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Trans actor Leo is struggling to find his footing in New York. Between endless auditions and an unfulfilling relationship, his days blend together in a haze of uncertainty. But when Eleanor—Leo’s boisterous best friend from college—shows up unannounced, she sweeps him away on a spontaneous trip to the countryside. There, surrounded by rolling green hills and sheltering woods, they hope to rediscover the close bond that time and life changes have threatened.

Arriving at a picturesque lakeside cabin, Eleanor jumps right back into their playful dynamic. For Leo, though, navigating this reunion proves complicated. Gradually asserting his queer identity has necessarily altered their friendship’s dynamic. And glimpses of Eleanor’s own instability hint that her carefree facade may veil deeper agonies.

Noah Schamus’ intimate debut subtlety explores these intimate tensions. Shot on a shoestring budget, Summer Solstice prioritizes nuanced performances over cinematic flourishes. Bobby Salvör Menuez...

Noah Schamus, as many creatives did, used their time unemployed in the pandemic lockdown to write a feature. The result is the warm, wise, and unsentimental “Summer Solstice,” an Éric Rohmer-inspired tale of friendship about trans actor Leo (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) and the whirling dervish in a daffodil dress who lands back in his life, his long-ago and cisgender friend Eleanor (Marianne Rendón).

But beyond lessons learned in the pandemic or years before at Columbia film school during undergrad, “Summer Solstice” writer/director Schamus also learned a great deal from an unlikely source of inspiration: director Greta Gerwig. In 2019, Schamus cut their teeth on a major studio movie as a post-production assistant on “Little Women.”

It ”was incredible to just see the scope of what is possible for a filmmaker who comes from the indie space, from a mumblecore space, who then has stepped up into these sort of enormous and wonderful productions,...

It was an Inside Out specialty weekend, fairly quiet and with a stream of indies films and more wide releases. The schedule is starting to recover from a strike-induced slump that, however, provided oxygen to some indies.

Small films have been competing for screens with majors at arthouses from Alamo Drafthouse to Landmark since theaters reopened post-Covid and the more of them there are, the harder it is. It’s nice to see major back and the broader box office on a solid footing. But it would also be nice to see more indie breakouts like Civil War, Late Night With The Devil, Immaculate, Wicked Little Letters, One Life or Love Lies Bleeding.

“June is crowded” with indies now, says one distributor. And theaters “don’t have space to support indies in a meaningful way.”

Others are heartened by recent wide-release blowouts. “It’s still a tough market. But I...

The only thing more powerful than a first impression is a second one — at least, that’s the bet that “Summer Solstice,” a new anti-romantic comedy from Cartilage Films, makes on itself. Beginning with a character giving an impassioned monologue recounting his gender-affirming surgery, the speech quickly curdles into something pretty tacky, even including the line, “I went from a caterpillar to a butterfly.” But then another voice interrupts: “Okay, thanks. That’s enough.” This has all been in an audition room. And the audition is not going well.

“I had a family member come to a screening. And she said, ‘I was terrified in the first 30 seconds that this movie was going to be so awful,’” says writer-director Noah Schamus with a laugh.

The scene reorients to introduce Leo (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a transgender man treading water in the ever-replenishing pool of auditioning New York actors. The performance drops and Leo returns to reality,...

Leo, a 20-something aspiring actor, is navigating a creative crisis in Summer Solstice, the feature debut from writer-director Noah Schamus. More aptly, Leo (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is frustrated with the reductive and trite roles he is constantly up for, compounded by the reality that these seem to be the only gigs available to him as a trans actor. It appears that much-needed distraction arrives when Elenor (Marianne Rendón), his best friend from college, pays a visit to his NYC apartment on her way upstate for a house-sitting job. After convincing Leo to join her, the duo drive to the Hudson […]

The post “What It Means to be Constantly Coming of Age”: Writer/Director Noah Schamus on Summer Solstice first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Leo, a 20-something aspiring actor, is navigating a creative crisis in Summer Solstice, the feature debut from writer-director Noah Schamus. More aptly, Leo (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is frustrated with the reductive and trite roles he is constantly up for, compounded by the reality that these seem to be the only gigs available to him as a trans actor. It appears that much-needed distraction arrives when Elenor (Marianne Rendón), his best friend from college, pays a visit to his NYC apartment on her way upstate for a house-sitting job. After convincing Leo to join her, the duo drive to the Hudson […]

The post “What It Means to be Constantly Coming of Age”: Writer/Director Noah Schamus on Summer Solstice first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Writer/director Noah Schamus takes us on a delightful but sharp-edged jaunt to Upstate New York with their sun-dappled and warmly directed buddy comedy, “Summer Solstice.” The film stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez as a trans actor tumbling through one dead-end audition after another, only to be jolted back to life by the sudden reappearance of a long-ago friend, the straight and cisgender Eleanor (Marianne Rendón). But Eleanor knew Leo before he began transitioning, a process Leo is still going through, much to his own social discomfort about revealing that. The unapologetically queer (and on all sides of the camera) “Summer Solstice” is wise and unsentimental in all the right places, even as its ending hits at a sweeter spot than the otherwise gently sardonic movie that comes before it.

