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IF THIS IS WRONG

When it comes to primetime television’s most homoerotic buddy cop series, it would be hard to find a more obsessed fan than Maria. Black, queer and a lifelong geek with a love for slash fanfiction, Maria’s deepest passion is the show Bay City and the work of a mysterious fic writer who seems to understand what it’s like to feel like an outsider. But in real life, Maria finds little empathy from her best friend Anna. In her opinion, all Bay City represents is another case of network queerbaiting and a distraction that holds back Maria from pursuing relationships outside of her laptop. Maria hopes a trip to the coffee shop that inspired her favorite writer’s newest fic might help her bring Anna into the fold.

  • Chelsea Woods
    Director
    Fog
  • Chelsea Woods
    Writer
    Fog
  • Franzeska Dickson
    Writer
  • Kate Chamuris
    Producer
    Miller & Son
  • Cherish Monique Duke
    Key Cast
    "Maria"
  • Diana Toshiko
    Key Cast
    "Anna"
  • Katie Kerr
    Key Cast
    "Sue"
  • Dustyn Gulledge
    Key Cast
    "Brian"
  • Nahesi Crawford
    Key Cast
    "Carlos"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    comedy, romance, lgbtq, student
  • Runtime:
    13 minutes 49 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Citizen Jane
    Columbia, MO
    United States
    November 3, 2018
  • Oxford Film Festival
  • ClexaCon
  • FilmOut Toronto
Director Biography - Chelsea Woods

Chelsea is a writer-director from Los Angeles, California. A longtime geek, she first caught the fandom bug via Lord of the Rings fics on fanfiction.net and cut her teeth writing fics on LiveJournal and Archive of Our Own.

Chelsea began her career in film and television working on director Ava DuVernay's second feature, Middle of Nowhere, and continued to work in production on television shows including Touch, Criminal Minds and Jane the Virgin. In 2015, Chelsea was one of the ten participants of AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women where she wrote and directed Fog. The short has screened as a part of the official selection at LA Shorts Fest, St. Louis International Film Festival and other festivals around the US. Chelsea is currently developing Evangeline, her first feature length effort.

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Director Statement

The characters of If This Is Wrong are the women you find every day in fandom communities. They come from different walks of life and different points of view. They come to fandom and the numerous communities within fandoms for a host of personal reasons. They talk about the variety of issues that stem not only from the subject of their admiration but also from how one another are treated. And for too long has that perspective been absent from the larger narrative. This is a story about fandom from a fangirl’s point of view.

By looking at the world of slash fanfiction, this film explores how people connect and explore themselves and their world through fictional characters and their trials and tribulations. For many women, fanfiction is an opportunity to reshape these fictional worlds for themselves, using these characters as fuel to not only create new art but also fascinating explorations into intimacy. This is a story by fangirls about what fanfiction means to them.

Even though we’ve begun to see TV embrace more diverse casts, fandom trends – and discourse around these trends – have been resistant to change. Fangirls of color have always been a part of the fandom community yet their presence is seemingly invisible. And when they speak up, they are often met with resistance from other fans. For all of us involved we see this film as a great opportunity to show a queer black woman who fully embraces herself and her love of slash, and more importantly, to highlight the fact that women of color are fangirls too. This is a story about the reality of being a fangirl: we come from all backgrounds.

But at the end of the day, this film is simply a love story. Not only a love story about two people, but a love story about fandom. I’ve loved fandom since I wandered onto Fanfiction.Net in 2001. For 16 years, my journey as a filmmaker has been tied to fandom: Fanfiction helped me become a better writer. Running a fandom blog taught me the basics of coding and Photoshop. Cosplay taught me how to sew. I made lifelong friends through reblogs and ask boxes. Fandom offered me the chance to grow in so many ways, just as it does for many people around the world. And it is my pleasure to share that passion to you through this film.