Wisconsin
Running Time: 11 minutes
Horror/ LGBTQ+/ Queer Cinema
Horror/ LGBTQ+/ Queer Cinema
Avalon Atmospheric Theater
2473 S Kinnickinnic Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207
Everything in Amile’s life is the same dull note. He’s bored with his job, his friends, himself… that is, until he meets the doting Andrew on an online dating app. Amile quickly falls head over heels for a man he’s never met, seen, or spoken to. A modern fable about the delirium and disillusionment that can accompany dating in the digital age.
Amber Rose McNeill (he/him/hers) is a queer Australian Film Director, Intimacy Coordinator, Editor, and Film Programmer based in Wisconsin. He is also an Educator, teaching Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, with a research focus in gendered violence in film and media, as well as queer cinema.
Her directing work centers around challenging social attitudes towards normative sexuality and traditional gender roles. As well as the critique of violence in film and media, and the interplay between the production and consumption of violent media within Western culture. Her scope of practice incorporates digital, 16mm, 8mm, and sampled media within the genres of feminist horror, queer cinema, experimental documentary, and social commentary.
Amber Rose has been an Intimacy Coordinator since 2017 with a specialization in queer cinema, the horror genre, and scenes that deal with elements of violence.
Amber Rose has been editing since 2020, having developed her own style of editing that he has coined, “choreographical editing”. This editing style is inspired by rhythmic editing, smash cuts, and dance theory, approaching the edit much like composing a piece of music or choreographing movement.
Amber Rose is the Founder, Festival Director, and Lead Programmer of Milwaukee Illuminate Film Festival (miff.). An underground, intersectional film festival which highlights the work of marginalized and underrepresented voices in film, video, and the cinematic arts.
As a queer filmmaker I wanted to make a horror film where the default heteronormative relationship was discarded and a gay couple inhabited the lead roles. Not as a major statement about queerness within the film’s narrative, but rather for their queerness to be a natural part of the characters.
My aim with Andrew Ginger/Likes Dogs was to create fully developed queer characters that interact and relate to each other in a genuine way with nuanced, idiosyncratic and at times flawed personality traits.
Queer horror is slowly making its way into mainstream horror cinema, but queer horror films are still primarily written and directed by cisgender, heterosexual men rather than being created by queer filmmakers. There is also often the issue of straight men being cast in queer roles, which is why it was important to me to cast queer actors for this film.
Essentially, I wanted to make a short horror film that comments on the risks associated with meeting people in the digital age. Andrew Ginger/Likes Dogs also dips into the loneliness that internet hookup culture creates and the ways in which we can often ignore the red flagged realities within online relationships because we are so starved for intimacy in real life.
Director Bio:
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Her directing work centers around challenging social attitudes towards normative sexuality and traditional gender roles. As well as the critique of violence in film and media, and the interplay between the production and consumption of violent media within Western culture. Her scope of practice incorporates digital, 16mm, 8mm, and sampled media within the genres of feminist horror, queer cinema, experimental documentary, and social commentary.
Amber Rose has been an Intimacy Coordinator since 2017 with a specialization in queer cinema, the horror genre, and scenes that deal with elements of violence.
Amber Rose has been editing since 2020, having developed her own style of editing that he has coined, “choreographical editing”. This editing style is inspired by rhythmic editing, smash cuts, and dance theory, approaching the edit much like composing a piece of music or choreographing movement.
Amber Rose is the Founder, Festival Director, and Lead Programmer of Milwaukee Illuminate Film Festival (miff.). An underground, intersectional film festival which highlights the work of marginalized and underrepresented voices in film, video, and the cinematic arts.
Director's Statement:
My aim with Andrew Ginger/Likes Dogs was to create fully developed queer characters that interact and relate to each other in a genuine way with nuanced, idiosyncratic and at times flawed personality traits.
Queer horror is slowly making its way into mainstream horror cinema, but queer horror films are still primarily written and directed by cisgender, heterosexual men rather than being created by queer filmmakers. There is also often the issue of straight men being cast in queer roles, which is why it was important to me to cast queer actors for this film.
Essentially, I wanted to make a short horror film that comments on the risks associated with meeting people in the digital age. Andrew Ginger/Likes Dogs also dips into the loneliness that internet hookup culture creates and the ways in which we can often ignore the red flagged realities within online relationships because we are so starved for intimacy in real life.
