Episodes
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This week we're closing out season two of The OutCast with the third and final installment of our Highlights from Outfest LA series! Kicking things off, host David Kittredge speaks with writer/director Javier Fuentes-León about his terrific, Buñuelian new film THE BEST FAMILIES, embracing metaphor and blending genres as a means of storytelling, and the importance of confession across all of his work. Then, David sits down with rising independent filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun about her chilling and unforgettable Sundance hit WE'RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD'S FAIR, her fascination with structure in storytelling, and the process of translating the experience of gender dysphoria into a film. From everyone at Outfest, thank you for joining us for a fantastic season of compelling conversations with queer and trans creators!
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This week we're back with Part Two in our finale series highlighting some of our favorite films from the 2021 edition of Outfest Los Angeles! First, host David Kittredge chats with director Nathan Hale Williams about adapting George M. Johnson's memoir into the film ALL BOYS AREN'T BLUE, challenging assumptions about being Black and gay, and juggling careers as a filmmaker, published author, and entertainment lawyer. Then, we're joined by BOY CULTURE: THE SERIES creator Q. Allan Brocka and lead actor Darryl Stephens to discuss continuing the story of the hit 2006 gay film into an episodic series, updating its approach to sex work in the digital age, and embracing your inner daddy.
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Missing episodes?
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We're closing out this season on the OutCast with a three-part (!) finale to celebrate the 2021 edition of the Outfest Los Angeles film festival by highlighting six terrific films from the program that we love and just can't stop thinking about. In Part One, host David Kittredge kicks things off by chatting with Outfest Director of Festival Programming Mike Dougherty about the state of LGBTQ+ cinema and the practice of throwing a safe and successful in-person film festival amidst pandemic restrictions. Then, he speaks with the iconic Charles Busch, co-director Carl Andress, and cinematographer Jendra Jarnagin about the classic film inspirations and hilarious narrative hijinks behind THE SIXTH REEL which world premiered at the festival this year. And finally he leads a rollicking discussion on artistic discipline, the importance of taking risks, and filming competitive rowing sequences with director/writer Lauren Hadaway whose feature debut THE NOVICE screened as the U.S. Centerpiece this year after its development in Outfest's Screenwriting Lab.
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Filmmaking and friendship set the tone this week as Independent Spirit Award-nominated writer/director Yen Tan (1985, Pit Stop) joins host and real-life pal David Kittredge to discuss his life, career, and filmmaking influences. From first seeing Thelma and Louise at age 16 in his native Malaysia to premiering a feature at the Sundance Film Festival twenty years later, Tan's life in film owes as much to his own tender artistry and graphic design background as it does his reverence for the stories of gay men and the worlds around them. With two modern LGBTQ+ classics already created - one fostered with the help of the Outfest Screenwriting Lab - we can't wait to see where Yen Tan goes next.
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In honor of Gossip Girl's return on HBO Max, creator/showrunner Joshua Safran chats from the New York set with host David Kittredge about his eclectic and accomplished career - and, of course, upper-class high school elites, depicting bathhouse culture onscreen, and the young and queer cast populating this exciting new sequel series. Tracing his time in the industry through development deals and Hollywood script doctoring to executive producing Smash and creating shows like Quantico on ABC and Soundtrack on Netflix, Safran’s insight into the creative business of television makes this a must-listen for entertainment aficionados.
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What happens to your career after the low budget feature you directed, wrote, produced, edited and starred in is picked up by Ava DuVernay's distribution company, lands a Netflix deal and gets an Independent Spirit Award nomination? This week, award-winning filmmaker Isabel Sandoval talks with host David Kittredge about her breakout indie hit Lingua Franca as well as her acclaimed films Señorita and Apparition, her short form work for the brand Miu Miu, her fascination with power dynamics in cinema (and having Jane Fonda in Klute as an inspiration), and her own personal journey as an artist. Sandoval went from earning her MBA from NYU to becoming the first transgender woman with a film in competition at the Venice Film Festival, and she breaks down how she makes personal and political stories with rich visuals, both in her native Philippines as well as the United States. Aspiring filmmakers, take note!
