Hex The Patriarchy
Fed up with being bullied in high school, demisexual and asexual best friends Bex and Wren strike back with a bit of magic that has unintended consequences.
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Anne BrashierDirectorThe Cypher (2020, OutFest, ABFF,Tribeca Official Selection), The Dugout (Stowe Story Lab), Us vs Us (Catalina Film Festival, Global Shorts Festival2021)
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Heather Muriel NguyễnWriterTHƠ (Outfest 2021, CAAMFest 2022, OutMuseum 2022 Ace Of Hearts Exhibition)
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Anne BrashierProducerThe Cypher (2020, OutFest, ABFF,Tribeca Official Selection), The Dugout (Stowe Story Lab), Us vs Us (Catalina Film Festival, Global Shorts Festival2021)
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Heather Muriel NguyễnProducerTHƠ (Outfest 2021, CAAMFest 2022, OutMuseum 2022 Ace Of Hearts Exhibition)
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Xan ChurchwellProducer
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Heather Muriel NguyễnKey Cast"Wren"THƠ (Outfest 2021, CAAMFest 2022, OutMuseum 2022 Ace Of Hearts Exhibition)
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Xan ChurchwellKey Cast"Bex"
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Jerry NgKey Cast"Evan"
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Ben UbiñasKey Cast"Danny"
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Natalia CaraballoKey Cast"Charlie"
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Michelle MaoExecutive Producer
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Catalina ParraCinematographer
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Blaine Morris1st Assistant Directors
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Catelin Shane1st Assistant Directors
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Missy Pawneshing1st Assistant Camera
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Megan LauGaffer
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Katrina SkenderProduction Designer
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Matt PerezBoom Operator & Location Sound MixerLove You Anyway (2022), Happy Birthday, You Made It (2022)
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Ashanta MorrisMakeup & Hair Stylist
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Sam CotaMakeup Artist
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Mel OrpenProduction Assistant
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Pablo LangaineComposer & Music Supervisor
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Blaine MorrisEditor
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Catalina ParraColorist
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Jax SavagePost Sound Mixer & Sound Designer
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Joseph CruzVisual Effects
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Rachel LazarusWitch Consultant
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Jaki KingPoster Design
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Project Type:Short
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Runtime:6 minutes
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Production Budget:10,000 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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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:Yes - USC
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Outfest Fusion - Opening Night GalaLos Angeles, CA
United States
March 24, 2023
Theatrical Premiere
Opening Night Gala -
DisOrient Asian and Pacific Islander American Film FestivalEugene, OR
United States
March 13, 2023
Virtual Premiere
Official Selection -
Wicked Queer: Boston's LGBTQ+ Film FestivalBoston, MA
United States
April 9, 2023
East Coast Premiere
Official Selection -
NewFilmmakers Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA
United States
June 17, 2023
Official Selection -
Outfest Los AngelesLos Angeles, CA
United States
July 21, 2023
Official Selection -
PrideFull Fest 2023New York, New York
United States
September 12, 2023
New York Premiere
Official Selection -
Fargo Moorhead LGBT Film FestivalFargo, North Dakota
United States
September 16, 2023
North Dakota Premiere
Official Selection -
Viet Film FestSanta Ana, CA
United States
September 30, 2023
Official Selection
Anne Brashier makes emotionally gripping, physically dynamic, boldly engaging film and theater.
She holds an MFA in film production at USC, where she directed Us vs Us, a documentary about political polarization during the 2020 Fall General Election (Global Shorts Festival, Catalina International Film Festival).
Her film The Dermatologist, about a spy who discovers that her target is her mom, premiered at the 2019 Broad Humor Festival. She co-produced The Cypher, a short that is an official selection at 2020 Tribeca.
She was recently accepted into the Stowe Story Lab to develop Dugout, an adaptation of MacBeth set at a Little League game.
She was a 2019 NBCUniversal Writer's On The Verge finalist, and her scripts have won several competitions.
Her work has appeared at Indiecade, Company of Angels, Some Assembly Required, Sacred Fools, and the NYC, New Zealand, and Hollywood Fringe Festivals. She directed the LA Webfest award-winning webseries Corporate, and was nominated for Best Choreographer at the LA Weekly Theater Awards with the LA Theatre Ensemble. She is also a former sailing instructor who performed for years as a singing & dancing microwave oven.
Hex the Patriarchy is a heartfelt celebration of loving who you are and inviting everyone around you to embrace themselves. We wanted to explore what it'd be like to have magic in high school, often the most confusing place and time, especially as a young queer and trans child trying to make friends and not understanding why they're not liked.
Our writer Heather survived childhood with her own best friend, respectively queer and trans before they knew those terms existed. They wished for magic to counter bullies' hurtful words but also unleash vibrantly queer joy and self-love as the ultimate revenge, because what's more terrifying to a bully than to see themselves in the ones they try to ostracize? Hex the Patriarchy is a love letter to their younger selves, who didn't know such an affirming story and world could be theirs.
And, how can you not fall in love with a story about two queer witchy teenagers who try so hard to make friends and care for each other? I adored these characters so much that I could not wait to get them on screen. As someone who came to be brave about my queerness later in life, I wish my teenage self had friends like Bex and Wren. I was honored to work with Heather on their hilarious and loving script, and it was a joy to bring it to life with a talented cast and crew. Here's to shouting it from the rooftops and chanting it on repeat: being queer is beautiful.