Waypoints
When pushed to their limit, can they find a way back to themselves? Can they make an escape?
Could you?
Would you?
LGBTQ+ short thriller about trying to escape intimate partner violence and silent abuse featuring an indigenous genderqueer main character.
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Cas TaylorDirectorWaypoints, Hiraeth (The Longing)
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Cas TaylorProducerThe Souls of Black Pebbles, Beautified, Waypoints, Hireath, Turkey, The Woman In the Room, Submergent, Invasion of the Not Quite Dead
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Cas TaylorKey Cast
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Cas TaylorProduction DesignThe Souls of Black Pebbles, Submergent, The Woman In The Room
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Project Type:Experimental, Short
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Genres:drama, lgbtq, experimental
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Runtime:4 minutes 40 seconds
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Completion Date:May 3, 2021
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Production Budget:50 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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Shooting Format:digital
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Film Color:Black & White and Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Big Sur Film Festival
Best Thriller Short, Best LGBTQ Short -
Imagine Rain Independent Film AwardsSilicon Valley
June 7, 2021
Best LGBTQ Short, Grand Jury Prize Best Female Filmmaker -
New Wave Film FestivalMunich
Germany
May 31, 2021
Finalist -
Smyrna International Film FestivalIzmir
Turkey
June 20, 2021
Honorable Mention Best LGBT Shor Film -
Vesuvius International Film FestNapoli
Italy
June 30, 2021
Best LGBT Short Movie
Hi, my name is Cas Taylor (she/her, they/them) and I am a Pacific Northwest-based queer indigenous creator with familial ties to the Nisqually valley and the Alaskan north slope. I am creating a series of short films which are becoming a larger vision of which Waypoints is the soul.
I grew up in Olympia, WA, where long soggy weekends meant days spent inside watching old films on a small television that only received three channels. This meant I quickly acquired an appreciation and interest for movies, especially foreign films and obscure 70s films which were on near-constant rotation. As I came to understand my own story through those I experienced on the page and onscreen, I developed a passion for LGBTQI+ stories. It became my goal to empower and amplify character-driven narratives and independent creators whose stories seemed few and far between.
My only true vice is fair trade coffee. And pie. And getting lost on back roads, exploring local coffee shops across the US, and discovering gazebos of historical significance. When I’m not creating, I do my level best to chase mindfulness. I enjoy giving back to my community, running 5ks for charity, trawling vintage stores for props, and (more frequently than I’d care to admit) fall asleep in savasana pose.
I was drawn to explore and depict the themes of Post Traumatic Stress and trauma presented in Waypoints because while complex and difficult to confront, I believe healing is rooted in tough conversations, accountability, personal responsibility, forgiveness, and letting go.