Mermaid

Tobi, a trans man haunted by his mother’s death in a boating accident, clings to the belief that she survives beneath Lake Michigan as a mermaid calling him home. As his obsession deepens, his partner Hannah struggles to keep their love afloat before it slips beneath the waves.

  • Jerry D. Ochoa
    Director
    The Virgin, MASK, This Neighborhood
  • Jerry D. Ochoa
    Writer
    The Virgin, MASK, This Neighborhood
  • Tobi Wyld
    Key Cast
  • Hannah Murphy
    Key Cast
  • Seth Gersbach
    Key Cast
  • Zaya Proch
    Key Cast
  • Scottie Rae Eskelund
    Key Cast
  • Jerry D. Ochoa
    Producer
    The Virgin, MASK, This Neighborhood
  • Joe Hedrick
    Sound
    MASK
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, horror
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 51 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 15, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    12,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Jerry D. Ochoa

Jerry D. Ochoa is a Chicago-based writer and director. His feature film script THE VIRGIN, written with Trysta A. Bissett, was a Finalist in the Horror Feature Screenplay competition at the 2022 Austin Film Festival. THE VIRGIN also won Best Unproduced Feature Screenplay at the 2021 FilmQuest Festival, the 2021 New York City Horror Fest, the 2022 Hollywood Horror Fest, and was a quarter-finalist at Slamdance 2022. His directing work has been featured at festivals around the world, winning the Audience Award at Chicago International Shorts 2018, Best Horror Short at the 2015 Fright Night Theatre Film Festival, Best Writing (short film) at the 2015 Fantastic Cinema Festival, the Judges Special Selection Award at the Festival de Cine de Terror de Molins de Rei, 2014, and the Breakout Action Star Award at the 2008 Los Angeles Action on Film Festival.

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Director Statement

Mermaid was inspired by my close friends Tobi (he/they) and Hannah (she/her), who star in the film. Their relationship - passionate, complicated, and evolving through Tobi’s gender transition - revealed to me a uniquely intimate kind of horror: the fear that the person you love most is transforming beyond your reach.

We filmed with a two-person cast and two-person crew for most of the production, in Tobi and Hannah’s real home and the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. The shoot was as raw and vulnerable as the story itself. Even as their relationship shifted offscreen, they remained fully committed onscreen, giving performances that carry both authenticity and heartbreak.

I’m so proud of what we made together. My hope is that Mermaid resonates with anyone who has faced the terror of losing the person they love, whether to the past, to transformation, or to the unknowable depths.