Director Geena Rocero unpacks her daring & suspenseful short “Dolls” at NYC’s NewFest
The director, writer and producer on the New York debut of her short film "Dolls" at NewFest
Mark
NewFest is not just the largest LGBTQ+ film festival in New York City; it’s an opportunity for queer creatives to share their essential stories with a widespread audience.
Filmmakers, actors, writers, and movie aficionados travel from around the world for its lineup, which not only includes blockbuster flicks but hard-to-find short programs from some of the most daring LGBTQ+ artists in media.
That’s how we met Geena Rocero, a writer, director, and actress whose scripted directorial debut, Dolls, was produced by Lilly Wachowski of The Matrix fame and appears in NewFest’s trans women-themed “Here Come the Dolls” collection. (The program screens on Monday, October 13, at 7:30 p.m. at Nitehawk Prospect Park and is available online from Thursday, October 9, to Tuesday, October 21.)
Related
Everything to know about this year’s NewFest, New York’s premier LGBTQ+ film festival
There’s a certain kind of magic in the air when NewFest rolls around each year.
Pack your bags, we’re going on an adventure
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for the best LGBTQ+ travel guides, stories, and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today
Dolls follows a private investigator who goes undercover at a relationship workshop for trans women, only to learn there’s something dark, sinister, but alluring at the core.
“[The idea] started last year,” she told us. “Three people specifically, really close to me, were going through hardship, body pain, physical pain, and emotional pain. Just trying to process this thing … the idea of a therapy relationship workshop came to mind, and I just filtered it through my interests: sci-fi, thrillers, Stepford Wives.” Of course, getting a “sense of approval” from executive producer and “the queen of sci-fi,” Wachowski, also helped steer the vision.
Viewers are treated to an unsettling, thrilling, and suspenseful 19 minutes, starring a stunning ensemble of almost entirely trans women. Notably, its original score was helmed by Susie Ibarra, who recently received a Pulitzer Prize for music.
The New York premiere of Dolls at NewFest marks a “full circle moment” for Rocero, who has a “long history” with the festival and even appeared in their 2016 Times Square campaign. And having her film play alongside other shorts geared towards trans women’s stories is the cherry on top.
“I’m not interested in, like, justifying our humanity. I’m not interested in, like, begging for acceptance,” she said. “I’m interested in complicated characters … and I think these shorts represent that. It’s unapologetically trans, complicated, and plays in different genres, which is what it should be.”
Rocero is no stranger to mainstream conversation, either. She earned an Emmy nomination for her docuseries Caretakers, which focused on Filipino American frontline workers, released a memoir, Horse Barbie, in 2023, and, after eight years in the modeling world, came out as transgender in a powerful and impactful 2014 TED Talk.
“I lived half of my life in the Philippines, so I grew up in that culture where I was surrounded by trans people who are living complicated lives,” she explained. “I like to remember that’s where I’m coming from, that our complications, our drama are built in just within the world of our lives, not necessarily because we need that acceptance from non-trans people.”
That said, it’s not lost on Rocero that, while transgender people are seemingly accepted culturally in the Philippines, they have no political rights. Meanwhile, under the current political administration in America, the two ideas are reversed but, similarly, at odds.
For that reason, the existence of Dolls and all the radically queer films showing at NewFest could be seen as an act of defiance. But don’t get Rocero wrong — she’s also here to give you a darn good movie, too.
“One might say making art is a form of advocacy, I’ll take that, but I’m first interested in making things that entertain me,” she said.
Learn more about Dolls and NewFest screenings here.
Join the GayCities newsletter for weekly updates on the best LGBTQ+ destinations and events—nearby and around the world.
