Why are so many gays still so anxious about getting married? This short film offers a reason.

Next year will mark the 10th anniversary of same-sex marriages becoming legalized across the U.S., as decided in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case.

But even after a decade, the idea of getting married is something that can can cause a lot of anxiety and even bring up deep-seeded shames and fears.

For filmmaker David Scala, all of those unwanted feelings began to bubble up a few years back when, despite being in a healthy, happy longterm relationship, he found himself dismissing the idea of marriage any time a friend brought it up.

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“I began to see my reaction was actually coming from a place of fear,” Scala told the blog The Consulting Detective back in 2019, “a fear of being seen, a fear of being judged, and almost this second ‘coming out’ years after I had already come out.”

Realizing he wasn’t the only one to feel this way, the rising writer-director funneled all of those uneasy emotions and insecurities into his thoughtful, relatable, and frequently funny short film Engaged, starring two familiar faces in Pose‘s Ryan Jamaal Swain and Billions‘s Daniel k. Isaac—a recent Queerty Pride 50 honoree!!

The short opens on a familiar scene: A fancy restaurant, a romantic atmosphere, two lovers sitting across from one another at table, one nervously fumbling with something in his pocket…

Darren (Isaac) wants so badly to be able to pull out the engagement ring and propose to his longtime boyfriend Elliot (Swain), but for some reason he can’t bring himself to do it. Every interruption, every little distraction becomes an excuse for him to tell himself, “maybe now’s not the right time.”

When the proposal doesn’t happen at dinner, the lingering ring becomes a wedge in their relationship, and Darren starts to sweat. And it certainly doesn’t help when the couple gets roped into playing The Newlywed Game in front of a group of people at Elliot’s sister’s engagement party…

“What I wanted to explore in the film was this idea of self-shame, and how sometimes it’s not others who hold us back the most, but ourselves, based off of these other preconceived notions we’ve been told about ourselves.”

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Engaged actually had its world premiere back in 2019, but that idea of self-shame within the LGBTQ+ community is very much prevalent today, and the short continues to connect with audiences, whether online or at film festivals around the country.

Plus, the fact that we have a film from a Filipino-American director focusing on a romance between out, gay Black and Asian leads still feels like a rarity. “Representation matters, and the more diverse stories we see, the more communities can champion their own voices and stories,” Scala told Just Celebrity Magazine.

Speaking to the importance of representation on screen, Engaged will next head to the Black Alphabet Film Festival in Chicago from October 11-13, where it’ll play alongside a robust program of films spotlighting the diversity within the Black LGBTQ/+ community.

Elsewhere in the Black Alphabet lineup is an opening night screening of Jade Bryan’s original, Harlem-set dramedy series What Somalia Wants, stories from queer history like the origins of the ballroom scene at Rockland Palace and the rise of soul singer Jackie Shane, plus a special presentation of the award-winning documentary sequel Beyond The Aggressives: 25 Years Later.

You can find more information about the Black Alphabet film festival here, and even if you’re not in Chicago you can RSVP for the fest’s virtual programming here.

You can also check out Engaged in full via David Scala’s YouTube channel below:

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