“We’re looking for a transgender man or a transgender woman: Which one are you?” a tasteless casting director asks Leo...

Following a festival tour, Noah Schamus’ directorial debut Summer Solstice will, fittingly, be arriving this summer from Cartilage Films, the indie distributor of another stellar recent directorial debut, Free Time. A tale of a friendship with a queer and trans perspective, the film will open on June 14 at NYCs IFC Center, followed by a June 21 release on LA’s Laemmle Glendale. Ahead of the release, the first trailer has now arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “Trans man Leo’s (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) life is a jumble of auditions, acting classes, barista jobs, and situationships, all of which he hopes will amount to more. Unexpectedly, Leo’s college best friend, cisgender and straight Eleanor (Marianne Rendón), calls Leo announcing that she’ll be driving through NYC, and offers to pick him up for an impromptu trip upstate. They embark on the weekend getaway, marking their first time spent together since Leo began transitioning.

"Still me, Eleanor. Definitely still me. Cartilage Films has revealed an official US trailer for an indie drama titled Summer Solstice, set for small art house summer opening in limited theaters this June. The film originally premiered at the 2023 Provincetown Film Festival, as well as the Deauville, Woodstock, and BFI Flare Film Festivals. Summer Solstice centers on Leo, a trans man, and Eleanor, his cisgender and straight friend from college, who embark on an impromptu weekend trip together going upsate. They uncover old secrets, new challenges, and find the answer to the age-old question: can bad sex and good friends mix? Maybe! Maybe not? Starring Bobbi Salvör Menuez as Leo and Marianne Rendón as Eleanor. One early review praises this as "a remarkable little movie about finding emotional maturity through honesty, most importantly with yourself." This looks like it features two lovely lead performances within a heartfelt story. // Continue Reading...

Cartilage Films has acquired worldwide rights to “Summer Solstice,” a new comedy that marks the feature debut of its writer and director Noah Schamus. The movie boasts an ensemble cast led by breakout performances from Bobbi Salvör Menuez (“Under the Silver Lake”) and Marianne Rendón (“Charlie Says”).

The producers are billing Schamus’s film as a modern twist on the buddy comedy, with this one told from a queer and trans perspective. It comes as filmmakers are offering fresh takes on queer stories.

“Summer Solstice” world premiered at Provincetown Film Festival and then went on to screen at New York’s LGBTQ+ film festival NewFest, with additional selections at Mill Valley Film Festival, Woodstock Film Festival and Deauville American Film Festival. It will be released in theaters beginning June 14 in New York at the IFC Center with a national rollout to follow.

In “Summer Solstice,” trans man Leo’s (Bobbi...

Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) leads the genre-bending werewolf movie My Animal, available now in select theaters and VOD, and the musically inclined actor also wrote and performed a new single “Wicked Animal” now available to stream.

The new single is available to listen to now, which Stenberg wrote, produced and plays everything on the track.

Stenberg says of the track in a press release, “I wrote this track from the bathroom of a hotel in a tiny town situated between mountains of snow in northern Ontario during the filming of our movie My Animal. Sometimes my costar Bobbi and I wandered up and down the icy block that made up downtown, but most of the time we found solace from the cold in our room together, singing on handheld karaoke mics. This song came from that place of deep isolation and playfulness.”

My Animal, the feature debut of director Jacqueline Castel,...

My Animal, the feature debut of director Jacqueline Castel, gives a new spin on the werewolf mythos in a sexual coming-of-age genre-bender.

The feature debut centers on a secret tryst between small town hockey player Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) and ice skater Jonny (Bodies Bodies Bodies’ Amandla Stenberg) that grows ever more dangerous thanks to a family werewolf curse.

My Animal premiered in select theaters on September 8 and will be released on Digital outlets on September 15.

Bloody Disgusting previously spoke with Castel about her debut out of Sundance, where the filmmaker broke down the werewolf metaphor and the symbolism behind her use of the color red. Ahead of its theatrical release, Castel shared the real-life chemistry between her leads for her twisted werewolf romance and how that translated to the screen.

