Trans-Led Filmmaking: An Interview with Director Tempest Creation

You’ve directed several short films in the past couple of years for titles like “Birth of a Hive Queen” a 2025 newest select and documentary of the club kid knows as “Ann Artist”. You have had these films and have had some of them showcased internationally and other festivals around the world. Still you are a new trans filmmaker to the scene and still curating your own distinctive filmmaking style. For a TGNC audience interested in filmmaking with opportunities to showcase their films as festival such as Shark Teeth or Newfest was are three pieces of advice do you have?

Funding for trans led filmmakers is one of the largest hurdles to producing and getting films of the ground. As a trans woman in the filmmaking world you are working against both misogny and transmisogny in the industry? What experiences have you encountered would institute a call to action for the film making community to confront in order for women and trans women to obtain equal representation and financial access in the industry?

To future TGNC actors what advice do you have in opportunities to take place in some of these short films, what platforms do you believe are the best for those opportunities? When you are reviewing auditions what would you say the number 1 quality you look for when casting for a short film?

You work not just as a film director but are an editor as well on many of your co-horts who also work in the industry. Who are some of your other favorite local TGNC filmmakers and who is your favorite TGNC filmmaker of 2026?

What influences and references would you say you draw from though it may depend on the film, in terms of creative direction?

There are many queer films such as “Paris is Burning” “Queen” “Birdcage” Too Wong Foo Thanks for everything” as fair as mainstream films that a queer audience might have watched. What queer or trans led films produced in the past decades are your favorite or most recommended?

You are also a vocal advocate for your community and a member of the film community that is currently advocating and connecting mutual-aid funds and projects outside of your own work? Why is community so important and how does it overlap into the filmmaking world as a TGNC artist?

What are some NYC grants you recommend for other trans or gender non. Conforming artists should apply for to fund projects as someone who has financed many short films on their own?

Last but not least what is your current or next film or short film we should stay updated for?

ANSWERS

1. You’ve directed several short films in the past couple of years for titles like “Birth of a Hive Queen” a 2025 newest select and documentary of the club kid knows as “Ann Artist”. You have had these films and have had some of them showcased internationally and other festivals around the world. Still you are a new trans filmmaker to the scene and still curating your own distinctive filmmaking style. For a TGNC audience interested in filmmaking with opportunities to showcase their films as festival such as Shark Teeth or Newfest was are three pieces of advice do you have?

Okay three pieces of advice. Get involved in the scene, all your heroes are an instagram DM away. I’m so serious. So get involved, say hi, don’t be shy. Our communities are IRL for the most part as well so don’t let social media fool you.

Study great short films, it makes things seem more attainable because you can see the bar of expectation. Don’t skimp on learning how to write shorts either, that’s a mistake people will often have, it’ll look amazing and the performances will be great but you miss the structure or the film just doesn’t hit the way it should be you forgot that writing is still a really important part of the narrative filmmaking process.

Bitterness and jealousy are useful but must be managed. These emotions can motivate you so that you keep making and completing a project, but it’s an ugly look and can easily lead to spiralling and doomerism. So use but don’t internalize. Dance with the devil but don’t give him your soul.

I am not really sure if I’m really the best to give advice though, I’m not the smartest or most thrifty filmmaker, I’m just crossing my fingers constantly.

2. Funding for trans led filmmakers is one of the largest hurdles to producing and getting films of the ground. As a trans woman in the filmmaking world you are working against both misogny and transmisogny in the industry? What experiences have you encountered would institute a call to action for the film making community to confront in order for women and trans women to obtain equal representation and financial access in the industry?

One of my first experiences engaging with people in the industry was meeting a white trans man (who had worked at Telfar!) who told me point blank that he doesn’t hire trans people or people of color because they don’t have degrees in film. Like that’s insane! That’s some Nazi shit. And y’know, someone who’s in the community, who I knew through friends and mutuals but once he was in a professional environment another side came out. If I was to realistically engage with how transphobia and racism and misogyny shape the creative industries and even our personal artistic practices I would fucking explode, so I can only really get by via dissassociation a lot of the time. And I think that’s how a lot of people do it.

I wish our society wasn’t stratified in this way, it’s really fucked up. I think the most common experience I have is that folks either tokenize me or belittle me. I think that’s a big hurdle as a transfemme filmmaker in particular, you have to get people to listen to you and take your work seriously! They think a bunch of stereotypes about trans women, like that we’re faggy and bimbos so therefore like not worthwhile artistically. And if you’re a trans woman of color they think you’re an addict or a prostitute, yes even in professional contexts! And there’s part of me who wants to subvert that but there’s another part of me that’s like fuck that, like what’s wrong with being an drug addict, what’s wrong with being a whore? Rest in peace Saint Cecilia.