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This week on The OutCast Presented by Outfest, we celebrate the incredible work of New Queer Cinema filmmaking giant Cheryl Dunye as she joins host David Kittredge to explore her entire career, from her early short films all the way to her recent episodic work on series like Lovecraft Country. With her groundbreaking hit The Watermelon Woman, Dunye became the first out Black lesbian to direct a feature film, and created a classic of independent American cinema - but fans of the movie might be surprised to discover her own personal history around working in a Philadelphia video store. From her approach to melding narrative and documentary form to her focus upon centering the stories of Black lesbians in a medium that has rarely made room for them, this is a conversation no film lover should miss!
Now, for the 20th Anniversary of her brilliant film Stranger Inside, Outfest is proud to salute the milestone with a free screening and Q&A on Outfest Now from June 21-27.
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The team behind the Outfest Los Angeles award-winning Hulu documentary Changing the Game (Director Michael Barnett, Producer Alex Schmider, and champion wrestler Mack Beggs) joins host David Kittredge to discuss the film and how it tells the story of transgender youth athletes in the United States. Barnett talks about the high bar of cinematically framing the subjects as heroes within their own stories, Schmider discusses how visibility for the trans community differs vitally from those of LGB experience, and Beggs digs into his life since the film was made, including his recent move into trans activism and speaking to audiences about his experiences as an elite teenage athlete. It’s an enlightening no-holds-barred conversation about a fantastic documentary you’ll definitely want to see!
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The category is POSE on the first episode of season two of The OutCast Presented By Outfest! Host David Kittredge welcomes creator Steven Canals and stars Mj Rodriguez and Billy Porter to chat about their work in making the groundbreaking series in advance of the series finale on FX. Steven recounts the 166 meetings it took before getting a green light, while Mj takes us back to her first audition for the role of Blanca and which Rihanna song she was listening to when she found out she got the part, and Billy shares his thoughts on dreaming the impossible and how he fused his own personal story into the character of Pray Tell. It’s 10s across the board as POSE comes to a close and the three talented artists share their future plans!
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It’s part two of the OutCast’s season finale and we’re highlighting three more films from the 2020 Outfest LA Festival! First, host David Kittredge chats with writer/director Travis Fine & star Kate Bornstein about their beautiful triptych TWO EYES, which tells three interweaving stories spanning centuries across the American West. Then, writer/directors Michael Seligman & Jennifer Tiexiera and producer Craig Olsen talk about how finding a trove of letters lead to P.S. BURN THIS LETTER PLEASE, their wonderful documentary about the lives of fabulous queens in pre-Stonewall New York. And then, writer/director Jonathan Wysocki and star Nick Pugliese take us to 1994 in the hilarious and heartwarming DRAMARAMA, a crowd-pleasing love letter to drama nerds and the intense friendships of youth… complete with Sondheim references.
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It’s the OutCast’s first season finale! We’re highlighting five 2020 Outfest LA Festival films and it’s so big, it’s two parts! In part one, host David Kittredge chats with Outfest Executive Director Damien Navarro and Director of Programming Mike Dougherty about the challenges and triumphs of this year’s festival. Then, director Olivia Peace and star Madeline Grey DeFreece chat about their fun and funny coming-of-age feature TAHARA, and writer/director Anna Kerrigan and trans actor Sasha Knight talk about shooting in Montana with their powerful father-and-trans-son-on-the-lam crowd-pleaser COWBOYS. Next week in part 2, David talks to the teams behind TWO EYES, P.S. BURN THIS LETTER PLEASE and DRAMARAMA!
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The OutCast presented by Outfest is taking this week off to finish producing the big season one finale next week, highlighting some of the best films from Outfest Los Angeles Film Festival 2020. That episode will feature filmmakers from TAHARA, COWBOYS, TWO EYES, P.S. BURN THIS LETTER PLEASE and DRAMARAMA. Tune in next week!
