Return Love is a queer romantic drama about an isolated non-binary artist from the high desert city of Albuquerque, New Mexico who leaves their struggling family to study at a prestigious acting school in London, where they fall for a Somali refugee who's just started to become himself. After dreaming of being an actor, Zeke is accepted to the London Academy of Dramatic Art. Amidst the magic of queer London nightlife, they meet an alluring stranger named Cass. As they develop an explosive intimacy, the hard lines of tribalism, territory and migration tighten around the young lovers.
image.png2.2 MB I grew up in New Mexico in a family of politicians, activists and writers. I went to school in Boston and London, then trained and worked in Los Angeles for nine years. I am now a New York City-based actor and writer. In London, I fell in love with a queer Somali refugee. Shortly after, I lost my father to cancer. Both experiences taught me about the power and the limits of love. This feature-length film will enkindle hope, invoke the courage to love fully, and present humanistic and compassionate migrant refugee stories. It is a film for queer, alienated youth who feel they must go far from home in an unstable world.
The production company Buffalo 8 wants to develop this project, and has provided a modest quote to create a shooting schedule and budget top sheet. This is the next step, as these materials are needed to secure directors, investors and producers. Since its founding in 2013 Buffalo 8 has supported 400 film and television productions, with Ira Sachs' Little Men premiering at Sundance in 2016 then being acquired by Magnolia Pictures. Since 2022 Buffalo 8 has screened ten films at Tribeca, TIFF and SXSW, and had two projects released on Netflix.
Return Love will contain the moment-to-moment intimacy of Moonlight, the underground double lives of Sebastian and The Crying Game, the vast, cross-cultural romance of A Moment in the Reeds, the migrant triumph of Io Capitano, the hate of God Loves Uganda, and the alienation of Happy Together. I am attracted to grounded realism that depicts life as it is if we are paying attention. This film will live in the black and grey of a London winter, with nighttime pops of color and shafts of light. Muted daytime pastels and earth tones will contrast. The love affair blossoms in darkness because there is nowhere else for it to go. Juxtaposing spring colors will eventually explode.