Castel recalls how her casting fell into place, leading to a pair of leads who already had built-in chemistry.

We’ve got yet another interview for a huge winner on the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Midnight line-up, Jacqueline Castel’s directorial debut, My Animal. The film features a fantastic lead performance from Bobbi Salvör Menuez as Heather, a teen outcast living in a small northern town. When Heather, a hockey goalie, falls for Amandla Stenberg’s figure skater, Johnny, Heather finally starts to embrace her truth, but quickly finds herself up against local conformity, a clash that tests an especially powerful force within her because Heather comes from a family of werewolves.

Warning: Spoilers for My Animal.

My Animal is a horror romance film that explores the connection between LGBTQ+ romance and werewolf lore. The film follows the story of Heather, a teenager living with a family curse, and her relationship with ice skater Jonny. The transformation into werewolves in the film is symbolic of the violent growth and self-discovery experienced by young people within the queer community.

New horror romance My Animal made its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and is currently available in select theaters. Slated for a digital release on Friday, September 15th, the film follows a teenager who is forced to live with a harrowing family curse that rears its ugly head every full moon. However, once she falls for an ice skater named Jonny, everything Heather has fought to keep hidden is at risk of being exposed.

My Animal is directed by Jacqueline Castel, with...

The feature film debut of filmmaker Jacqueline Castel, My Animal, is a werewolf love story that stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Amandla Stenberg as Heather and Jonny, two young women who fall in love in a small town. In addition to bigotry, the girls have to deal with a major problem. Heather comes from a family of werewolves. As the romance grows, the girls realize that love requires many sacrifices.

Jacqueline Castel joined Cbr for an exclusive chat to discuss her new genre-bending film. During the conversation, Castel dived into the exciting original script by Jae Matthews of the electronic music group Boy Harsher, the layered casting process of the film, and the original ending of My Animal that would have shown the main characters reconnect years later.

Cbr: How did you first get involved with Jae Matthews' script?

Jacqueline Castel: Well, it's funny because I had done a lot...

If Halloween is indeed "gay Christmas," as it is lovingly called by many folks in the LGBTQ+ community, then My Animal makes for a solid teaser. Directed by Jacqueline Castel and written by Jae Matthews, both of whom are making their feature film debuts here, My Animal follows Heather (played by non-binary actor Bobbi Salvör Menuez) as she moves through her small northern town as an outcast, trying to keep her darkest secrets from coming to light. Tomboyish and desperate to play on her town's all-male hockey team, not only is Heather secretly queer, but she is also a werewolf (the product of a family curse).

Every full moon, her father — also a werewolf — and her overbearing alcoholic of a mother chain Heather to her bed as she completes her lycan transformation. Though it seems this is done to protect herself and others, it wouldn't be surprising if the main...

My Animal has come a long way since its world premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival 2023. Initially selected as part of Sundance's Midnight program, the film, directed by Jacqueline Castel and written by Jae Matthews, played alongside other horror movies that have since made waves with audiences worldwide, like Infinity Pool, Run Rabbit Run, and Talk to Me. What's more, prior to My Animal's festival premiere, Paramount Global Content Distribution acquired the global distribution rights (minus Canada) to Castel's film, and it's now set to release in theaters September 8 (per The Hollywood Reporter).

Starring Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Amandla Stenberg, My Animal offers a moody and unique take on the werewolf subgenre of horror. Set in a small town, the film sees Heather (Menuez) trying to make the best out of her grim circumstances: she wants nothing more than to join a hockey team, but...

Award-winning director Jacqueline Castel combines werewolf mythology with themes of inheritance and self-acceptance in her visually stunning debut film, My Animal. The film immerses the audience in Heather's perspective and explores her complex relationships, including the growing romance with Amandla Stenberg's Jonny and the dysfunctional bond with her own mother. Castel's attention to detail and use of symbolism, such as a consistent color palette, heightens the emotional impact of the movie and creates a dreamlike experience for viewers.

Award-winning director Jacqueline Castel takes on her feature film debut in My Animal, a surprising werewolf movie that explores much more than the mythology at hand. Bobbi Salvör Menuez plays Heather, an outcast with a terrifying secret she must hide every full moon, whose life takes a sharp turn for the more romantic when she meets Jonny (Amandla Stenberg). The screenplay, written by Jae Matthews, is as much a meditation...

The pumpkin spice flows free, and streaming services have begun to unveil their densely packed Halloween programming. That means the Halloween season is officially here, at least as far as horror is concerned. To help you prepare for the onslaught of horror, here’s a helpful Fall 2023 Horror Preview Guide.

