ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
A late-90s genderqueer pre-teen defies a grieving mother and uncomprehending best friend to embody their true gender and sexual identities in the wake of a devastating family tragedy.

SYNOPSIS
PONY, a 15-minute short film, follows ZOE, a genderqueer 12-year-old growing up in semi-rural Pennsylvania in the late-90s.

The film begins with Zoe in their locked bathroom, holding a pair of scissors to their ponytail, as their MOM (40s) frantically tries to break in. Zoe, in a moment of stress, sees a PRETEEN (11), appear behind them in the mirror, before Mom crashes through the door. Mom makes Zoe hand the scissors over and leaves, exhausted. Zoe, defeated, looks back in the mirror; the preteen is gone. Zoe stares at the words “TONY” written in bubble letters on the mirror. They rips the ‘T” sticker off and write a “P” in its place. “PONY.” This morphs into the animated title sequence of the film, showing photos of Zoe's twin Tony, now passed away.

The next day, Mom and Zoe play a tense game of Jenga on the porch. Zoe’s best friend and crush KAYLEY (12) arrives for a sleepover—it’s Zoe and deceased-Tony’s birthday the next day. Mom wants Zoe to dress more feminine, Zoe may have recently gone into the off-limits garage, and Zoe wants Tony's name on the cake, upsetting Mom.

Later that evening, Mom forces Zoe to wear a birthday dress. Zoe crumples. Kayley sides with them, which alienates Mom, and re-ignites Zoe’s crush feelings, easing their dysphoria, and pushing them toward a decision.

At night, Zoe leads Kayley away from Mom and into the forbidden garage. It is in the garage where the circumstances of the death of Zoe’s twin—renamed Pony by Zoe—are revealed, along with Zoe’s grief; where Zoe’s burgeoning feelings for their best friend, reciprocated, end in disaster; and where Zoe’s gender-clashes with their mother come to a head. When finally confronted by these challenges, Zoe lets go of the past to find new beginnings.

PROJECT TYPE Narrative Short

DIRECTOR Halo Rossetti
SCREENWRITER Halo Rossetti
PRODUCER Kathryn Foley, Halo Rossetti, Meaghan Wilbur
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Willow Krake
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Cybee Bloss, Hansen Bursic, Kenneth Sogabe, Ariel Mahler

WEBSITE ponythefilm.com