ABOUT THE FILM

Over the past decade, I’ve become fascinated by the ways technology opens new possibilities for human connection, particularly when it comes to romantic encounters. Today’s world of online dating isn’t so different from the chat rooms where queer people found each other when I was a teenager. In a world of avatars and curated profiles, our sense of self becomes fluid, and the streams of images and ideas we encounter open up all sorts of possibilities about who we are, who we might be, and who we could be.

In ALLEY CAT, two young people are in the process of finding themselves. Like I was at their age, they are always online and desperate for affection. One dreams of fame as a way of finding love; the other has only experienced intimacy through a pair of headphones. Through an unconventional friendship, they each offer something the other needs, and together, their experience of both gender and sexuality becomes a space for play and experimentation. Less a film about identity than a film about exploration, this is one of my favorites of the films I’ve made.

SYNOPSIS

Isolated in his Southern town, a young man invents a female alter-ego to become closer to his roommate, a high school dropout who dreams of stardom.

TECHNICAL

2024 | 17 minutes | 1.85:1 | Digital 4K

CONTENT WARNING

Profanity, Sexuality