Billy Porter’s ‘Anything’s Possible’ to open Outfest Los Angeles Film Festival
The romantic comedy — a coming-of-age story with a trans star, Eva Reign — is the "Pose" actor's directorial debut.
Billy Porter is making his directorial debut with Amazon Studios’ Anything’s Possible, and Outfest just announced the romantic comedy will serve as the opening film at the 40th annual Outfest Los Angeles Film Festival next month.
Anything’s Possible premieres on Thursday, July 14, at a gala event beginning at 5 p.m. PST at The Orpheum Theatre, kicking off the 10-day LGTBQ+ movie fair. It’s set to launch to global audiences on Amazon Prime Video eight days later, on Friday, July 22.
As the official synopsis describes it, the film highlights “the joy, tenderness and pain of young love.”
Called a “modern Gen-Z coming of age story,” Anything’s Possible, written by Ximena García Lecuona, stars Eva Reign as Kelsa, a trans high school senior who gracefully navigates the tricky territory this period in one’s youth often brings. Khal (Abubakr Ali), a classmate of Kelsa’s, develops a crush on her and eventually asks her out, even though it could cause drama on campus.
Its director, Porter, is the multi-hyphenate talent — an acclaimed actor, singer, composer and writer — who has entertained audiences and won awards portraying Pray Tell on the FX hit, Pose. His film will now have an even bigger audience when it screens at Outfest this summer, aligning perfectly with the festival’s core mission to “promote queer narratives and empathy amongst the public, careers in entertainment and the exhibition and preservation of LGBTQIA+ stories and voices.”
“What better way to celebrate our 40th year of Outfest LA than to honor Billy Porter at our Opening Night with his incredible directorial debut,” said Damien S. Navarro, Outfest executive director, in a statement. “We’re excited to host audiences and fans across the city to celebrate just how far queer cinema and entertainment have come. The body of work we have curated from nearly every continent, increasingly represents adventurous styles and genres — from vibrant romantic comedies, where the trans lead gets the boy, to horror films that balance the scares and the sexy.”
Closing the festival — which lasts though July 24 at L.A. venues including The Orpheum, The Directors Guild of America, The Theatre at Ace Hotel and The Ford — is They/Them (‘they slash them’), a Blumhouse Production set to drop on Peacock this year. The project is a horror film set at an LGBTQIA+ conversion camp, and it stars Kevin Bacon as camp director Owen Whistler.
For more information on Outfest, how to attend and more, head to the official website.
Check out the trailer for Anything’s Possible below.
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