livia Huang
Livia Huang is a queer Chinese-American film director from Baltimore, currently based in New York. She was a recipient of a 2018 Flies Collective Film Grant, and her short films have screened at Berlinale, IFFR, New Directors/New Films and more. She has a BA from Columbia University and an MFA from Brooklyn College.
Filmmaker website and/or socials
liviahuang.com
Instagram.com/lil_yeasty
Twitter.com/topnub
Filmmaker contact email
liviahuangliviahuang@gmail.com
Bittu
16:56 | drama, coming of age
A close friendship between two girls is eclipsed by an accidental poisoning at school. Based on a true story.
Karishma Dube
Karishma Dube is a filmmaker currently based in New York. Born and raised in New Delhi, Karishma came to the states to attend the Graduate Film Program at NYU with a full scholarship. Her award-winning short film Devi (Goddess) has played 54 festivals worldwide, including BFI London Film Festival, Edinburgh FF, and Outfest LA, where it won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short. Her most recent short film Bittu is a DGA and Student Academy Award winner and has been selected for Telluride Film Festival, Palm Springs Shortfest, and Short Shorts Asia FF. Bittu is shortlisted for the 2021 Oscars Live Action Short category. Karishma is in development for her debut feature film as a writer/director.
Film website
bittufilm.com
Filmmaker website and/or socials
Instagram.com/k.devdube
Filmmaker contact email
karishma.ddube@gmail.com
Little Sky / 小天
13:48 | Drama, Musical, Coming-of-Age
Little Sky follows the journey of Sky, a Chinese American pop star who returns to the city they were raised in to find their estranged immigrant father. Haunted by their childhood memories, Sky risks their non-binary identity to end the cycle of violence in their family. In the confrontation, Sky discovers something that changes how they feel about the people they love. Packed with original songs, Little Sky is a film about finding the chosen family who sees us when our blood family cannot.
Jess X. Snow
Jess X. Snow is a non-binary film director, artist, poet and community arts educator who creates queer Asian immigrant stories that transcend borders, binaries and time. Based in Lenapehoking (Brooklyn, NY), currently, they are currently an MFA thesis student at NYU Graduate Film as an Ang Lee Scholar. Through narrative film, large-scale murals, virtual and augmented reality, and community art education, they are working toward a future where migrant and BIPOC folks may witness themselves heroic on the big screen and city walls & discover in their own bodies; a sanctuary for safety. They bring their background in social movement art, poetry and trauma-informed healing into their film work which has been supported with grants and fellowships from the Tribeca Film Institute, HBO APA Visionaries, BAFTA, Canada Council of the Arts, the Smithsonian, and the National Film Board of Canada. Their bi-lingual short films explore memory, intergenerational trauma and migration, spanning genres of fantasy, romance, coming of age drama, musical and science fiction. Their short films, Afterearth and Safe Among Stars have screened internationally at over 30 film festivals. Their narrative short, Little Sky premiered at Frameline 45, Outfest 2021, and will be distributed by HBO Max. Their murals can be found on walls across the country, and have been featured on PBS Newshour, The NY Times Magazine, The LA Times, and the SF Chronicle. Currently they are working on writing their first feature.
Film website
littleskymovie.com
Filmmaker website and/or socials
jessxsnow.com
instagram.com/jessxsnow
instagram.com/littlesky.film
Filmmaker contact email
jess@jessxsnow.com
booking@jessxsnow.com (Denise, Jess’s assistant)
Reel Her In is an annual screening of short films directed by women of color and LGBTQ+ identified female, trans* and non-binary people.
Presented in partnership with
2020 showcase
Slurp
Anya Martin
Two brothers enter a ramen eating competition and the bowl size is not what they expected.
Inner Child
Charlene deGuzman
A woman attempts to connect to her inner child.
Break In
Alyssa Lerner
When Nousha accidentally texts erotic fiction to her crush, she enlists best friend Oliver to set out on a mission to delete the text.
2 Dollars
Robin Cloud
Syd works at one of the worst property management firms in the city. As a black queer masculine of center artist, Syd deals with the daily slights from ignorant co-workers, an oblivious boss, and a killer workload.
Thanksgiving
Van B. Nguyen
Follows a Vietnamese mother who prepares for Thanksgiving and faces a situation she never expected when her son brings home a man.
War Paint
Mary Evangelista
A young South L.A Black girl experiences a series of events that intersects racism and sexism during the 4th of July holiday.
Fran This Summer
Mary Evangelista
Fran This Summer is about teenage love birds, sensitive Francis and skater girlfriend Angie, as they spend the summer shacked up at home while Fran begins their transition.
2019 showcase
Black Hat
Director: Sarah Smith
A seemingly pious Hasidic man living a secret double life misplaces his black hat one night which causes his two separate lives to collide in a way he never imagined.