It’s a densely packed slate this Halloween, and trust us, this is only the tip of the iceberg for what’s ahead. Expect plenty of surprise release announcements in store as more streaming services debut their seasonal releases, schedules, and beyond.

Here are 31 horror releases coming soon to help you get into the spooky spirit!

#ChadGetsTheAxe – September 1 (VOD)

Influencers get more than they bargained for in this horror comedy based on a short. The film “follows four social media influencers as they live-stream their trip to Devil’s Manor, the former home of a Satanic Cult. Things don’t go well.

Embarking on an enthralling journey into the supernatural realm, Jacqueline Castel’s directorial debut My Animal is a homage to classic werewolf love stories but with a contemporary twist. A coming-of-age tale that incorporates horror and romance, My Animal centers around social outcast Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), who is shunned by her small town because of her family curse. But her world transforms when she catches feelings for the rebellious Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), sparking a connection that allows both of them to unleash their deepest yearnings.

Paramount has debuted a new trailer for the genre-bending supernatural love story ‘My Animal.’

Tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny, their connection threatens to unravel Heather’s suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.

Directed by Jacqueline Castel, the movie stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Heidi von Palleske, Cory Lipman, Charlie & Harrison Halpenny, Joe Apollonio, Scott Thompson, Dean McDermott and Stephen McHattie.

Also in trailers – “Tenacity is a superpower…” Michael Peña stars in trailer for ‘A Million Miles Away’

The film hits select U.S. cinemas in September 8th, followed by a digital release on the 15th of September.

The post Love doesn’t run smooth in trailer for ‘My Animal’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

The horror romance My Animal – which stars Amandla Stenberg of Bodies Bodies Bodies (read our review of that one Here) and Bobbi Salvör Menuez of Nocturnal Animals (which we reviewed at This Link) – has been getting positive reviews and strong word of mouth from its festival screenings, and a wider audience will soon have the chance to see it. The movie will be receiving a limited theatrical release on September 8th, with a digital release following on September 15th. And with those dates drawing near, a trailer for My Animal has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.

My Animal is coming our way from Paramount Global Content Distribution. The feature directorial debut of Jacqueline Castel, who was working from a screenplay by first-time feature writer Jae Matthews, the film is set in a small northern town and tells the story of Heather, an outcast teenage...

Bobbi Salvör Menuez (Euphoria) and Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) ignite in this genre-bending supernatural love story. Tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny, their connection threatens to unravel Heather's suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.    Jacqueline Castel's Sundance midnighter My Animal will arrive in select theaters on September 8, 2023 and on digital on September 15, 2023. Paramount is distribuing the slow-burn werewolf flick next month so they have sent along the official trailer and key art so you know what to look for.    My Animal stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Heidi von Palleske, Cory Lipman, Charlie &...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

"I'll be back before midnight, so..." Paramount Global has revealed an official trailer for a supernatural love story titled My Animal, from filmmaker Jacqueline Castel. This first premiered in the Midnight section of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and also played at the Fantasia & Overlook Film Festivals. Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Amandla Stenberg ignite in this genre-bending horror film. Tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather (an outcast teenage goalie) is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny (a tormented figure skater), their connection threatens to unravel Heather's suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within (clearly it's a werewolf). "Beneath the surface of a harrowing family drama, a steamy teen romance, and a classic monster tale, Castel bolsters this genre gem with a tactile and emotional excavation of otherness." The cast includes Heidi von Palleske,...

Werewolf films are one of the more unique sub-genres in all of horror due to the fact that they don’t come along as often as vampire or zombie movies. Even when fans do get a new werewolf story to sink their teeth into, it’s a 50/50 silver bullet shot in the dark if it’ll be good or not. However, Amandla Stenberg’s new film My Animal looks to change the modern werewolf perception, and its new trailer showcases the film’s steamy romantic hook. The trailer introduces horror fans to Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) who’s the outcast of her small town and dreams of playing hockey for her local team that won’t accept her. She soon falls in love with a new girl in town named Jonny (Stenberg) which further complicates her place in her controlling community.

Filmmakers love to use horny horror and genre metamorphosis for tales of eroticism or queer eroticism: hell, it works, and it’s often a beguiling mixture of moods, tones, and feelings in our nether regions. And that seems to be what filmmaker Jacqueline Castel is going for with “My Animal,” a surreal, erotic, romantic werewolf movie that premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

Written by Jae Matthews, the film stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez (from “Euphoria”), Amandla Stenberg (“Bodies Bodies Bodies”), Heidi von Palleske, Cory Lipman, Charlie & Harrison Halpenny, Joe Apollonio, Scott Thompson, Dean McDermott, and Stephen McHattie.

