ARTIST’S STATEMENT

As a filmmaker, I’m driven to tell stories of characters searching for meaning and freedom through their ​connection with others. I’m drawn to characters who don’t belong in the world they were assigned, who ​try (and often fail) to fill the void of loneliness through intimate relationships, be they romantic, ​community, or otherwise. And for me, queer stories and characters live at the center of that mission. I ​aim to move beyond saccharine tropes and into an authentic, nuanced approach in which the characters ​are unmistakable queer, but whose conflicts and goals transcent identity alone. The world is hungry to ​see characters with layered objectives beyond coming out, and complex obstacles beyond discrimination.

BIO

Ariel Mahler (she/they) is an award-winning trans writer and director. She’s a recent graduate and ​scholarship recipient from the American Film Institute (AFI) Directing Fellowship.

Ariel’s AFI thesis film, RE-ENTRY, received an Alfred P. Sloan production grant in 2023, and recently ​world premiered at Toronto's Inside Out Festival. Ariel’s short documentary, EVAN EVER AFTER, ​screened at festivals across North America, including Outfest, Newfest, Inside Out, and HollyShorts. The ​documentary has won several awards, including the Audience Award for Best Florida Short at the Florida ​Film Festival, and Jury Awards for Best Documentary Short at Out on Film Atlanta and Stamped Film ​Festival in Pensacola, Florida.The film was recently commissioned to screen for a statewide Parent ​Teacher Association (PTA) meeting in Florida, and a citywide Gender and Sexuailty Alliance (GSA) summit ​for NYC public schools.

Ariel was a two-time finalist for Newfest’s New Voices Grant. Her screenplays have advanced to the top-​five in ShoreScript’s Film Fund, the second round of the Sundance Development Track, and the final ​round of WeScreenplay’s Diverse Voices Lab. In addition to her MFA from AFI, Ariel holds an MA in ​Theatre Education from Emerson College, and a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic. ​Originally from the East Coast, Ariel is currently based in Los Angeles.