I think the biggest thing that would change our landscape as filmmakers is if people started taking short films seriously. If we actually acknowledged short filmmakers as legitimate filmmakers I think we would realize the sheer magnitude of transfemme filmmakers there are. Obviously we don’t have access to the funding resources that our cis counterparts have in order to make features, like we don’t even have parents bitch. But if the broader artistic community took shorts seriously, maybe even paid for short films, I think that would change the landscape a lot. In europe broadcasters and tv will purchase shorts which is simply not the case in the states. I imagine if a producer could go into a short being like “okay I’m fine with this investment because I can easily flip this 10K short into 20K profit.” I think that would make it way easier. That being said, capitalism should end. Yeah that’s my final answer, capitalism should end, viva la revolucion.

3. To future TGNC actors what advice do you have in opportunities to take place in some of these short films, what platforms do you believe are the best for those opportunities? When you are reviewing auditions what would you say the number 1 quality you look for when casting for a short film?

With auditions it’s really about if the actor feels capable and right for the character. So often it’s not about talent but professionalism and fit. Yes mama, show up on time and answer those emails! Learn email formatting, it’s the one of those stupid things that blocks people from opportunities and keeps poor people poor. Email formatting.

I would also say being a trans actor sucks and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Try to produce your own work and bypass the audition system so you don’t have to compete with Hari Nef or play a man.

4. You work not just as a film director but are an editor as well on many of your co-horts who also work in the industry. Who are some of your other favorite local TGNC filmmakers and who is your favorite TGNC filmmaker of 2026?

Kevin Xian-Ming Yu, Clementine Narcisse, Dylan Mars-Greenberg, Day, Ryan Rox, Miss Rose. A lot of these people are my friends so I’m biased. I love my community <3.

I don’t know if I can name a favorite, I’m not really a critic, just a filmmaker! Right now Kevin’s work has been a north star for my future projects.

5. What influences and references would you say you draw from though it may depend on the film, in terms of creative direction?

My inspiration is super broad and not entirely cohesive but I have the illness where I’m inspired by old films so I’m never on trend. For Birth of the Hive Queen the main references were Daughters of the Dust, Night of the Hunter and Pink Flamingos. My upcoming project is inspired by Stalker, Playtime and Sante Sangre. There are definitely more male influences for the new project which sucks, I hate men. (No, John Waters is not a man.)

6. There are many queer films such as “Paris is Burning” “Queen” “Birdcage” Too Wong Foo Thanks for everything” as fair as mainstream films that a queer audience might have watched. What queer or trans led films produced in the past decades are your favorite or most recommended?

Here’s what I’m going to say first: start religiously watching shorts. Put a pause on the brainrot and press play on the shorts, thank you.

Secondly, If I’m going to recommend feature films in theaters, which I would rather not, queer audiences ya’ll need to buy more tickets to the movies. None of the gay ass movies I like have made a profit and that’s why there are not enough queer films. Stop letting 15 year old yaoi nerds define what boys love movie gets made next and actually start going out to see films made by queer and trans filmmakers about queer and trans issues.

That being said I would watch Spacked Out and Jason & Shirley Revisited both of which had a rerelease, next question

7. You are also a vocal advocate for your community and a member of the film community that is currently advocating and connecting mutual-aid funds and projects outside of your own work? Why is community so important and how does it overlap into the filmmaking world as a TGNC artist?

Everything is a circle y’know, that’s how mutual aid works, so everything I put out in the world will hopefully come back to me. Economic karma if you will. The feds are trying to eradicate trans people so I don’t personally feel like I have a ton of time and energy to lie about how bad the situation is. I have learned the hard way that if you lie about your values and who you are, you’ll surround yourself with people who you hate. In general my rule of thumb: if we’re not on the same page about how transmisogynoir functions or if you’ve never even heard of that compound word, I’m sorry we’re not gonna get along. Free Palestine.

8. What are some NYC grants you recommend for other trans or gender non. Conforming artists should apply to fund projects as someone who has financed many short films on their own?

Okay so the grant system in the states are fucked, like it’s really bad. But if you are trans I would apply to the Trans Justice Funding Project, that’s how I’m financing the upcoming short film. On the flip side if you’re rich I would give the Trans Justice Funding Project money, now. Another thing I’ve learned recently but I need to do more research about is that you can apply to UK and Canadian grants if you have the production in that country and you have a producer or someone applying in that country. There’s also NYSCA grants. I would say in general be ready to self-finance some. Honey I funded my early work with sw, so do what you gotta do.

9. Last but not least what is your current or next film or short film we should stay updated for?

We just finished our fundraising round for Concrete Garden which is a new short film I’m directing. I think I’m probably gonna change the name but that’s the working title. It’s about a tgirl who wakes up from vaginoplasty and no one comes to take her home from the hospital. It’s conceptually about how we need each other to survive. I wrote it with my sister who just got vaginoplasty so it’s pretty personal and has a lot of our own relationship in it. My last film, Birth of the Hive Queen which stars Tasi Taimonglo has screenings here and there around the city so look out for that, it’s an experimental horror about a trans sex worker who gives birth from her anus. Content Warning for both of these films lol! I do not fucking play.