Continue reading ‘My Animal’ Trailer: Amandla Stenberg & ‘Euphoria’s Bobbi Salvör Menuez Star In A Trippy Lesbian Werewolf Romance at The Playlist.

Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) leads the upcoming horror movie My Animal, which Paramount has announced today that they’ll be releasing this coming September.

First reported by Indiewire, My Animal premieres in theaters September 8 and will be released on Digital outlets on September 15. You can watch the official trailer below.

My Animal, the feature debut of director Jacqueline Castel, has been rated “R” for: “Language throughout, sexual content, nudity, some drug use and violence.”

Amandla Stenberg stars in the upcoming horror movie alongside Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Stephen Mchattie, Heidi Von Palleske, Cory Lipman, and Joe Apollonio.

In the film…

“Heather, an outcast teenage goalie, longs to play on the hockey team of her small town. She meets and falls in love with newcomer Jonny, an alluring but tormented figure skater. The relationship blossoms despite Heather’s struggles with her alcoholic mother, her hidden sexual orientation, and a familial curse...

A sexual awakening unlocks a supernatural curse in first-time filmmaker Jacqueline Castel’s “My Animal,” starring “Bodies Bodies Bodies” breakout Amandla Stenberg and “Euphoria” alum Bobbi Salvör Menuez.

“My Animal” premiered at 2023 Sundance and follows an adolescent queer romance between a mysterious outsider and a burnt-out figure skater. The film was written by Jae Matthews.

Per the official synopsis, tormented by a hidden family curse, Heather (Menuez) is forced to live a secluded life on the outskirts of a small town. When she falls for the rebellious Jonny (Stenberg), their connection threatens to unravel Heather’s suppressed desires, tempting her to unleash the animal within.

Heidi von Palleske, Cory Lipman, Charlie and Harrison Halpenny, Joe Apollonio, Scott Thompson, Dean McDermott, and Stephen McHattie round out the cast. The horror-romance is produced by Andrew Bronfman and Michael Solomon, and is a Paramount Global Content Distribution release.

Director Castel called the film...

The horror romance My Animal – which stars Amandla Stenberg of Bodies Bodies Bodies (read our review of that one Here) and Bobbi Salvör Menuez of Nocturnal Animals (which we reviewed at This Link) – will be receiving a limited theatrical release on September 8th, with a digital release following on September 15th. With those dates right around the corner, the ratings board at the Motion Picture Association has gone ahead given the film an R rating for “language throughout, sexual content, nudity, some drug use and violence“.

My Animal is coming our way from Paramount Global Content Distribution. The feature directorial debut of Jacqueline Castel, who was working from a screenplay by first-time feature writer Jae Matthews, the film is set in a small northern town and tells the story of Heather, an outcast teenage hockey goalie (Menuez), who falls for the town’s newcomer (Stenberg), an alluring but tormented figure skater.

Amandla Stenberg (Bodies Bodies Bodies) stars in the upcoming horror movie My Animal, which was acquired out of the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year by Paramount.

My Animal has been officially rated “R” this week for…

“Language throughout, sexual content, nudity, some drug use and violence.”

My Animal is the feature debut of director Jacqueline Castel.

Amandla Stenberg stars in the upcoming horror movie alongside Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Stephen Mchattie, Heidi Von Palleske, Cory Lipman, and Joe Apollonio.

In the film…

“Heather, an outcast teenage goalie, longs to play on the hockey team of her small northern town. She meets and falls in love with newcomer Jonny, an alluring but tormented figure skater. The girls’ relationship blossoms despite Heather’s struggles with her alcoholic mother, her hidden sexual orientation, and a familial curse that transforms her into a feral wolf under the full moon.

“Heather and Jonny’s secret...

Amandla Stenberg has a couple of dates with Outfest next month.

First, the actress has been selected to receive the fest’s Platinum Maverick Award, an honor that “recognizes Stenberg’s artistry in film and music and her unapologetic use of her platform for fierce advocacy and activism within the LGBTQ+ community.” Stenberg will take the stage to accept the prize during opening night festivities at L.A.’s Orpheum Theatre on July 13.

Two days later, on July 15, Stenberg will turn up alongside co-star Bobbi Salvör Menuez and their director Jacqueline Castel at L.A.’s Redcat for a showing of their film, My Animal, as a festival platinum centerpiece screening. The screening, which follows a debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January, will be followed by a Platinum Alchemy Party and Music Showcase at 10Dtla, headlined by Madame Gandhi (who will receive a special award) and featuring such acts as Mega Bog,...

Musician Amandla Stenberg, Madame Gandhi to receive honours.

