In the wake of the cancelled 2020 SXSW Film Festival, a fascinating group of nominated filmmakers from the Episodic Pilot Competition are launching a ‘SXSW 2020 Pilot Showcase’ on Vimeo, a streaming event to preview a diversity led (more than half LGBTQ content and creators) select number of pilots from the festival for free to global audiences, starting this next week on April 14th, 2020. This innovative line-up will introduce six exclusive online premieres, including two documentaries, hailing from all over the world — from the US to Australia to Japan to the UK — introducing audiences to the uniquely clever voices behind edgy comedies Bored, Cooper’s Bar, The Dream and This Isn’t Me, and engaging documentaries Bananas and Homecoming: The Journey of Cardboard.
The wickedly funny comedy pilot “This Isn’t Me” from LGBTQ creator, writer, star Ben Kawaller (“The Next Best Thing”). Kawaller is one to watch as he skewers the politically correct and any aspect of society we deem too precious. Having racked up awards across the festival season including: Best Comedy Series, Best Comedic Actor, Best TV pilot, Best Episodic, Best of the Fest- TV Pilot, Best Pilot, Best Episodic. This Cinequest Laugh It Up Selection and SXSW Comedy pilot selection is the perfect hybrid – a gay “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with a “Girls” esque pathos. Directed by Adrian Rojas Elliot (“Ditch”), executive produced by Lauren Finerman(Sarah Jessica Parker’s “City Ballet”), Rojas Elliot, and Kawaller, and lensed by Joe Picard (“The Old Man’s Hands”).
An earnest West Hollywood gay man with a skewed sense of decorum chases meaning and intimacy, routinely humiliating himself and occasionally stumbling into moments of grace.
Synopsis: An entirely uncivilized mix of the absurd, the irreverent, and the heartfelt, This Isn’t Me follows a hapless gay man’s misguided search for happiness. In the pilot episode, Fred gets hired by an atypically empathetic owner of a tutoring company. On his first day on the job he must manage the demanding parents of a cross-dressing eighth grader, all the while trying to fit into his busy schedule a rendezvous with an impatient fetishist. In both situations Fred’s instincts backfire spectacularly, though his quick thinking as a tutor ultimately brings about a minor redemption.