A hookup becomes an exterminator's fever dream in this 20-minute identity odyssey.
A black transgender man plans to exchange sex for top surgery money with an older gay man until his night hook up turns into a hunt for a cockroach who inspires him to open his heart and conquer his fears.
Acting
Justice Singleton directs himself with raw, unguarded vulnerability.
Direction
John Cameron Mitchell's cameo carries Hedwig-level weird warmth.
Writing
Cockroach as metaphor? Actually earns it. Somehow.
Director
Justice Singleton
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Justice Singleton emerged from Brooklyn's underground queer film scene; this premiered at Sundance's experimental sidebar, signaling a wave of transmasculine directors rejecting medical transition narratives for surrealist ones.
The cockroach was 'played' by three different insects due to union rules—Singleton has joked that 'lead roach' demanded trailer privileges.
US
