In, Out is a short animated documentary, directed by Allison Brownmoore, currently in development with Screen Australia. We’re moving into production at the end of 2024, and are excited to be running our second Diversity Placement Scheme with animator Lucie Colborne.
Logline
A short animated documentary that celebrates bisexuality through the experiences of 3 incredible women – each with compelling stories which illustrate the fun, messy, chaotic, and often non-linear dissonance of sexuality within a beautifully animated landscape.
Synopsis
In, Out is a short animated documentary exploring sexuality, it’s about finding yourself amongst the noise, and recognising that discovering your sexual identity can be fun, chaotic, isolating, messy and – sometimes – non linear. It is a dissonant chorus of bisexuals, a provocative yet intimate experience of distinct and disparate voices that collectively probe the cracks and fissures of the joy and complexities of sexuality.
Bisexuals comprise over fifty percent of the LGBTQI+ community, and yet we are marginalised both within that community, and within society. Gay and lesbian acceptance and representation has made leaps and bounds over these past decades. We have also had significant progressions regarding gender fluidity – but what about sexual fluidity?
Three compelling stories from three compelling women, in a unique landscape where each subject has her animated style, pulling audiences into new understandings.
Firstly, we have Ashlei. New to LA from small town Ohio, she soon becomes lost in the complexity of her sexuality. She barricades herself in her closet (the irony of which not withstanding) and calls a help line. The queen on the other end of the line gives her clear instruction – go and kiss all the girls. She wipes her tears and dutifully googles; where to find lesbians. There’s a yoghurt shop nearby, apparently, so she preps and descends. When she arrives, however, she finds gays and dogs, no lesbians to be found. Apparently, they don’t like yoghurt.
She pivots and finds a club, and there, everything changes. She kisses all the girls. And some more. She emerges from the club smeared in lipstick and with newfound clarity. What a ride.
We then meet Allison, a lesbian, as she gets her first boyfriend, and has to come out, all over again. Allison lives in a country town in rural Australia with her recently ex-girlfriend. She’s learning to swim. Haunted by years of school swimming carnival failures – she’s never been able to get to the end of the 50m pool.
Then one evening at a party – everything changes. Allison meets a boy. Suddenly everything she knew is thrown into disarray. Her queer friends are confused, and distance themselves. Allison attempts to navigate this new relationship with a shattered identity. She’s lost her sense of self and her community, who are judgemental in their response. On the eve of Mardi Gras, instead of dancing in the street with her girlfriend like she did the year before – she heads to the pool… And for the first time… she swims to the end. She finally did it. Herself. Her way.
And finally, Marcy. Deep in the Midwest, she is a bisexual pastor who takes an incredible leap of faith – in regards to her relationships, to her community, to her career. She is intent on opening the hearts and minds of individuals with her lyrical approach to life and beyond. She is our impartial melodic guide, giving rise to elusive thought and probing quizzically at the complexities of sexuality.
In, Out is a film about sexual identity. This film is about accepting not only others for their differences, but also yourself.
Visibility
This film is a celebration of sexuality, with a particular focus on bringing forward bisexual stories which are positive and optimistic, in a landscape which is incredibly sparse of such representation.
Bisexual people are often excluded or rendered invisible in LGBTQ+ spaces and conversations, and as they represent the majoirty of the queer community – they are known as the ‘invisible majority’. With feelings of isolation and exclusiion from both sides of society, bisexuals are at significantly higher risk of mental health issues than gays and lesbians. One in four bisexual people have attempted suicide.
In response to these complexities, this film is a timely reminder that sexuality doesn’t need to be a rigid box ticking exercise. For many people, their sexuality can be non-linear, and the suffocation that surrounds society’s insistence on box ticking can be challenging. Surely, it should be a choice? If we can generate discussions and progressions towards gender fluidity, can we do the same in regards to sexuality?
By celebrating stories of sexuality which are complex, unexpected and/or non-linear, we can highlight that sexuality can also be a whole lot of fun. If we can let go, and open our hearts and minds, we can celebrate the joy amongst the chaos.
Look Development
After extensive research during our development phase, we have selected three engaging contributors with compelling narratives to shape the film. We have recorded interviews with the contributors, and are working with their VO to lead the animation for the film.
As the film is representative of the spectrum of sexuality, it is important our three stories are visually unique. As such, we are employing three distinct aesthetics, connected thematically and tonally.
Allison’s story is frame by frame apocolyptic punk, Mad Max style. Ashlei’s story leans into the hopes + aspirations of LA dreaming with a creative minimalistic approach. And Marcy’s story is inspired thematically by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with themes of love and order/disorder set within a magical forest.
Our team have a strong background in creating visuals for high end theatrical feature documentary, and will draw on this experience to create compelling visuals which serve exclusively to compliment the narrative.
Our focus is to take the viewer on a visual journey which deepens their experience and connection to the narrative, and use animation to bridge connections and opportunities within the complexity of the subject matter.
Diversity Scheme
We are excited to be running our second Diversity Placement Scheme to bring on board an animator to collaborate with on the film, similar to how we did for our previous animated film, Dog Park. We are thrilled to announce Lucie Colborne will be joining us on our journey, and looking forward to working together.
Animation by: Past Curfew
Director/Writer/Producer: Allison Brownmoore
Producer: Sally Aitken
Script Editor: Erica Harrison
Editor: Simon Phegan
Animation Director: Sylvain Doussa
Lead Animator: Kevin Smy
Animator: Lucie Colborne