Experiencing Interruptions?
Password

Do Nothings 2

Logline
After being visited by their dead great grandma Millie, “Tamarin”, a gifted singer-songwriter and non-binary misfit, must overcome their crippling stage fright or be destined to be nagged by their great grandmother for eternity.

Background: Do Nothings has undergone six years of development, rooted in the personal narrative of Trudy Poux as a non-binary individual. Amidst the backdrop of a pandemic, an extreme right presidency, and the resurgence of anti-trans legislation, Do Nothings came to fruition in 2023, a testament to the heart and sweat equity of many that came together to tell this story. An entirely independent endeavor, boasting an all-local cast and crew, with 70% of its members identifying as LGBTQ+IA2S or women, Do Nothings is a love letter to the nonconformist youth who summon the courage to confront each day, despite the uncertainties of othering that lie ahead.

SUMMARY: Do Nothings is a coming-of-age musical comedy about "Tamarin", a non-binary teen singer-songwriter with crippling stage fright. Tamarin is also non-binary, awkward, and definitely not the right fit for their rural town. And to make matters worse - their Sephardic great grandmother Millie has decided to visit and not leave - until Tamarin conquers their stage fright and performs. And- oh yeah - Millie is dead.

Using humor, wit, original music, and real-life events, Do Nothings follows Tamarin's unorthodox family, their seemingly "liberal" school, and their unwavering commitment to staying true to themselves in a slow-to-change binary culture.

Now, especially as the rights of the transgender community hang in the balance, we urgently need films and television that authentically portray the journeys of queer and nonconformist youth; if only to create a platform where they can see themselves reflected back, understand they are not alone, and be empowered to continue as their unspoiled selves.

Directed, Written by/Executive Producer - Amy Poux, Cinematographer/Editor - Marian Dealy,
Executive Producers - Julie Goldman & Chris Clements/Motto Pictures

Starring Trudy Poux,
Co-Starring Lori Wilner, Uzell D. McFarland, Kaethe Fine, David Engel, Tucker Poux, Phil Mansfield.

  • Amy Poux
    Director
    Do Nothings, I'm Okay, Zoom School
  • Amy Poux
    Writer
    Match, Lemonade, Senioritis
  • Trudy Poux
    Key Cast
    "Tamarin"
    Sunday at Il Posto, A Short Tutorial
  • Lori Wilner
    Key Cast
    "Millie"
    Succession, New Amsterdam, Sopranos, (bway) Fiddler on the Roof.
  • Marian Dealy
    Cinematographer
    Ziggy, Take the Ice, The L Word
  • Julie Goldman
    Executive Producers
    Motto Pictures
  • Chris Clements
    Executive Producers
    Motto Pictures
  • Amy Poux
    Producer
    Sunday at Il Posto Accanto
  • Project Type:
    Short, Television
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes 48 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 25, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Big Apple Film Awards
    New York
    United States
    Big Apple Film Awards
Director Biography - Amy Poux

Amy Poux is a New York-based director located in the Hudson Valley. Throughout her career, Poux has focused on creating original film in the YA genre, as well as scripted and unscripted contemporary theater.

As a filmmaker, Poux’s recent work includes the film short, Do Nothings (2023), a coming-of-age musical comedy, which follows the life of "Tamarin", a non-binary singer-songwriter with crippling stage fright. Do Nothings (2023) was accepted in into the Big Apple Film Festival, has garnered the “Best Composer” award from LA Independent Women Filmmaker Awards, and is currently being submitted to festivals worldwide.

Producer, Sunday at Il Posto Accanto by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld (“The Get Down”/Netflix, “Them”/Amazon), starring NYC performer wizard, Danny Hoch, and Victor Rasuk (How to make it in America, Raising Victor Vargas).

Do Nothings, Director/Screenwriter, (Northguild Productions/HUDSY-TV) Ultra short character study about a gender-queer teen. Awarded by NewFilmmakers NY 2021, NYWIFT iWoman Fest, 2022.

I’m Okay, Director/Screenwriter, (HUDSY-TV) (Sequel to Do Nothings short) awarded by NewFilmmakers NY 2021, NYWIFT iWoman Fest, 2022.

As a theater director, Poux has worked Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway as well as nontraditional theater spaces including Theatre for the New City, Angel Theatre, Primary Stages, WestBeth Theatre Center, The Greenwich Street Theatre in New York City and Old Stone House, Brooklyn and Teatro La Tea, NYC. Most notable NYC work includes The Black-Eyed Brothers by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld, West Beth Theater Center, and Take To The Bed by Joan Rater, Theater For The New City.

Poux is currently developing The Restaurant, an original, site specific, immersive musical theater play about the inner workings of a family-owned restaurant.

In the Hudson Valley, Poux formed Intergeneration Ensemble (I.E.) and Youth Ensemble Theater (Y.E.T) which have had award-winning productions at The Richard B. Fisher Performing Arts Center (Bard College), NY State & Film/Powerhouse Theater Festival (Poughkeepsie, NY), Byrdcliffe Theater (Woodstock, NY), Denizen Theatre (New Paltz, NY) among others. YET has garnered awards from the American Academy for the Dramatic Arts (Featured performance/Youth Theatre Conference 2018), the NYC Thespian Society (Best Play/Best supporting actress, 2019), NYS Theatre Education Association (Award of Excellence 2019) , and was awarded 1st place, “Best Film 2022” in the Tales From the Catskills Amateur Film Competition for the short film ESCAPE!!!

During the covid pandemic, Poux focused on unscripted zoom productions and teleplays, including: "Zoom School", an unscripted, improvised web series about a group of random students forced to complete a nightmare school project on Zoom, and "WEIrD", a teleplay about an outcast teen and the community that conspires to ostracize him.

Poux is the Former Director of Education, Film at Lincoln Center, where she designed, launched and oversaw visual literacy and filmmaking programs, and the Young filmmakers Awards as part of the Film Society Kids initiative, which benefitted more than 2000 children annually.

Most recently, Poux was theEducational Development & Youth Access Advisor at Mary Stuart Masterson's Stockade Works, in Kingston NY, where she designed and launched the Youth Access (SWAY) initiative providing film crew training institutes to under-served youth in Ellenville, NY.

Poux resides in Rosendale NY with her life-partner, Johnny, with whom she has raised two kids, three cats, and many ducks.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Do Nothings is for those kids - and grown up kids - who exist outside of mainstream culture. Our LGBTQIA+, our alternative thinkers, our change-makers - people who experience a torrent of low-key rejections every day that signal they don’t count. Our “Do Nothings” get the message loud and clear.

Today, LGBTQIA+ youths have a rate of attempted suicide 5 times higher than their heterosexual peers, according to the CDC, and two thirds of transgender youth report self-harm in past year (Centre for Suicide Prevention). And as trans rights stand in the balance once again, victimization is on the rise.

We are driven to use this pilot to broadcast our message and change the paradigm for young people who endure discriminatory inequities. We need media that authentically reflects the journey of queer and outsider young people; so that they can understand that they’re not alone, and be empowered to continue as their unspoiled selves.