The Girl That Got Away, a short documentary co-directed by Lauren Veen (FGP) and Ephi Stempler just wrapped up its festival run this weekend at the LA Indie Film Festival. The film made its world premiere at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival in February 2023 where it received the Audience Award for Best Documentary Short. It went on to screen at Frameline47, indie Short Fest, Outfest LA, CA Pride, Reel Queer Flix, and LA Indie Film Festival. Shout out to the festivals for hosting us; friends, family and colleagues for supporting us; and most importantly, Angel for courageously sharing her story.
“THE GIRL THAT GOT AWAY, though a heart-wrenching cautionary tale, is a festival highlight. Angel, at 64, is an HIV+ Mexican-American actor in San Francisco, often playing heavies and villains, who must decide whether to continue playing cis male roles on and offscreen after finally accepting that he identifies as female. Angel is in and out of the trans closet, suffers from depression, and is afraid of meeting other trans people because, "they would bring me all the way out." Angel's too scared to be the person he really is. While out to his Dixon, California family as gay (and attending the town's first Pride), Angel's reluctant to say anything about being trans, "because I'm afraid of losing them... There's always something stopping me." Angel remains hopeful his goal of transparency can be met this year and the audience in tears will be rooting for Angel every step of the way. “
- Bay Area Reporter (SF Independent Film Festival)
