ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
JOHN is a romantic thriller following, Nineteen-year-old Calvin’s chance encounter with thirty-five-year-old John leads to a fiery tryst at John’s remote family cabin. But by morning, John has vanished without a trace. Desperate for answers, Calvin contacts John’s sister, Ali. As the three converge, family secrets unravel and Calvin soon realizes he’s tangled in an alluring web of deceit and desire—where nothing is as expected.

SYNOPSIS
When we talk about normalizing anything in society, it often happens in front of a lens. Normalizing not just a gay story, but one where the central conflict isn’t solely their sexuality, is something the LGBTQ+ community not only wants, but needs.

The goal for JOHN is to create three dimensional characters that are more than just their sexuality, but as fully realized human beings. In 2023, 1,243 films were made in the U.S., with only 100 featuring gay-identifying characters. And with any minority, stereotypes are often the first stories told.

John and Calvin’s dynamic was written to explore not only a gay relationship but one with a dangerous power imbalance, a reality often overlooked in storytelling. Age-gap relationships are more common than many realize—25% of such relationships happen to involve two men. This film aims to shed light on that truth, illuminating both the beauty and the hurt that many experience, in hopes of normalizing conversations around these relationships.

Hazel McKibbin, an award-winning British-American director will be bringing this story to life. It was important to bring on, not only a female director but one who understood the power imbalance well, which she has depicted in her award winning short film "She Always Wins".This film will not only relate to the LGBTQ+ community, but to all genders from all walks of life.

When JOHN was written, the intent was to create two men burdened with the weight of the world—where being gay, while not easy, was far from their top concern. Our character John Fitzpatrick is not shy about his sexuality, but too confident to care. He’s proud of who he is, and that’s a character the 574 million LGBTQ+ people worldwide would love to see.

PROJECT TYPE Narrative Short

DIRECTOR Hazel McKibbin
SCREENWRITER Andre Orozco
PRODUCER Symptoms Studio and Cardinal Flix
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Missy Keating, John Conroy