THE BEARD
WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO FIGHT FOR?
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Directed by Kelsey Fordham
Written by Nate Raven
Tyler, his wife Adiva, and their friend Jess throw a dinner party for Tyler’s boss to secure an upcoming promotion, though not all is as it seems. Tyler’s boss, Wayne, attends with his wife, Patsy, with an ulterior motive: to determine if the couple is living the proper, conservative life as demanded by society. Additionally, news of people being forcefully arrested for not following the new laws blanket the party with an impending sense of doom. Just as Tyler and Adiva are about to be in the clear, the outside world bursts in and one of them is taken against their will for the crime of showing queer love in public. Everyone’s world is thrown into chaos. They are then forced to look at themselves, their lives, and each other and ask the question: Who are you willing to fight for?
THE BEARD Team
Director: Kelsey Fordham
Kelsey Fordham is an award-winning director and producer committed to telling powerful and daring stories with a soul. Her art is influenced by over 6 years of work for a documentary-based NGO that provided protection resources to some of the most vulnerable communities in central Africa. There, she witnessed film at its best, and fell head over heels for the power of storytelling. She has produced dozens of projects including Harry Shum Jr's 2021 proof of concept, Milo, and the 2019 HBO APA Visionaries winning film, Halwa. Her first short, Entitled – a story about a woman thrust into the spotlight when the details of her sexual assault go viral – premiered at the Oscar qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival and won Best Narrative Drama at DC International Shorts. Kelsey's films have screened at HollyShorts, Outfest, Austin Film Festival, San Diego International Film Festival, and have aired and streamed on HBO, Disney+ Hotstar, and CBS.
Writer/Producer: Nate Raven
Nate Raven is an award winning writer whose scripts have won many finalist and semifinalist awards in major competitions. His Pilot, My Yours His, is a three time Best Short Screenplay winner at festivals including New York Film Awards and Los Angeles Film Awards, and was an Official Selection of the HollyShorts Screenplay Contest in 2021. Currently, Nate runs a weekly writing room, through an indie streaming platform IFT Network, geared towards reading a writer's script out loud and offering feedback intended to elevate the work. Nate also is a judge for the Austin Film Festival's Script Competition and a programmer for Slamdance. Along with writing and acting in his own films and series, he wrote and co-directed an Off Broadway immersive play: The Cooping Theory in 2019.
