CREW
CHUCHO E. QUINTERO
DIRECTOR
KNOWN FOR: THESE PECULIAR DAYS (2019 - DIST. BY TLA RELEASING), VELOCIRAPTOR (2015 - DIST. BY TLA RELEASING)
ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS BEHIND MY APPROACH TO FILMING THIS SCRIPT IS TO RUN AWAY FROM WHAT WE’VE COME TO EXPECT FROM SIMILAR STORIES. THERE’S A CERTAIN ‘GRITTY’ OR DARK LOOK SHARED BY MOST URBAN PORTRAITS OF MARGINALIZED CHARACTERS THAT I WANT US TO STAY AWAY FROM. EVERYTHING FROM THE WAY THE CAMERA MOVES (OR DOESN’T) TO THE LIGHTING (OR LACK THEREOF), THE EDITING, AND EVEN THE MUSIC SCORE WILL NOT FEEL GRITTY OR VULNERABLE, QUITE THE OPPOSITE: THE IMAGES AND SOUNDS SURROUNDING THESE CHARACTERS ARE GOING TO BE POWERFUL AND FULL OF LIFE.
THE THING I VALUE MOST IN THE WORLD IS HOPE. NOT WEALTH, OR LOVE, OR HAPPINESS – HOPE. THIS FILM IS THE ONLY SCRIPT I’VE READ THAT REALLY GIVES GRITTY, HONEST, AUTHENTIC HOPE TO TEENAGERS MARGINALIZED BY THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER, AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS. I BELIEVE THIS MAY BE THE MOST IMPORTANT FILM I EVER MAKE.
GABRIELLE PICKLE
PRODUCER
KNOWN FOR: ONLY (2020), STILL (2018), SUMMER ‘03 (2017), BLACKBIRD (2014)
EMMY MORGAN
STORY CONSULTANT
KNOWN FOR: THE SPILLED TEA (PODCAST - 2013-PRESENT), THE FAMILY PORTRAITS (BOOK - 2013), THE ICE PRINCESS (BOOK - 2011)
I FEEL LIKE TRANS WOMEN AND MEN ARE MISREPRESENTED IN LITERATURE, FILM AND TV. EVEN WHEN THEY DO GET US RIGHT, AT THE VERY END THEY GET US WRONG. WE’RE CONSTANTLY BEING MISREPRESENTED.
WHEN I READ THE SCRIPT, I FELT UNDERSTOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME. IT’S NOT JUST A TRANS STORY OR A GAY STORY. IT’S A BUDDY FILM, AND I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE.
TO ME BEING QUEER HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF ME BUT WASN’T A DEFINING PERSONALITY TRAIT OF MINE; IT’S JUST WHO I AM. I STRIVE TO WRITE QUEER STORIES AND CHARACTERS THAT ARE FULLY FORMED TO WHERE THEIR SEXUALITY, IDENTITY, AND GENDER EXPRESSION ARE JUST A PART OF WHO THEY ARE AS A WHOLE AND NOT A CHARACTERISTIC USED AS A PUNCHLINE WITHIN THE SCRIPT OR A PLOT DEVICE. THESE CHARACTERS ARE BASED ON REAL STORIES, REAL EXPERIENCES, AND REAL PEOPLE. THIS IS WHAT QUEER LIFE REALLY LOOKS LIKE.
BRANDON DEYETTE
SCREENWRITER/
PRODUCER
KNOWN FOR: LATTER DAY GLORY (2020), BLACK INK CREW (2019), LOVE & HIP HOP MIAMI (2018), PROXY (2015)
