Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sydne Horton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Sydne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I am deeply grateful for the narratives I have directed so far, and while each offers something special, the two most meaningful to me presently are META and SATURDAY RITUAL.

META, a queer horror representing a trans-masculine story, was an early film in my career. Rue Morgue reviewed it as “the sweetest short film I’ve seen in quite some time” and Horror Obsessive wrote, “META makes for an entertaining allegory with a fun soundtrack, a game cast, and a relevant theme of feeling like an outcast.” The writer, Savannah Ward, crafted a special and rather personal story compared to the classic CARRIE, but queer, contemporary, and with a werewolf transformation. I will always be deeply appreciative of Savannah for entrusting me to direct a piece that has resonated with so many within our LGBTQIA+ community. Teaming up, we not only brought together a diverse and queer crew, but we also discovered Jordan Gonzalez who became the face of META as our lead, Artie. Within the film, we follow him on his senior prom night as he unexpectedly gets his period moments before making his way to the stage for prom court announcements, and we follow him through his body-dysmorphic breakdown. (Spoiler Alert: he transforms into a werewolf!) As a freshly out queer individual myself at the time of making this movie, there will always be an added personal layer, realizing that I, too, was struggling with the fear that my otherness would be received as monstrous. With META, we were able to subvert our viewers’ expectations of a traditional high school prom and reclaim otherness as something to celebrate and champion. Additionally, META launched my work into festivals like no other film I previously directed. META has screened at over 30 festivals around the world, including a 3-month exhibit at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture. Some festival appearances include: Outfest LA, Aesthetica Short Film, Final Girls Berlin, Salem Horror, Inside Out Toronto, Melbourne Queer, Tallgrass, and more.

More recently, I directed a short film titled SATURDAY RITUAL, based on the true story of a midwestern psychic exposing my yet-to-be-discovered queer identity to my high school self and my two best friends. I have always wanted to use my deeply awkward, combative, and confusing psychic encounter to create an instantly accepting and supportive outcome for my lead, and to show my younger self, and those within the community, that there’s hope and love out there. Pulling from films like BOOKSMART, BOTTOMS, and EDGE OF SEVENTEEN for inspiration, my crew and I crafted our own coming-of-age that mirrors the nostalgia of my high school experience in the 2010s. Similar to META, SATURDAY RITUAL is a personal story that has allowed me to look further within as a writer and director, to craft a fresh, therapeutic perspective on a scary experience. Our intention behind every creative element was to imitate a memory and hold us in a time capsule. SATURDAY RITUAL is expected to start its festival run in early 2024, and in the meantime, my team and I are working on a feature-length version.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a queer director/creator whose award-winning work explores themes of identity, coming-of-age, and human connection, I create work that bends genres and subverts expectations. I often use my experience as the child of an open adoption to channel the complex feelings of alienation to further invoke a personal connection in my visual storytelling and help others feel seen.

In 2022, I was named a Director’s Circle Mentee in Women In Film’s Mentorship Program where I was mentored by director, Maggie Kiley, and Literary Agent, Courtney Conwell, and I was selected as a Semi-Finalist in the SeriesFest Women Directing Program. I am also a proud member of the Alliance of Women Directors and an active Local 44 member.

When facing any project, I start by seeking to understand the psyche of the characters and use that as the guiding source for their emotions, actions, blocking, and visual style. This allows me to better communicate with other members of the creative team to ensure that we honor the message of the story we are crafting. For example, my long-time collaborator and composer, Thomas J. Peters, can attest to the countless hours we’ve worked together on projects, and each project demands care and innovation to encapsulate the journeys of our characters. These sessions are often healing, as we explore our own battles and use them to relate and resonate with the story to further capture how that translates into music.

And I firmly believe this approach works! My short film, THE HOUSE SITTERS was one of five global competitors for Inside Out Toronto’s Pitch Please Competition and won the audience award at the Renegade Film Festival. Additionally, this film was nominated at HorrorHound for Best Short, Best Lead Performance, Best Supporting Performance, and Judges Choice. According to Cinemaspection, “Horton lenses the story with great style, evoking John Carpenter with her use of wide framing to suggest things in the background watching Annie. With some great mood and fun twists, this is a nice little nugget of haunted house fun.” Written by Edward Zorich and directed by yours truly, this film continues to make rounds within the festival circuit.

More recently, I teamed up with a fellow Women in Film mentee to direct her comedy, FENCE SITTER, which has started its festival run and strikes a chord with anyone questioning the decision to have a child in today’s society.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is hearing audience members resonate with and discuss my work. As a filmmaker, I have a special opportunity to push boundaries and highlight narratives that aren’t often shared. Not every audience member will personally connect with the subject matter, but to hear them dissect the story, and possibly learn a new point-of-view, feels surreal. When I can bring a poignant story with a fresh perspective to life, I feel like I’m doing my job correctly.

My film META was one such project. In the film, the trans-masculine protagonist gets his period moments before stepping on stage to be crowned the prom king. Through many festival viewings and discussions, it became clear how many viewers never considered that trans men can still get their period! Our team was thanked by people around the world for sharing a story that members of our LGBTQIA+ community could resonate with and for opening the minds of others to new knowledge. This will always be one of my most cherished and rewarding experiences as a director.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The goal and mission driving my creative journey as a director and storyteller is to make a difference in the world with the stories I tell. I aim to challenge perspectives and educate viewers with women-led, LGBTQIA+ forward, and diverse narratives. Because of this, I am continuously working to further my craft, to service the stories I have yet to discover.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sydnehorton.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sydnehorton/?hl=en
• Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8006219/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1

Image Credits
Viana Martinez, Chad Jimenez, Lauren Arnold, Dulce Valencia, and Edward Zorich.