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Building a successful career as a director in the industry is tough— but to do it as a woman when almost all working directors were men? That’s a triumph. Host David Kittredge delves deep with trailblazing director Jamie Babbit, from her start working on set with David Fincher to her LGBT classic But I’m A Cheerleader, through her impressive career directing episodes of Nip/Tuck, Gilmore Girls, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The L Word, Girls, Looking, Silicon Valley, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Russian Doll, among many others. Being a pioneer is never easy, but Jamie’s continuing journey is a remarkable story of artistic resilience and endless creative curiosity.
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It’s all about indie filmmaking this week on the OutCast Presented by Outfest! Host David Kittredge catches up with his friend, filmmaker, actor and musician H.P. Mendoza, about why being a tech nerd can help you shoot indie movies for incredibly low budgets, how being an introvert can boost productivity, how to navigate a successful relationship with another creative, and why a love of movies like SHOWGIRLS and THE ROOM is crucial to being a filmmaker.
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We’re going back to our indie film roots this week on The OutCast Presented By Outfest, when host David Kittredge talks with one of the most acclaimed producers of the past few decades, Christine Vachon. From her start working on the set of PARTING GLANCES to shepherding iconic movies of the New Queer Cinema, to founding her company Killer Films and its celebrated films including POISON, BOYS DON’T CRY, VELVET GOLDMINE and HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, Christine talks about the radical shifts how content is created, how living through the AIDS crisis inspired her and other artists to get their stories heard, what she looks for in a project, and her unashamed love of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE.
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Take a trip through the celluloid closet of trans visibility with host David Kittredge as he chats with the filmmakers behind the acclaimed documentary DISCLOSURE: director Sam Feder, producer Amy Scholder and executive producer Laverne Cox. From the years of outreach, fundraising, shooting and editing to the joy of seeing the film premiere to ecstatic reviews at Sundance, to the heartbreak of the pandemic impeding its festival run and the film’s release on Netflix, the filmmakers candidly discuss what it took to make this landmark documentary both personally and professionally, as well as the importance of trans visibility, maybe now more than ever.
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It’s all about theater on this episode of The OutCast Presented by Outfest, when host David Kittredge has an in-depth chat with acclaimed director Michael Mayer and actors Christian Borle and Jonathan Groff about their 2020 production of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, Mayer’s SPRING AWAKENING and THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, Borle’s roles from FALSETTOS to the TV show SMASH, and Groff’s roles from FROZEN to HAMILTON— and why they all love working together so much. From the future of theater post-pandemic, to the very specific patch Groff had to wear for a sex scene in the TV series LOOKING, it’s a wild and fun ride!
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On the latest episode of The OutCast Presented by Outfest, host David Kittredge chats with Outfest alumnus and award-winning producer/director Jeffrey Schwarz (VITO, I AM DIVINE, THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR, TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL and many others) about his passion for documentary filmmaking, how he chooses his projects, and the “best night of his life” at the 30th anniversary of Outfest Los Angeles. Listen now!
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On the latest episode from the OutCast-- host David Kittredge kikis with drag superstars Bob The Drag Queen, Shangela, and Eureka O’Hara about their HBO Original Series We’re Here. The fabulous trio spills the tea about their favorite moments during filming, how they support queens of color during these challenging times, and their plans to return to the stage in the ‘new normal’.
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What do punk rock, aliens and 70s London have in common? Take out your wig in a box and listen to the latest episode of The OutCast Presented by Outfest as David Kittredge is joined by award-winning actor, writer, director and musician John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), co-composer Bryan Weller (How to Talk to Girls at Parties), and editor Brian Kates (We The Animals, Shortbus) as they discuss “Anthem: Homunculus,” their epic six-hour, 10-episode musical podcast. The trio shares their process in creating this ground-breaking rock musical, how Mitchell’s life inspired the story and the unprecedented nature of this moment in time. You won’t want to miss this episode!
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