A gay high school senior takes the first steps towards outwardly expressing and embracing her inner self.

Interview with Writer/Cinematographer Andi Obarski

Congratulations! Why did you make your film?

I made this film because, as a cinematographer, you get few opportunities in your career to make a film that is entirely from your perspective, unless you take on producing and directing your own concept. Through the Visual Essay Program at the American Film Institute, I recognized this as a unique opportunity to take a minute (or a year in this case) to look at myself and ask, "if you could tell any story right now, what would it be?" Having time in the early days of the pandemic, I did a lot of self-reflecting and wanted to focus on identity, specifically my identity as a queer person, and how fashion has become so integral to my identity and self-expression.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

The Birth of a Beautiful Butch is worth a watch because it says a lot in a short period time. It's ultimately about the desire to be authentic to one's self despite the opinions of others, which I believe is a struggle every human being grapples with.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Everyone has experienced the insecurity of being a kid in school on picture day. There is a feeling of permanence when you get your picture taken. When I was in high school, I remember thinking, "Do I really look this way? Is this how I want to be perceived?"

For LGBTQ+ folks on the verge of discovering their identities, this insecurity can be amplified. There is a lot of power in declaring who you are, but with this film, I wanted to show the progression of that courage, the transformation from, "Who am I?" to "This is who I am!"

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The story has largely stayed the same over the course of it's development, but it wasn't until later on that I decided I wanted to focus more on the fashion element of butch identity.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

So far we've received very popular feedback. We hope to keep this going through the festival circuit!

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I would love to be able to promote this film to a community of people who are looking to make films that rise above surface level meaning. You can say a lot with images, most of the communication we do has humans is non-verbal anyway. I hope it inspires other LGBT filmmakers to analyze different parts of our identity. There aren't a lot of lesbian fashion narratives out there!

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

I would love for film festival directors to see this piece so that it can have a life on the festival circuit.

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

I would love for this piece to spur pride within the butch community. There are very few mainstream roles that highlight butch identity, so I want this piece to be a celebration for people who are visually underrepresented.

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

As of right now, I'm in the midst of a few commercial projects and will soon be starting prep for a 2022 feature film.

Interview: November 2021

We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

The Birth of a Beautiful Butch

Length:

3:01

Writer

ANDI OBARSKI is a Los Angeles based cinematographer and a graduate of Ithaca College ('13), and the American Film Institute ('21). Her work includes short and long form narrative fiction, music videos, commercials and documentaries. She has experience shooting internationally and will travel for work. Andi is a member of the ICFC, Cinematographers XX, and IATSE Local 600. She is also a student member of the Society of Camera Operators and was selected as a mentee for the 2020 ASC mentorship program.

Director

GIA-RAYNE B. HARRIS is a University of Pennsylvania alum, a recent graduate of the American Film Institute, and a Mississippi Native. She has directed ten short films and the throughline of all of her work is adversity, empathy, and resilience. She seeks to place womxn at the center of her narratives and sees her career as a love letter to them.

Producer

JOSS UTTING is an Australian film producer living in Los Angeles. In 2018, she graduated with distinction from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Media (Communications), while working at VICE, Asia in Video Production. Jocelyn's passion is to create content reflective of contemporary issues and to provide an educational voice for her generation. She has produced internationally, and her clientele includes Lee Jeans, Australia Post, Transport Accident Commission Australia and Ecca Vandal.

Key cast:

Elena Heuzé

Looking for:

film festival directors, distributors, sales agents, buyers

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/andiobarski/?hl=en

Hashtags used:

#lgbt #queercinema #femalecinematographer #butchlesbian #filmmaking #kodak5219 #shootfilmstaybroke #makemoviesthatmatter #fashionfilm #passionproject #queer #lesbian #butch

More info:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-birth-of-a-beautiful-butch

Made in association with:

AFI Conservatory