Noah Schamus’ Summer Solstice Teaser Explores How Transitioning Can Change Friendship Dynamics (Video)

The teaser for Noah Schamus’ queer drama Summer Solstice is out just in time for its world premiere next week at Provincetown Film Festival.

What Is Summer Solstice About?

Starring Bobbi Salvör Menuez as Leo and Marianne Rendón as Eleanor, Summer Solstice follows Leo as he navigates how coming out and transitioning affects his friendships. Leo spends a weekend trip with his cisgender, straight friend Eleanor, prompting them to uncover old secrets and new challenges in their dynamic.

The film will have its world premiere on Friday, June 16th, 2023 in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

A trans and non-binary filmmaker himself, writer-director Noah Schamus drew on their own life experiences with shifting dynamics in friendships after coming out as they wrote the screenplay .

The film was shot on location in New York’s Hudson Valley and Brooklyn last summer.

MovieMaker is proud to support Summer Solstice through MovieMaker Production Services.

Noah Schamus’ Goal as a Filmmaker Is to Humanize Queer and Trans Stories

As a filmmaker, Noah Schamus is focused on humanizing queer and trans stories. Their recent short film, “The Script,” premiered at CPH:DOX in March.

Menuez, who plays Leo, is a trans and non-binary actor. They have recently appeared in Jacqueline Castel’s Sundance queer romance horror My Animal opposite Amandla Stenberg. Other credits of theirs include Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, Rhys Ernst’s Adam, Gillian Robespierre’s Landline, Elizabeth Wood’s White Girl, and HBO’s Euphoria.

Marianne Rendón, who plays Eleanor, has recently been seen in series regular roles on The CW’s In The Dark and Bravo’s Imposters. She also appears opposite David Schwimmer in the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations. Her other film credits include Mary Harron’s Charlie Says, Ondi Timoner’s Mapplethorpe, and John Swab’s One Day as a Lion.

Also Read: Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story Follows Skateboarding Legend on Journey of Self-Discovery

“Working with Bobbi and Marianne was a dream come true, particularly on my first feature. Beyond being fantastic actors, they are deeply empathetic, thoughtful, and kind. I had been living with the script and these characters for over two years and thought I knew Leo and Eleanor inside and out, but, every day, Bobbi and Marianne brought enormous nuance and depth to their characters in ways that I couldn’t have dreamed of before production,” Schamus said.

Summer Solstice was produced by Schamus, Jesse Miller, Jess Zeidman, Arno Mokros, and Harper Makowsky.

Watch the teaser above.