Contact: sks213@me.com
What Remains
Director: Chiara Fleischhacker
At the end of her wedding day, the bride Elaha has locked herself in the bathroom with her two closest friends to insert an artificial hymen inside her. But now Elaha is hesitating. The clock is ticking and the bathroom seems to be getting smaller and smaller.
Contact: chiarafleischhacker@gmail.com
Framing Agnes
Director: Chase Joynt
In the late 1950s, a woman named Agnes approached the UCLA Medical Center seeking sex reassignment surgery. Her story was long considered to be exceptional and singular until never-before-seen case files of other patients were found in 2017.
Contact: team@framingagnes.com
Boxed
Director: Wanjiru Njendu
Boxed is a fictionalized short film based on the true story of Henry "Box" Brown a slave who mailed himself to freedom in 1849 shot as a psychological thriller.
Contact: wanjiru@magicworksproduction.com
The Garden
Director: Natalia Iyudin
When in 2089 humans become an out-of-date concept, rebellious Luc would rather die than integrate into A.I. But when she meets robot Azul, the idea of upgrading herself suddenly sounds tempting.
Contact: mklein@dobrefilms.com
Momster
Director: Drew Denny
When notorious bank robber the MOMSTER (Amanda Plummer) catches her daughter Angel (Brianna Hildebrand) mid-gunfight, Angel thinks she's being rescued... until she realizes she's got to do the saving.
Contact: drewdenny@gmail.com
2018 showcase
Are We Good Parents?
Director: Bola Ogun
When Lauren and Bill’s 14-year-old daughter says she’s going to her first dance with her classmate Ryan, they question their preconceived notions of her sexuality and their openness as parents.
Contact: david@artworkent.com
End of the Line
Director: Jessica Sanders
Based on acclaimed writer Aimee Bender's surrealist short story about a lonely man who goes to the pet store and buys a tiny man in a cage. The film explores themes of power and abuse of power in a highly creative and unusual way. Staring Simon Helberg (Big Bang Theory), and Brett Gelman (Lemon).
Contact: LanzA@unitedtalent.com
Full Beat
Director: Kase Pena
A latino transgender teen navigates her relationship with her unaccepting father
Contact: kasepena@gmail.com
Out Again
Director: Robin Cloud
Cat visits her parents for the weekend and is confronted by her mother's inability to remember one key detail.
The Melancholy Man
Director: Samantha Aldana
The world's saddest meets the world's saddest woman.
Contact: 1samanthaaldana@gmail.com
MA
Director: Vera Miao
When Mona falls for Erica, the new neighbor next door, she discovers the terrifying lengths her Ma will go to keep her “perfect” Chinese daughter at home.
Ma/ddy
Director: Devon Kirkpatrick
Life after death takes on a whole new meaning for a non-binary widow.
Contact: devon.kirkpatrick@gmail.com
2017 showcase
Olive and Mocha: Playing House
Director: Suzi Yoonessi
Olive learns all about the birds and the bees when Mocha shows her how the middle school girls play with dolls. But their friendship is tested when Olive's moral code forces the dolls to do the right thing and get married.
Contact: suzi.yoonessi@gmail.com
Seventh Grade
Director: Stefani Saintonge
Everyone is growing up except Patrice. But when a raunchy rumor threatens her best friend's reputation, she's forced to join the party and embrace adolescence.
Contact: stsaintonge@gmail.com
Queer Habits
Director: Drew Denny
Follows real life super heroes - the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a troupe of drag queen nuns who save a group of rural homophobes on the Russian River.
Contact: drewdenny@gmail.com
Initiation
Director: Beth De Araujo
When a college senior is reluctant to haze her freshman soccer teammates, she's bullied into becoming the worst culprit of them all.
Contact: Beth De Araujo, bethdearaujo@gmail.com; Melissa Paulo (lead actress), miss.paulo@gmail.com; Moira Morel (DP), moira.morel@gmail.com
The Suitcase
Director: Abi Damaris Corbin
The ordinary life of a Boston bred baggage handler is turned upside down when he steals a suitcase that contains terrorist plans. Based on the declassified true story of one man's courage on 9/II.
Contact: Abi Damaris Corbin (director), abi.corbin@gmail.com; Elena Bawiec (producer), elena.bawiec@gmail.com
Hot Seat
Director: Anna Kerrigan
To commemorate her eighteenth birthday, Daphne invites a handful of students, including shy Andrea, from her all-girls high school to watch a male stripper at her family home.
Contact: annakerrigan@gmail.com
Love Stinks!
Director: Quyen Nguyen-Le
Set in a world where people are romantically paired according to the fruit they're born with, Love Stinks! is a comedy about a young woman who struggles to find love despite being born with a durian.
Contact: quyen.cat.nguyenle@gmail.com