My Animal, Jacqueline Castel’s queer werewolf romance which premiered at Sundance, has been named the centrepiece screening at the 41st Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ film festival running July 13-23.

Outfest will honour actor, producer and musician Amandla Stenberg with its Platinum Maverick Award at the opening night in recognition of her “artistry in film and music, and her unapologetic use of her platform for fierce advocacy and activism within the LGBTQ+ community”.

Stenberg and Bobbi Salvör Menuez star in My Animal, which screens on July 15. That night Madame Gandhi will receive...

Today, Outfest announced the centerpiece events and special awardees that will headline the 41st Outfest Los Angeles Summer Festival presented by Warner Bros. Discovery and Genesis Motor America, taking place July 13 – 23 in venues around Los Angeles.

Outfest will honor actor, producer and musician Amandla Stenberg with its Platinum Maverick Award, to be presented at the festival’s opening night celebration on July 13th at the Orpheum Theatre. The award recognizes Stenberg’s artistry in film and music, and her unapologetic use of her platform for fierce advocacy and activism within the LGBTQ+ community. Stenberg will also appear alongside actor Bobbi Salvör Menuez and director Jacqueline Castel at the Redcat in downtown Los Angeles at Outfest’s July 15th Platinum Centerpiece screening of My Animal, the trio’s queer horror romance that world premiered earlier this year at Sundance.

Following the My Animal screening on July 15th will be the Platinum...

Exclusive: 1091 Pictures has acquired the U.S. rights to the new romantic drama Under My Skin. The film marks the feature debut of Australian writer-director David O’Donnell and is produced by Raynen O’Keefe and Alex Russell. 1091 Pictures is planning a June 6 on-demand release.

The story follows Denny, a free spirit and artist who falls for Ryan, a strait-laced lawyer. When Denny questions gender, their love is tested.

The lead character, Denny, is played by four different actors who identify as non-binary, or trans non-binary: Liv Hewson, Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Kylo Freeman and Lex Ryan. Producer Alex Russell and Alexis Denisof also star.

“Under My Skin follows four wonderfully gender diverse humans, all rolled into one – they inhabit the same role,” said O’Keefe, who also identifies as trans non-binary. “Where it is still an uphill battle and obstacle to argue for the sake of actors to be able to play characters who,...

Lycanthropy serves as a metaphor for burgeoning queer desire in My Animal from director Jacqueline Castel. Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is a benchwarmer on her local hockey team and deals with an alcoholic mother at home. Adding to her misery is the fact that she’s confined to her quarters during each full moon due to a dangerous transformation occurring within her. She finally finds a salve in Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), a figure skater who recently moved to town. Desperate to flee from her myriad problems, Heather hopes that Jonny will join her on the journey to society’s outskirts. Edited by […]

The post “My Techniques Are Intuitive”: Editors Marc Boucrot and Jacqueline Castel on My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Lycanthropy serves as a metaphor for burgeoning queer desire in My Animal from director Jacqueline Castel. Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is a benchwarmer on her local hockey team and deals with an alcoholic mother at home. Adding to her misery is the fact that she’s confined to her quarters during each full moon due to a dangerous transformation occurring within her. She finally finds a salve in Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), a figure skater who recently moved to town. Desperate to flee from her myriad problems, Heather hopes that Jonny will join her on the journey to society’s outskirts. Edited by […]

The post “My Techniques Are Intuitive”: Editors Marc Boucrot and Jacqueline Castel on My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a hockey player with a troubled home life, becomes instantly drawn to figure skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) who’s just rolled into town. Despite being held captive in her own house during each full moon, Heather yearns to escape and have Jonny by her side. Teeming with queer sensuality and lust-fueled lycanthropy, director Jacqueline Castel’s My Animal injects originality into a classic monster mythology. Dp Bryn McCashin tells Filmmaker about lensing the film, which entailed frigid night shoots in Northern Ontario, Canada. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did […]

The post “It Was -30 to -40 Degrees Celsius for Most of the Shoot”: Dp Bryn McCashin on My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a hockey player with a troubled home life, becomes instantly drawn to figure skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) who’s just rolled into town. Despite being held captive in her own house during each full moon, Heather yearns to escape and have Jonny by her side. Teeming with queer sensuality and lust-fueled lycanthropy, director Jacqueline Castel’s My Animal injects originality into a classic monster mythology. Dp Bryn McCashin tells Filmmaker about lensing the film, which entailed frigid night shoots in Northern Ontario, Canada. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did […]

The post “It Was -30 to -40 Degrees Celsius for Most of the Shoot”: Dp Bryn McCashin on My Animal first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Stars: Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Stephen McHattie | Written by Jae Matthews | Directed by Jacqueline Castel

With her homelife hampered by an alcoholic mother and a hockey team who keeps her on the sidelines, Heather has a lot to grapple with — including the fact that she’s actually a werewolf. When she meets promising ice-skating star Jonny, Heather’s world turns upside down, willing to risk her own safety in the name of blossoming romance. As Jonny seems content to join her on the outskirts, Heather is left to battle the horrors that lie in wait within herself.

