reel resistance fellows 2025
Atlanta Pride and Out On Film have named the recipients of the 2025 Reel Resistance Fellowship.
The Reel Resistance Fellowship is a six-month program designed to empower LGBTQ+ filmmakers across Georgia to explore and document our community’s rich and complex history through short-form documentaries and narrative films. This year, up to five filmmakers—emerging or established—were eligible to be elected to create 8–10 minute films that spotlight pivotal people, places, and movements that have shaped queer life in Georgia.
Out of 32 applicants, five were chosen.
Beyond the Doors of 708 (Malachi King)
In the heart of Atlanta's bustling streets, Club 708 was a refuge, a historic gathering place where the laughter and stories of the LGBTQ+ Black community echoed; this documentary traces the profound impact of its abrupt closure, revealing the void left behind in a culture that thrived on connection and belonging.
The Center of Atlanta (Working Title) (Carlo Velayo)
As the Atlanta community works to build the next generation LGBTQ+ Community Center, this short documentary celebrates the foundations paved 50 years ago through the Atlanta Gay Center.
Eight Heels and a Hard Truth (Aubrianna Escalera)
Set in the Southeast—where LGBTQIA+ histories have long been under-documented—Eight Heels and a Hard Truth follows a Mexican-born trans woman who survived silence, violence, and erasure in the Deep South’s bail bond world before reclaiming her voice and joining other leaders in Atlanta. The film honors the resilience of trans women like her who not only survived, but thrived as “ladies” in the South—often unseen, but never without power.
Meet Us at the Winecoff (Jesse Grainger)
Southern transgender Catholic Chaplain Catherine “Cat” Moore investigates the little-known but spectacular story of Atlanta’s first LGBTQ congregation that met at the infamous Winecoff hotel.
When We Rise in the South (Brad Bailey)
In 2016, Atlanta activist Daniel Driffin became the first openly gay Black man living with HIV to speak at the Democratic National Convention. This short documentary retraces his journey from Georgia’s grassroots HIV advocacy networks to the national stage — revealing how his visibility transformed both Southern queer identity and the fight for health equity.
Congratulations to all of our winners. A premiere screening of the completed works will debut in June 2026 as part of Stonewall Month activities, and the films will serve as living archives—works of “artivism” that not only reflect the past but help shape the future.