Experiencing Interruptions?

Escape From Canal Street

In exchange for clues about their girlfriends disappearance, androgynous bad-boy Dell is enlisted by an icy drag queen on the path of revenge to rob a notorious downtown sugar daddy in this glitter-noir short film.

  • Tristen Stafford
    Director
    Pretenders
  • Tristen Stafford
    Writer
    Pretenders
  • Matt Walton
    Producer
    Pretenders
  • Libby Larkin
    Key Cast
    "Dell"
    Pretenders
  • Matt Walton
    Key Cast
    "Sugar Daddy"
    Wu Tang: An American Saga
  • Malcolm Minor
    Key Cast
    "Samantha"
  • Sadie Scott
    Key Cast
    "Tiff"
    Spoiler Alert, Sweetbitter
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, LGBTQ, Noir
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 35 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 2, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital, ProRes Raw
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Tristen Stafford

Tristen Stafford is queer non binary filmmaker located in Brooklyn, NY. In 2021, their debut feature film "Pretenders" won Best Feature Comedy @ Cinequest and is now available across streaming platforms. In 2022, they have completed three short films. Stories and art have become a reflection that allows me to analyze the real world with realer worlds. I'm searching to find the truth within the facts of my life through the only tool that my dainty hands know how to use: cinema.

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Director Statement

Most of my past feels tucked away around a dark corner inside my brain, and I was desperate to uncover and understand my own personal context. It took me running away to New York City to realize that life wasn’t like that for everyone, and movies were my guiding light along the way, and that they should be fun and create a world to get lost and play in. “Escape From Canal Street” is imbued with the faith and trust that movies, like always, would settle my soul and give me a physical form to reflect on. The result is a dreamy 15 minute queer noir film projected on a disco ball. It is the inside of myself outside of myself; without Escape From Canal Street, I may not have discovered my own gender identity, and it is truly resuscitating.