Werewolves… haven’t we seen them somewhere before? From Werewolf By Night to half of the cast of Twilight, it’s a trope film has visited countless times — and it could easily be argued that we don’t need to again. If a filmmaker is going to tackle one of the stereotypical genre cornerstones,...

This review originally ran January 23, 2023, in conjunction with the film’s US premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

The collected “Discworld” novels by Terry Pratchett are so weird and so imaginative and so wry that very few filmmakers have ever seriously tried to adapt them. We’ve had one short-lived live-action series, one short film, a few animated mini-series and three ambitious live-action mini-series.

But feature films have eluded the dwellers of “Discworld” until just about — actually wait, let me check my watch here — now.

“The Amazing Maurice,” based on the 2001 children’s book “The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents,” features the voice of Hugh Laurie as the title character. He’s a cat who can talk in a world where cats don’t usually do that, even though magic is real, the living personification of Death walks among us and fairy-tale characters abound as well.

Then again, rats can’t talk either,...

Director Jacqueline Castel took on the werewolf myth at this year's Sundance Film Festival with the premiere of her feature film debut My Animal. Written by Jae Matthews (a fellow first-timer in the feature-length category), the supernatural story stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez as Heather, a social outcast and aspiring goalie who must keep her animalistic family curse hidden from her small town. But beyond being a creature feature, My Animal is a meditative exploration of queer identity and young love in a world that fears the unknown.

Heather's world is turned upside down when the lovely figure skater Jonny (played by Bodies Bodies Bodies star Amandla Stenberg) moves to town, and the two teens begin to fall for one another. Their romance is set against the backdrop of Heather's difficult family life, ostracization at school, and the uncontrollable transformation that takes over her body as the full moon approaches. But...

There is something initially arresting about My Animal, the feature debut from director Jacqueline Castel and writer Jae Matthews, that feels like it could have all the makings to be a sleeper hit at a festival like Sundance. After all, weaving a supernatural tale into a story that contains more personal reflections have made films that premiered there in the past into real standouts. Further working in its favor is that it has a compelling leading duo in Bobbi Salvör Menuez and Amandla Stenberg, who have a real chemistry with each other that infuses even the simplest of scenes with a real spark. That they are in a story about love, hockey, and, yes, werewolves, sounds like it could be something really special. There may be those that end up discovering this film and get wrapped up in the cold corner of the nondescript Canadian town where it is set.

Jacqueline Castel, award-winning director and screenwriter, returned to the Sundance Film Festival to premiere a new take on a classic werewolf tale in My Animal. The film stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez as Heather, the redheaded social misfit whose animalistic transformation during a full moon keeps her as a prisoner in her own life. The screenplay, written by Jae Matthews, focuses on the human elements of connection, sexuality, and freedom. Though these themes elevate this lopsided screenplay to a film worth watching, the limitations are hard to ignore. My Animal, despite all the efforts from Castel’s direction, is bogged down by its snail-like pacing and uneventful genre-blending.

Heather, a teenager struggling against the constrictive forces in her small town life in Canada, longs to escape her stifling family dynamic. Her mother, Patti (Heidi von Palleske), is a longtime alcoholic whose condition affects the entire family dynamic. Then, there’s the...

Indisputably the best female-centric werewolf movie shot in Canada since Ginger Snaps (2000) — admittedly not the most competitive of fields — sensual queer horror story My Animal marks an impressive, confident feature debut for several key talents. First and foremost, debutante director Jacqueline Castel, already an experienced short film and music video helmer who has collaborated with David Lynch and John Carpenter, imbues this first-feature script by Jae Matthews with a woozy, dreamy, retro sensibility. (Matthews is also half of the electronic band Boy Harsher along with Augustus Muller, who contribute a very John Carpenter-esque soundtrack of sustained drones and bass-heavy humming.)

Altogether, the team creates a richly hued setting for the young but in some ways more seasoned leads. Bobbi Salvor Menuez (I Love Dick) stars as a lovelorn teen-wolf living in the sticks who looks at Amandla Stenberg’s (Bodies Bodies Bodies) figure skater with the kind of longing you...

