Queer Machines

Trevor and Amir fall in and out of love.

A close-up on Misha's face as he looks up into a light.
Trevor lays asleep with Misha, who looks over at him.
Misha and Trevor kiss under the stage lights.
Misha's hand reaches towards the ceiling.
Trevor (played by Cliff Dunigan) sits on the couch with Misha's (played by Quinton Walker) head in his lap. The atmosphere is tense.

written & directed by Samuel Aaberg

produced by Milton “Josh” Beal & Tara Kumar

Credits

Main Cast

Misha . . . Quinton Walker

Trevor . . . Cliff Dunigan

Day Players

Reina . . . Gabriela Santiago

Jacob . . . Andrew Pappas

Corey . . . Keshaun Charles

Art

Production Designer . . . Katie Skillin

Art Director . . . Jay Lape

Art Hand . . . Grace Farkas

Postproduction

Editing, VFX, & DIT by Jessica Arend

Assistant Editor . . . Owen Elliott

Production

Written & directed by Samuel Aaberg

Produced by Milton “Josh” Beal & Tara Kumar

First Assistant Director . . . Emily Shupe

Second Assistant Director . . . Olivia Salib & Luisa Freimuth

Script Supervisor . . . Owen Bresnahan

Intimacy Coordinator . . . Lara Dohner

Intimacy Liaison . . . Diana Barrios

BTS Photographer . . . Natalia Pfeiffer

Casting Assistant . . . Avery Frank

Production Assistant . . . Camila Guadalupe

Neuroscience Consultant . . . Ash Duffee

Camera

Director of Photography . . . Luca Fariello

First Assistant Camera . . . Enzo Goodrich

Sound

Sound Mixer . . . Liam Giles

Boom Operator . . . Cullen Walton & Caleb Chin

Grip & Electric

Gaffer . . . Kayla Garcia

Key Grip . . . Mary Kosowski

Best Boy Grip . . . Sophie Hartmann

Rigging Grip . . . Nicolas Amat Norman

Grip . . . Isaac Niccum

Sam (director) sits on the floor in front of Cliff (playing Trevor) and Quinton (playing Misha) under stage lights.
Luca (director of photography) shines a flashlight into the BTS camera as Enzo (first AC) requests a lens swap.
From right to left: Kayla (gaffer), Mary (key grip), Diana (intimacy liaison), Emily (first AD), Katie (production designer), and Sophie (best boy grip) smile for a picture on the couch
Katie (production designer) prepares the bed for shooting.
Quinton (playing Misha) and Gabriela (playing Reina) stand at a bar.
Mary (key grip) spots a ladder while Nic (rigging grip) looks on.
Quinton (playing Misha) and Cliff (playing Trevor) stand in front of a white door on a frame under a spotlight.
Katie preps the bed again, while Gabriela (playing Reina), Quinton (playing Misha), and Sam (director) look on.
Sam (director) spots Luca (director of photography) in a tracking shot of Quinton (playing Misha) and Cliff (playing Trevor).
Screenshot
An empty table with empty chairs under a spotlight.

Behind the scenes photography courtesy of Natalia Pfeiffer

Personal Note

Queer Machines is a romance, the kind where it feels like your love is the only thing in the world. To bring that immediacy to life, we shot the movie in an empty theater and used a technique called datamoshing (the intentional corruption of digital video files) to give it a dreamlike feel. Right now, we’re finalizing the datamoshes and transitions.

The cast and crew on this movie were so, so incredible! I’m very happy to have worked with such creative, intelligent, and empathetic people. Queer Machines is a labor of love.

I can’t wait to premiere this movie!