A genderqueer pre-teen defies a grieving mother and an uncomprehending best friend to embody their true gender and sexual identities in the wake of a family tragedy.



Why this film?



PONY is a genderqueer take on the traditional coming-of-age narrative. Set in the late-90s, our protagonist, Zoe, a masculine-of-center preteen who is AFAB (assigned female at birth), defies the gender expectations of their mother and friend as they grieve the death of their twin sibling. This story is based on my own experience as a gender-confused millennial child growing up in the '90s and '00s, in a thoroughly haunted house. PONY also weaves in the larger story of suicides and homicides experienced by LGBTQ children and preteens in the US and internationally, which affects my community every day.


Learn more about the story and characters on our Story and Characters page.


Story and Characters

Why me?



My name is Halo Rossetti (they/them), and I am a queer and nonbinary artist and filmmaker. On the left is a photo of me as a child (right) with my mum as I was growing up in mid-90's Australia. In my work, I center the queer and trans experience, from my perspective and from the identities that intersect with my own. As previously mentioned, this film weaves together my personal experience growing up as a gender-confused millennial child in the 90’s and ’00s, along with the larger stories of suicides and homicides which affect my community every day. With my years of queer community building and visual storytelling experience (MFA in Film and Media Arts, Temple University 2021). I believe that I am the right person to tell this timely story and hope that you will join me on this journey.


Learn more about Halo and the creative team by clicking the link below!


Team

Why now?



Not only is there an epidemic of LGBTQ suicides in this country, but our community is now faced with a pandemic of a different sort. The social fallout from COVID-19 will be just as all-encompassing as the financial one, and LGBTQ people have already been particularly affected. We are the most likely to be immunocompromised (HIV/AIDS) and smokers, and our community is more reluctant to seek out care due to discrimination. Not only this, but our community is still traumatized by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, a virus that decimated our numbers and left my generation without many queer elders to look up to. The impact of COVID-19 expands beyond even this, as LGBTQ youth are being forced out of their college dorms and back home with their families, many of whom are not accepting of their gender and sexual identities. Over 100 anti-LGBTQ bills have been passed since Trump’s inauguration, and the number continues to rise as the world is distracted by COVID-19. We need accurate, enlivening LGBTQ stories, media representation, and solidarity in the film industry. Now more than ever, we are stronger together.



Why you?



Whether you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community or a loved one, we hope you will consider joining us on this journey.


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Copyright © Halo Rossetti, 2020

All Rights Reserved



PONY is fiscially sponosred by The Film Collaborative, a non-profit organization with 501 (c)(3). All donations are tax deductible