Have You Seen SPOT?

Nope, not the dog from the kid's books, but the amazing indie flick that won “Best Screenplay in a Short Film” at the Rahway International Film Festival.

Well if you haven't, your queer, trans, or queer /trans-allied ass is in for a treat!

Spot, a short film by Jamie DiNicola (activist, writer, filmmaker, and law student) featuring the awesome Indya Moore of FX's POSE, centers on a group of twenty-somethings around a stoop sharing a joint when one of them gets lost in the mystery and beauty of the urban sidewalk - and a mosaic of stories emerge.

Spot was an official selection/semi-finalist of/at the following film festivals: 2017 Full Bloom Film Festival, Newark International Film Festival, Twist: Seattle Queer Film Festival, San Francisco Transgender Film Festival, OutReels Cincinnati Film Festival, GenderReel Film Festival, and Los Angeles Cinefest.

Because I am lucky enough to call DiNicola my homie, I picked his brain about the film, trans actors, and our shithead VPOTUS.

Spot is a dope ass movie!  How did the idea for the film come about?

Quite honestly, I was pretty stoned when the idea struck me, but on a more serious note, aside from the fact that I was high, I have always been fascinated with the role our environment plays in our sense of self and the creation of our identities. In this way, Spot is both a story about identity and environment, and how the two continually dance together. I think if we pay close attention to our environments, we will notice that there is poetry in the sidewalks. There is signs of humanity everywhere - no matter how bleak NJ might seem, it is riddled with stories if we just care to examine our environments more closely. So yeah, some people might see a dirty sidewalk, I saw poetry.  Why did you decide to work with an all trans cast? Wait... are they all trans? (Smirk)

Haha! I LOVE showing this film to a very heteronormative audience because it really messes with their perceptions of trans folks. First off, trans folks are just humans, like any other, so why not cast these talented actors? Secondly, trans folks get so few opportunities in the film industry, particularly non-trans related roles. Trans actors either never get employed or are perpetually pigeonholed into playing the archetypal coming-out-as-trans character, which is so tired at this point. So I figured, why not write a script that has NOTHING to do with trans people and use trans actors anyway, because they're fucking talented! Also, the reactions from cishet audiences is always prettyyyy amazing. 

I’m an unabashed Indya Moore fan girl so you need to tell me what it was like working with her...

Okay, so, I had no idea her career was going to blow up like that when I first cast her. I feel starstruck just knowing that I was able to direct her. And when I say "direct" her, I literally just told her to sit in the car and she took it from there. I did nothing. She was so good. It was the most effortless experience. I can totally see why her star has ascended far more quickly than mine. 

Many films featuring or about queer/trans people portray them as victims (of abuse, illness, trans/homophobia). The characters in Spot appear strong, confident, laidback, happy, and in control of their destinies. Was this a conscious decision, to represent them this way?

I wrote the script not knowing that I was going to cast all transgender actors. That idea came to me much later. But, once I knew I was going to use all trans actors I made a really conscious decision as a director to make sure that the actors were bringing their own personalities to the role. So before we started filming I would ask the actors, what would you say if you were on a stoop smoking a joint with friends? What would you say if you had two strange men follow you home from a party? In this way, I gave the actors the agency to infuse their own personas into the characters. A lot of the dialogue was improv'ed, especially in the scene where we're all on the stoop.

How much of your personal life is reflected in Spot and it’s characters?

That's a really good question. Every single character I wrote is inspired by someone in my life, or at least one or two attributes of someone in my life. I do not know how to write characters without drawing from my own life, without at least accessing some buried memories for inspiration. Writing in this way has always been cathartic for me.  What trans, non binary, or queer actors are you dying to work with? 

I mean...Indya Moore, again. And everyone I worked with in Spot, I would love to work with again. They were the best.  What trans/queer filmmakers inspire you?

I love Jill Solloway's work. I love Luca Guadagnino's work. Silas Howard! Yance Ford! There's so many great trans & queer creatives out there. I actually am in the process of starting up a monthly podcast called "Queer Paper" where I interview a trans or queer creative and discuss with them their creative process, etc. I think there is so much amazing work happening in the trans community right now and I want to highlight some super talented, but also lesser known trans & queer artists.  What would you say to a straight-jacketed Mike Pence if you had 2 minutes alone with him? Hunny, we all know you're dying to wear some assless chaps at the Folsom Street Fair. Just go be you & be happy ! We won't judge. 

DiNicola was named one of "10 Trans Filmmakers You Should Know" by Buzzfeed! Check out more of his amazing work!

Praise for Spot and DiNicola from Huffpost:

The path forward is for Hollywood to carve out more roles for trans actors, or, for queer and trans independent filmmakers, to take matters into their own hands as was done in “Spot.” More films should portray trans people in everyday situations, evoking universal themes of finding love, searching for meaning, and finding happiness...

New films such as “Spot” are also progressing us forward by increasing the range of roles offered to trans actors. In “Spot”, the identity of each character is never discussed, though each actor identifies as trans. In the words of the film’s Director, a trans man named Jamie DiNicola: “being trans is not all that trans people want to be known for. Maybe we just want to be actors, not trans actors. Not trans filmmakers, just filmmakers. People of trans experience have such unique, beautiful, and multifaceted lives and we need to see more of that represented in the media.” Movies like “Spot” provide a good blueprint for Hollywood, where more trans actors should be recruited to play a wide range of roles, including everyday ones. For Hollywood to show that we as trans people exist everyday, everywhere is to truly humanize us.