Amandla Stenberg regrets not being able to attend the Sundance premiere of her new film My Animal, but she’s been a little preoccupied in a galaxy far, far away. Fortunately, Paramount picked up the ‘80s-set supernatural romance prior to the Park City festival, so Stenberg’s collaborators didn’t really need the budding superstar to help garner interest on-site.

Jacqueline Castel’s feature directorial debut revolves around a small-town romance between Bobbi Salvör Menuez’s Heather and Stenberg’s Jonny, as both characters struggle to embrace their true selves. The two lead actors had already been friends for a number of years, so Stenberg immediately connected with the material and said yes to Menuez and Castel’s pitch.

“[My Animal] felt like the kind of queer teenage dreamscape that I wish I’d grown up with. It was the queer world that I had fantasized about and dreamt about while growing up,...

Director Jacqueline Castel and screenwriter Jae Matthews (The Runner) give a new spin on the werewolf mythos with My Animal (read my review here).

The feature debut by Castel, which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, sees a teen outcast connect with and fall for a town newcomer, igniting a personal transformation. My Animal stars Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Amandla Stenberg, Stephen Mchattie, Heidi Von Palleske, Cory Lipman, and Joe Apollonio.

Bloody Disgusting spoke with Castel about her debut, the werewolf metaphor, and the symbolism behind her use of the color red.

Castel breaks down what attracted her to Matthews’ script and its approach to the werewolf metaphor, both as Otherness and Heather’s (Salvör Menuez) sexual discovery.

“I’m connected to outsider stories,” Castle explains. “I’m interested in telling outsider stories and stories that exist on the fringes of society. That was something that attracted me...

The werewolf — the idea that a human being can suddenly transform into a savage beast — has fascinated people for centuries, from folklore and mythology to books and, of course, films. The movies have always loved a good werewolf tale, be it "The Wolf Man," "An American Werewolf in London," "Ginger Snaps," or, uh, "Teen Wolf." "My Animal" is the latest entry in the never-ending subgenre, and it's not your typical lycanthrope flick. A moody slow burn loaded with style and a killer score, "My Animal" is a queer werewolf tale using the idea of the werewolf to symbolize its lead character's inner struggles. In other words, don't expect a ton of cool transformation scenes where someone suddenly grows fur and sprouts fangs.

Heather, played by Bobbi Salvör Menuez, is a young woman who also happens to turn into a wolf when the moon is full and the clock strikes midnight.

At the outset of “My Animal,”, an entranced Heather (a tremendous Bobbi Salvör Menuez) sits on her knees in her white nightgown as a television’s gray glow, emanating from the visage of a full moon, envelopes her. The bluish rings under their eyes deepen, blood oozes from her nose, her body contorts, her bones crack, and her tendons twist. Growling, she drags herself across the carpet of her dimmed living room, before springing free, out of her house and through the woods for an immersive reimaging of a werewolf transformation.

And yet, it’s not solely a devoutness to the genre — the thrumming electronic ’80s score, the liquidy gray-scaled images of trees, or the aggressive shaky handheld tracking through the snow-covered forest, that awakens Castel’s film. It’s the “Beauty and the Beast” episode of the Shelly Duvall hosted series “Faerie Tale Theatre,” that Heather was watching on her television,...

Chronicling three encounters over the course of 24 hours, “Mutt” follows Feña, a transgender man finally comfortable in his own skin but still grappling with how his choice to live authentically recalibrated, for better or worse, his closest relationships.

Chilean-Serbian writer-director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, who himself is trans, introduces Feña (the gender-neutral name he’s chosen) during a night out at a club where he spots John, his straight ex-boyfriend from before he transitioned. The two haven’t seen each other in over year. Once the initial awkwardness dissipates, the embers of their past romance are rekindled under the effects of alcohol and pent-up desire.

Presented in a boxy aspect ratio, the compositions that cinematographer Matthew Pothier dons on “Mutt” sway between those that convey a living-in-the-moment exuberance to get lost in (such as a brief slow-motion sequence in the rain) and other static, peculiarly angled shots that hold the conversations Feña...

Like most teenagers, Heather (non-binary actor Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a social misfit who lives in a rural town in northern Canada, has a strict midnight curfew to adhere to. But unlike other teenagers, staying out for longer has a much more dangerous effect on her. We learn that in the opening scene of “My Animal,” — the camera trains its gaze on the red-headed Heather sitting in a dark room watching a werewolf movie while slowly transforming into a werewolf herself, her eyes glowing and her breath heaving.

Continue reading ‘My Animal’ Review: A Moody, Trippy Queer Werewolf Romance Is Limited, But A Remarkably Assured Debut [Sundance] at The Playlist.