SHORT STUFF EXCLUSIVE: Watch the trailer for 'Them That's Not', Mekhai Lee's short about grief, family and the Deaf experience
By Natalia Albin Legorreta
In Mekhai Lee's debut short film, Them That's Not, we follow Andrea "Drea" Stoney, a Deaf, queer poet reuniting with her family for her grandmother's funeral. To her surprise, her estranged father has been permitted a one-day prison furlough, forcing her to confront unresolved pain while navigating the inherent loneliness of being Deaf in a family that, while loving, doesn't fully understand her experience.
Speaking to Short Stuff about his focus on the Deaf experience, Mekhai Lee says, "I was dealing with grief in my own right, really examining how isolating that could be. So while I do have Deaf family members, it was more about the metaphor. I thought that isolation may be how Deaf people feel in hearing families, or what queer people feel in heteronormative families. Deafness became a very tangible way to lock into Drea’s perspective, to lock into that barrier she feels with the rest of her family."
Head of DEI and Casting for the short Mars Rucker was instrumental in finding the perfect actor for Drea. While in production for American Idiot at Deaf West (a theatre company that incorporates sign language into popular and classic shows) Lee contacted Rucker, who suggested Angel Theory for the role, an actor, dancer and choreographer best known for her role as Kelly on The Walking Dead.. "We hopped on a Zoom, and Angel really interrogated me about my approach and how I viewed deafness," Lee says. "She was very adamant about helping me shape the role. There are certain choices that just wouldn't exist if Angel didn't play this."
Through Drea's father, Them That's Not also adds a subtle commentary on the prison experience, particularly in Black communities. "I have a family member who was a victim of the prison industrial complex,” Leee shares. “We very rarely see that portrayed in cinema with a tender approach. And I know the folks that I know who are dealing with that are extremely tender people. They’re just victims of circumstance, victims of their environment. It was important to me to explore it in this medium, because you can really highlight the perspective of someone, and you can use different devices such as sound design to make that experience immersive. We can make it an experience for folks who are watching your film for the first time. It's a visceral thing, an immediate connectivity,” he says.
Mekhai Lee is a graduate of the Drama programme at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. His career spans film, television, and theater, with acting credits that include Broadway's The Color Purple. Lee is the writer, director, and co-creator of the acclaimed web series For the Boys, a member of the Half Initiative Director Program, and a 2022 Director's Fellow on HBO's Succession.
The film has screened at the Chicago International Film Festival, where it received the Golden Hugo Award, and recently had its Texas premiere at SXSW.
Watch the trailer below.
