Allison Tate Highlights Queer and Non-Binary Stories
Allison Tate
In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the LGBTQ media and entertainment community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood.
Allison Tate is an award-winning writer, director, and producer of diverse narrative, documentary, and digital content. Her latest directorial project, LEGACY OF LOVE, is a short documentary about a lesbian couple whose relationship spans almost 50 years. She directed the 8-minute episode for the Facebook Watch series 365 DAYS OF LOVE, which was executive produced by Sofia Vergara. Prior to that, she wrote, directed, co-produced, and edited the award-winning CAROL SUPPORT GROUP, a comedic homage to the Academy-Award nominated film CAROL (2015) directed by Todd Haynes. While creating CAROL SUPPORT GROUP, Allison served as the Director of Editorial Video at Pride Media, where she led the video team for the largest LGBT brands in the world including The Advocate, Pride.com and Out Magazine. Her producing credits include Season 7 of HEY QWEEN!, a drag talk show featuring RuPual's Drag Race superstars. She also produced DANNY THE MANNY, a web series about a gay babysitter and the cross-dressing kid he watches and influences. IndieWire called the show "nearly perfect" and listed it as one of the best web series of 2016.
What are you best known for?
I suppose I am known for creating a variety of queer content, and specifically for my short film CAROL SUPPORT GROUP, a comedic homage to the queer classic Carol (2015) directed by Todd Haynes. I’m quite proud of CAROL SUPPORT GROUP because it played in large festivals, won awards, and delighted “Carolholic” fans around the globe. It premiered to a sold-out Castro Theatre at the Frameline Film Festival and garnered coverage from Huffington Post, Wired, and them. Curve Magazine called it "the perfect homage." Check it out at carolsupportgroup.com
What is the first thing you directed?
The first thing that I directed that felt like a very personal expression is a short called A KISS FROM YOUR LIPS. It's a one-take swing dance film with a queer twist. I released it on Valentine’s Day and it was picked up and shared by several outlets including UpWorthy, Pride.com, Autostraddle, Joey Soloway’s Wifey.tv and more. It made a splash and helped kickstart my filmmaking career. Available on allisonfilms.com.
What are you working on that no one knows about yet?
I am developing a coming of age feature film about a swing dancing grrrl gang that fights back against discrimination. My goal is to highlight queer and non-binary characters in ways I haven’t seen before, and bring a fun, romantic, colorful, empowering story to viewers like you. Feel free to follow my journey at @allisonfilms on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.