Buy that sex toy! – and other advice from Lexy Anderson, award-winning filmmaker (interview)

Today, I bring you to meet Lexy Anderson, she/her, emerging filmmaker I had the delight to interview during Raindance! Her award-winning queer short Kill Norwood is out now, and you don’t want to miss it.

Lexy has revealed some of the process behind its writing – inspired by the real life story of two parents who hired a guy to kill their son…'s avatar in a game, cause he wouldn’t come out of his room. The film “is all about connection, and feeling disconnected.” – and of course, her version of this story is about a young queer woman.

Why? Better ask, why not. “there's no reason why these nice little stories can't be queer” she told me, and went on to reminisce on being a young queer on the internet, scouring youtube for lgbtq+ short films and finding (maybe) one. So now, her mission is to bring more stories like Kill Norwood to the screen. Funny stories to which queer people can relate to, and laugh with, and feel seen. But that doesn’t mean she wants to fit the neat label of a “queer filmmaker” – “I don't want the pressure of being a queer filmmaker. I just want to tell the stories that I want to see.” – and that’s also her advice to young queer people starting with filmmaking: tell your stories, and someone out there will feel represented by them, and love them. She also takes a jab at mainstream media’s lack of diversity: “I get so bored. I’ll be watching something and I'll just be like, this is so straight.” And how do we fix it? Simple! More casual representation. She mentioned the Hunting of Bly Manor, and Hayley Kiyoko’s latest album, and called for more queer people behind the camera. Writing, directing, casting diverse cast. That’s the breath of fresh air we need.

She teased us a new project coming up, shot during the last lockdown. It's about a girl planning a sexy Skype call with her long-distance girlfriend, but! Her sex toy is defective, and she has to fix it against the clock. It’s gonna be a human comedy that, we’re assured, will defy expectations. But she also advised against the obsession with lockdown productivity. If you have something you want to make it, and can, go for it. But if not, that’s ok. “This is the year to experience life. I think young filmmakers, we want to chase something, and we forget to live life a little bit. Do what you want to do, buy whatever sex toys you want to buy!” - and then maybe, six months along the line, you’ll have a story to tell about it. But it’s important to also live, and find the right balance between art and life.

You can find Lexy’s latest short, Kill Norwood, here below - and follow her on Vimeo for updates on her latest works.