“Who are these men noticing me? Who are these men giving me the long, soft stare, eyes holding mine like they got something for me, something they can’t talk about, something only eyes can pass along. Who are these men whispering ‘hi, papi’ to me? I don’t think I look more male today than I did yesterday.”

Gabrielle Rivera wanted an all-queer cast for her first short film. When she ended up with straight girls in her three butch/AG leads she found herself giving them a crash-course in abandoning gender norms, taking up space and playing gay. And then everything changed, forever.