My Aunt Mame
A working class, gender non-conforming woman in the 1960s leaves a legacy for her butch dyke grand niece. This is a humanizing narrative made 100% by one queer older woman, which highlights intersectional identities that complicate discourses of sex, gender, and class.
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Krissy MahanDirector
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Krissy MahanWriter
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Krissy MahanProducer
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Krissy MahanKey Cast
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Project Type:Animation, Short
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Genres:humor, narrative, autobiography, comedy, drama/comedy
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Runtime:8 minutes 58 seconds
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Completion Date:May 29, 2017
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Production Budget:525 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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2019 Bechdel Film FestivalAkron, OH
United States
May 30, 2019
Midwest USA Premiere
Official Selection -
2019 qFlix PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia
United States
March 28, 2019
Official Selection -
2019 The Film Collective Film FestivalPhiladelphia, PA
United States
May 13, 2019
Official Selection -
2019 PopUp AnthologyTrenton, NJ
United States
April 19, 2019
Official Selection -
2019 Mosaic Film FestivalGeorgia Piedmont Technical College, Clarkson, George
United States
March 15, 2019
Georgia Premiere
Official Selection -
2019 Splice Film FestivalBrooklyn, NY
United States
June 20, 2019
Semi Finalist -
2019 Wicked Queer Film FestivalBoston, MA
United States
April 7, 2019
Northeast USA Premiere
Official Selection -
2018 TransStellar Film Festival, Cinema Detroit, Detroit, MI USADetroit, MI
United States
September 29, 2018
Midwest USA Premiere
Official Selection -
2018 aGLIFF All Genders Lifestyles and Identities Film FestivalAustin, TX
United States
September 6, 2018
Southwest Premiere
Official Selection -
2018 Philadelpia Film Society Local Filmmaker ShowcasePhiladelphia
United States
May 11, 2018
Pennyslvania Premiere
Official Selection -
2018 Dyke Drama Film FestivalPerth
Australia
May 24, 2018
Austrialian Premiere
Official Selection -
2018 New York Feminist Film FestivalNew York City
United States
March 10, 2018
North American Permiere -
2017 Scottish Queer International Film FestivalGlasgow
United Kingdom
September 23, 2017
Scottish Premiere -
2017 Women Over 50 Film FestivalBrighton
United Kingdom
September 16, 2017
World Premiere -
2017 Leeds Queer Film FestivalLeeds
United Kingdom
September 16, 2017
English Premier -
2017 Queer Bee Film FestivalLondon
United Kingdom
September 19, 2017 -
2018 AltFF Alternative Film FestBarcelona
Spain
March 15, 2018
Spanish Premiere
Finalist -
United States -
2022 San Fransicso Queer Film FestivalSan Francisco
United States
August 28, 2022
West Coast USA premiere
Official Selection
krissy mahan is a self-taught working class filmmaker whose work uses humor to explore contemporary issues such as accessibility, gender expression and classism. She has been amusing herself and audiences with her short movies since the mid-90s. A self-taught troublemaker, mahan lives on Lenapehoking, the traditional and current lands of the Lenni Lenape, known also as South Jersey, USA. She observes the cultural boycott in support of the Palestinian people. Mahan has lived for 50+ years in a working class post-industrial area filled with complicated family stories and ways of getting by. A passionate idealist with a flair for the fabulous, Dykeumentary films are included in international festivals, curated programs and community-based/educational settings.
“My Aunt Mame” is an autobiographical film in which time is woven between past and present. Aunt Mame exists solely in flashbacks as a forgotten relative, ostracized from our family for being queer. Each visit marks a holiday and a different girlfriend to introduce to the family. The film’s playfulness in its composition juxtaposes its seriousness in content, mirroring my experience of caring for my mother while I was creating this film. "My Aunt Mame" is a personal and vulnerable story for me to tell.
This short is about generations of working class women getting older, my mother, and two aging lesbians, one is my Aunt Mame, and one is myself.
The intersectional issues raised in this animated short have been the defining features of my life; eldercare, aging, rising health costs with shrinking insurance coverage, the AIDS years, working class women’s lives.