Representation Through Photography and Film with Alon Borten
Alon Borten
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.
Alon Borten (He/Him) is a Los Angeles-based queer Jewish artist originally from Queens, New York. His work on identity and representation has been produced and exhibited for the last decade through both photography and film. After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in 2015, he moved to Los Angeles to become a filmmaker. He directed his first short film, A PRAYER, which had its world premiere at Outfest followed by premieres at Newfest , and the Moscow Jewish Film Festival. His forthcoming short film, THIS IS FOR YOU, will be submitted to festivals beginning in June 2022. Alon is passionate about minority representation in media and seeks to make work that shines a light on those communities' experiences. Alon is working on pitching his first feature and TV pilot and hopes to direct each in the next few years.
What are you best known for?
My kindness! I’m kind to pretty much anyone I meet and I think I have a tendency to empathize with others in an intense way because of that. It’s part of the strength I bring to the table when working with actors to help uncover deeper truths in the characters they’re portraying.
What is the first thing you worked on?
The first film project I made is titled “Middle School”. It was an experimental video I produced the summer before my thesis year at the School of Visual Arts’ photo & video program. I reached out to my entire elementary/middle school class (around 35 people- yes it was that small). Half responded and agreed to be part of it. The finished film has video footage of each of them with my recorded VO talking about the bullying I experienced at the private Jewish school we attended together. My first narrative film however, is titled A PRAYER and is currently streaming on Revry! It’s about a young Jewish woman who bravely decides to live her truth and come out to her husband.
What are you working on that no one knows about yet?
I’m working on my next short film titled THIS IS FOR YOU. We’re in post production now and are planning to begin festival submissions in June 2022. The film is about a queer couple spending their last weekend together. David and Robert confront the end of their relationship. David uses the weekend as an excuse to rent out an airbnb near their home in Los Angeles. They avoid saying goodbye to each other and instead focus on forming their last memories together. Apart from THIS IS FOR YOU, I’m working on pitching my first feature as well as my first TV pilot. Each has a focus on queer and Jewish characters among other minorities.