Pacemaker, the new animated musical short starring 2023 Tony Award winner Alex Newell (Shucked) — the first-ever non-binary actor to win a Tony — and multi-Grammy Award winner Philip Lawrence (of Bruno Mars fame), will have a U.S. premiere at the OUTFEST LA festival on July 23.
Pacemaker tells the story of a grandfather’s hopeful acceptance of his trans grandson. The story is told through an original contemporary song with music and lyrics by Christopher Lennertz and orchestrations by Ella Feingold (Silk Sonic). Two-time Emmy nominee and Grammy winner Lennertz wrote the screenplay, inspired by life with his trans son, who also consulted on the film’s story. Brian Vincent Rhodes (Spies in Disguise) co-directs with Lennertz.
“This film is a love letter to my and every family’s journey toward understanding and accepting each human’s identity and purpose,” said Lennertz. “Inspired by my son Tobi and our love of classic animated musicals — where a song can transport audiences and help them experience joy in their own lives — we set out to create a film like those we all know and love but with a new look and message of love and pride for families of the LGBTQIA+ community and the world. Love truly wins when we follow the rhythm of our hearts.”
The film is produced by animation veterans Darlene Caamaño Loquet (The Bling Ring, A Loud House Christmas) and Magdiela Hermida Duhamel (Pixar’s Inside Out 2, Marvel’s What If…?). Alex Bedford and Ben Parkin produce for A.R.C. in London. Nate Stevenson (Nimona) serves as executive producer. Davy Nathan (Toni Braxton) and Lawrence produced the music and sounds at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.
Newell, an icon of the LGBTQIA community, came to fame on the hit show Glee and is well known for Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and Broadway’s Once on This Island. Lawrence (Rio) has co-written and been featured on many hits and tours with Bruno Mars, including “Uptown Funk,” and wrote the songs for last year’s hit Christmas musical Jingle Jangle (with Nathan) for Netflix.
OUTFEST®, established in 1982, is one of the only global LGBTQIA+ arts, media and entertainment organizations whose programs empower artists, communities and filmmakers to transform the world through their stories while supporting the entire life-cycle of their careers.
This year’s film festival dates are July 13-23. Visit outfestla.org for further information and to purchase tickets.
